In the Nikko of time

OK, so the bad puns in the title are getting a bit old...

I'm back in Tokyo at the moment getting ready to make my move across to Hong Kong early tomorrow morning. I arrived back here earlier this evening after a magical day exploring the temples and shrines around Nikko, a city a couple of hours to the north of Tokyo.

I took the train out to Nikko yesterday afternoon and checked in to a lovely guesthouse which well recommended by Russell and Tanith. I met some great people, two of whom, Alex and Andy, are meeting up with me again in Beijing soon. Today I joined up with the two of them to check out the shrines. I won't go into all the details, but suffice to say the major shrine, Tosho-gu, is in memory of the first Shogun, Tokugawa Ietyasu. It took 4.5 million artisans a year and a half to sculpt Tosho-gu and it really shows. The buildings are all incredibly intricately carved, and sadly I really cannot do it all justice with my little camera. It's interesting to note that the shrines incorporate both the Shinto and Buddhist religions.

The five-storey pagoda outside Tosho-gu.

The famous hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys

Just one of the many beautiful buildings around Tosho-gu, selected at random from my memory card...

More of Tosho-gu.

A dragon guards the entrance to the shrine of Taiyun-byo, the mausoleum of the third Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.

A part of Taiyun-byo, less ostentatious than Tosho-gu but no less impressive.

A bridge over troubled waters... the beautiful Shin-kyo bridge.

The Narabi-jizo lining the pathway through the Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss

Alex's take on matters... no doubt incurring the future wrath of the Gods!

Its sad to leave after such a brief stay in Japan. But its been truly wonderful. A massive thank-you to Russell and Tanith for looking after me. Without you guys this part of my travels would never have been possible...

For goodness: Sake!

My head really hurts! We had one hell of a party last night to cap off another great day in Tokyo.

Russell and I headed off at 5am to the Tsujiki Fish Market. The place is massive, processing more than 2500 tons of seafood everyday! We were lucky enough to get to see some of the famous tuna auction, huge halls filled with massive tuna and their accompanying auctioneers in full cry. Its mind-boggling to see, but also quite disturbing, if thats how many tuna are sold everyday there can't be that many left in the oceans...

In addition to the tuna there were also vast halls filled with hundreds of different species of fish, crab, eel and every other conceivable type of seafood for sale. These guys really do seem to eat anything!

After wandering about looking at the fare on offer we just had to sample some for breakfast. We popped in to one of the many sushi restaurants surrounding the market for what was definitely the strangest breakfast I've ever had. We ate delicacies ranging from sea urchin to crab brains... a slight deviation from All Bran! I have to admit though that the sushi served up in this place makes a mockery of anything I've tried back home, it really is delicious.

After breakfast Russell headed off to work and I made my way over to the Imperial Palace for a early morning stroll. The inner grounds are only open on 2 days of the year but it was still beautiful to wander around the outer grounds. From the Palace I travelled over to the district of Ginza to get a feel for that part of the city. One of the more interesting stops I made was at the Sony building to check out the amazing gadgetry on display. After Ginza I slowly made my way back to Russell and Tanith's, with a stop for a sushi lunch of course...

Last night Tanith was at a work function so Russell and I headed to Roppongi to see the seedier sights of the city. It seems that the night club district is run by Nigerians! Off the main strip though we did find a gorgeous little spot for dinner. We were definitely the only westerners in the tiny place and the menu had absolutely zero English! Russell's Japanese was put to the test and succeeded in producing a wonderful time. The restaurant owners seemed so excited to have us there that they continued to produce amazing dishes for us to try, in combination with much beer, sake and shochu.

After dinner we joined Tanith and some of her teacher colleagues at a bar on the main drag for yet more beer and of course... karaoke! We managed to get home around 3:30am, thats nearly a full 24hrs of adventure later.

Tonight we are joining some of Russ and Tanith's Aussie friends for the big world cup cricket game. Go my boys!

Tons of tuna on auction in Tsujiki.

A fishy salesman!

Those are not small either...

And many other delicacies.

Mmmm... breakfast.

The Nijubashi bridge at the Imperial Palace

Russell and I get stuck in to some sake in Roppongi

Watch out Pop Idols! Tanith shows Bon Jovi how its really done.

No comment!

Big in Japan

This place is crazy! Tokyo is absolutely massive and the people are just nuts. I love it!

I arrived at Russell and Tanith's apartment around 6pm last night (Wednesday), having left San Francisco at midday Tuesday, and was warmly treated to an awesome Tempura dinner cooked up by Russell. This morning I managed to drag my severely jet-lagged ass out of bed and off to explore Tokyo. I started out by heading to Asakusa to check out the beautiful Asakusa Kannon Temple and its surrounds.

The Kaminarimon Gate leading to Asakusa

The five-story pagoda in Asakusa

Burning incense for good fortune outside the Asakusa Kannon Temple

I then walked across to the other side of the Sumida River to the district of Ryoguko. There I explored the National Sumo Stadium and its museum, followed by the Edo-Tokyo Museum to get a feel for the history of the city and its development.

Only in Tokyo, the crazy Asahi Beer Company building on the Sumida River

Ryoguko Sumo Stadium

This afternoon I found myself in the Shinjuku district complete with its massive skyscrapers and 'electric' streets. I took a trip up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to get a 360 degree view of this enormous metropolis and then wandered around the Times Square-like area of Shinjuku and grabbed a Ramen lunch off a tiny alley.

The plastic make-ups of all the available meals at a restaurant

The view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, the view is like that in all directions!

A street in Shinjuku

Tanith and I have just been to the supermarket to grab some things for dinner. I really wish I'd taken my camera along. All the food items are so intricately prepared and displayed (with a delicate price to match!). I found a single spanspek (thats a melon to my non-SA readers) for 6000yen... Thats nearly US$60 or R450!! But everything just looks so good and interesting, I can just imagine the damage my mum could do to a credit card in there! (only kidding mum...)

Tomorrow morning I'm heading at crack of sparrows to see the famous tuna auction at the massive Tsukiji Fish Market. I can't wait...

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

OK, so I've now managed to ammend that previous post to remove the hyperlinks and move the pictures around a bit. I'm actually doing this from Russell-san's place in Tokyo, but more about that in the next post...

I decided that with only one day at my diposal to explore SF I couldn't afford to waste time in the Chinese embassy. Apparently its easier to pick up a longer term visa in Hong Kong anyway.
I managed to figure out the bus system and toddled along to the Golden Gate bridge (you'll see from the pics that the weather has turned foul again) and then ambled across to Fisherman's Warf for some Pacific clam chowder and views across to Alcatraz. I'm meeting JP, a UCT mate and PwC colleaque, and his lovely lass, Kirsten, for a drink later tonight. I'm getting frustrated with this machine now so I'll add more news later.


Lake Tahoe at dusk


The view towards the Nevada side from Heavenly, crazy to be looking out over a desert whilst skiing...


Dale, Matt and James on the slopes at Heavenly


Dale at work, during a morning of teaching the technical method of face-planting to five year olds...


James getting himself some protection USA style in Carson City


Dale with a serious Magnum, good for his return to the 28s gang on the Cape Flats


Well, thats the lower half of the Golden Gate bridge at least...


The Rock

Ridiculous!

I just had to use that title in honour of Dale who seems to use it as his one and only superlative!

Well, I never did make it back to a computer in order to update that last post. Yesterday just got, well, ridiculous... We did head over to Carson City in Nevada state to do some shopping, at least Dale and James did some shopping, I don't have any space left in my pack for anything else! Somewhere along the line our little excursion deteriorated into a cultural inquisition of sorts. We lost ourselves in a true American gun store, a pet store, and a Harley Davidson motorbike branch. I wish I could load some pictures at this point but the hostel I'm in doesn't let you plug in any of your own devices. Ek sal moes 'n plan maak...

To make things even more bizarre, Dale decided we had to stop at Ming's restaurant for all-you-can-eat sushi! Remember at this point that I fly to Japan in 2 days time! The sushi was superb, I must admit, but in typical male fashion we endeavoured to make sure we got more than our money's worth. We ate pretty much everything on the menu... octopus, eel, clam, scallop, and on and on... even flying fish roe! By the time we left none of us could stomach the idea of anything fishy ever again.

And of course there was no lying on the couch to recover last night... It was St Patrick's day! Strangely, the Americans seem to celebrate the day even more than the Irish do. There were parties everywhere. We hopped from a house party to an Irish pub and then on to another fancy nightclub (this time we even snuck free entry as one of Dale's housemates works the door). A couple of kegs of Guinness later we were all thoroughly sozzled. I dropped Dale and James at work this morning both still very much inebriated... should be a fun day for all at ski school!

I've just arrived in my hostel in San Francisco after driving from Tahoe (post a much needed sleep on the couch at Dale's place). I'm exhausted so won't be up to much tonight but tomorrow I'll take in the sights (though I did enjoy my views of the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz on my drive in this afternoon), and also try to arrange my Chinese visa. I fly to Tokyo on Tuesday to meet up with Russell for a week.

I will see what I can do about the photos...
And go the Sharks!

Happy St Paddy's!

Its a beautiful sunny Saturday here in South Lake Tahoe. The unbelievably warm weather has meant the snow quality has gone down the tubes. But it just shows how spoilt I've been with all this skiing that I can choose not to ski on a day! Instead Dale, James and I are heading over to Carson City for some shopping.

We're about to leave so I don't have time to add many photos now, I'll update this post when we get back....

The view from the highest point at Heavenly looking back over the lake.

Wild and very untamed Tahoe

I've just had the most hungover day imaginable! We managed to get out onto the slopes but only at around 2:30pm...

After a very cool day of skiing and snowboarding at Heavenly, Dale rallied the troops out to a massive club in casino just across the Nevada state line. It was a crazy night. The club was bigger than any I've seen in SA and even featured scantily clad dancers above the dancefloor! And as a bonus all drinks were only $1... Ouch.

James, Steve and Dale treating me to one hell of a good time...

Feeling festive.

Nightclubbing American style! Dale took this photo... I swear mom... I didn't even know they were there...

I don't have much time now to report on the skiing and the rest of Tahoe but I promise to do so asap.

Topping up in Tahoe

More skiing! After an unbelievable ten days of ripping up the slopes in Vail, I'm back in yet another amazing ski area - South Lake Tahoe.

Jen and Peter left Vail on Saturday and I started my couch surfing career at Caryn and Lauren's apartment. I didn't ski on Saturday as it was cold and snowing most of the day, and I needed a break anyway. But it also meant I had awesome powder to play in on Sunday. I spent the whole of that day in the remote bowls with a massive grin on my face... well, the grin was there, but you wouldn't have seen it through all the snow covering me from my numerous face-plants!

Not the best weather for skiing...

But look what it gave me on Sunday! Outer Mongolia... on about my 3rd run of the day!

I also took the opportunity on Sunday to throw myself down some of the runs we hadn't managed to get to before. Jen and Peter will remember Lover's Leap...

We never managed to coax Jen over this one... I think she just didn't want to show us up in front of the crowds on the lift above.

B E A Utiful...

The weather turned very warm on Monday so the snow did start to deteriorate. I got out early enough to catch a few good runs though and enjoyed a chilled afternoon playing on the mogul fields around lift 10. Felt strange to take things easy after skiing with Peter (amazing how much he remembers from his days as a drill sergeant in the trenches of Flanders in WW1)...

Yesterday morning I had to finally leave Vail to catch a bus (only $3 Jen!) to the airport in Eagle. From there I flew via Denver to San Francisco. It was sad to leave Caryn and Lauren after they had been so good to me. Thanks guys!

I picked up my rental car in SF and started the drive out here to Tahoe. Unfortunately I got stuck in rush hour traffic so the drive took nearly 6 hours! I was wiped when I arrived so chose just to take it easy today and catch up on some sleep and admin. Dale has been very welcoming and it looks like we'll have a blast this week.

The Bay Bridge heading out of San Fran... look mom, I'm in the slow lane.

All good things...

Aah boo... Today was my last day skiing with Jenny and Peter. Our time together has flown so quickly. Fittingly though, today was a ripper. Whilst yesterday was freezing cold and snowing, today was back to clear blue skies. We ventured to the very furthest of the back bowls for some fresh tracks, headed over to Blue Sky Basin for my favourite tree run, Champagne Glades, and finished off the day on the near-vertical Blue Ox run on the front side. We are now all thoroughly spent.

Heading out to find some fresh powder in the remote back bowls...

Very poignantly named!

It has been such an amazing week. I have never skied so hard in my life before, and I've never enjoyed it this much either. Tomorrow Jen and Peter head back to Denver for their flight home to London. Caryn and her flat mates have kindly offered for me to stay with them for a couple more days, so my Vail odyssey continues - though I'll miss my skiing partners (read instructors!) very much.

Just one of the double black diamond runs Jen and Peter threw me down over the past week.

I will thus only fly out of here next Tuesday. That leaves a week before I fly to Tokyo. I was considering a side trip to Canada to meet up with some great friends I made in Costa Rica, but the lack of visa made that impossible at short notice. Fortunately a close friend of my sister's, Dale, has now invited me to join him in Lake Tahoe for even more skiing. Awesome!

Like there's (s)no tomorrow

I'm exhausted! This skiing flat out every day is taking its toll. But I'm still loving every second.

Yesterday I thought I'd give my poor thighs and feet a break by snowboarding for a day. It was so good to be out of those damn ski boots for a while. I spent the morning trying to remember how not to kill myself on one of those things and then met up with Caryn for the afternoon. We had a really good time boarding together and decided to extend our time on the slopes by heading to Keystone for night skiing. Keystone is about 40 minutes away from here but was really worth it. I decided not to risk life and limb on a board so opted for skiing. This, however, did not prove the safest decision as I was dragged down the slopes at full throttle by Caryn's mad American friend, Nick. There's nothing quite like flying flat out down a mountain without a clue as to where you're going!

Looking sufficiently manic on a board yesterday...

Lauren and Caryn before hitting Keystone last night.

I survived my night skiing experience and today Jen and Peter decided we should head to the very fancy Beaver Creek for the day. We've just gotten back after a very awesome time. It was so sunny and warm, yet the snow remains great.

Tonight it looks like I'm going to a White Trash party in Vail so my skiing tomorrow is going to be a disaster. Peter is bound to drag me down a bunch of double black diamond slopes first thing just to punish me...

Battling the moguls in Beaver Creek today.

Drinking vino in the sun at lunch. No wonder that resort has the slogan "Beaver Creek - Not exactly roughing it"...