"After a superb dinner, with different brands of sake, and snow outside"
"Nice view from your window..."
"See the results of a beautiful snow fall during the night"
"Before the departure to Kokugikan"
"Mount Fuji in the snow. Shot from a train station at a reasonable distance"
"Thirty million people around? Do you manage to see any tree?"
"Kokugikan, When the snow melted..."
"So lucky to have been invited for the last day of the HATSU BASHO - Emperor's cup"
"East and West"
"Takanohana defeats Matsumaira, and that was a great win!"
"Yokozuna Takanohana wins the Emperor´s Cup. The best ever sumo player? Wait and see... Asashoryu!"
"At the Hibiya Park, before a conference"
"Preparing for another dinner"
"First dish, of a long list..."
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8 comments:
Oh i wanna tour for as long as I can, but at the moment i am neither financially capable nor do i have the luxury of time to tour like you do ;)
One day, maybe when i retire.. Haha. I'm still studying you know!
I might be visiting London, Paris, Italy and Greece in that order, but nothing's really confirmed.
I'll also be making use of the Easter holiday to tour. What do you think? =)
Well, things are not always what they appear!
Definitely the best time to travel, at least to start, is when you’re not yet financially capable and when you think you don’t have the time to do it – I mean, while you’re still studying (see introduction to Blogtrotter Revival for details). When you retire, you’ll have plenty of time to do the consulting, and make money out of it, I hope...
Returning to the matter: London, Paris, Italy and Greece appear like a programme of a Japanese travel agency for a Boeing 747 filled with more than 500 people inside, with lots of female guides with coloured umbrellas, but OK!
Since you’re in Finland in May, you’ll be able to catch the midnight sun. You can always travel to Rovaniemi – supposed Santa’s home, in Finnish Lapland or even further north to Cape North in Norway.
Then, you’ll be flying to London. With low cost carriers, it may be an option, but it’s not the best way to see things around you. This means you’ll be missing at least, from north to south: Stockholm – one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in summer -, Copenhagen, Berlin and Amsterdam (I don’t mention Brussels, though there is a fabulous Spanish Plaza there: the Grand Place).
London, Paris, perfect, but to Italy you have to make choices: If you fly from Paris to Milan, you’ll miss Provence. No problem, one day you’ll come back, as a wealthy Character, for the foie-gras, and the truffles...
But, then, in Italy, what are you going to see in one week? Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome? And how are you going to experiment Tuscany – Florence, but also Siena, Pisa, and the small medieval towns of San Gimignano, Lucca? What a Herculean Task...
Since we’re talking Hercules, it makes sense going to Greece, but probably you mean only Athens! One week will do for Athens, a short ride to Delphi, a one day tour of Corinth, Mycenas, Nauplia and Epidaurus, and the tourist tour of the close Islands: Aegina, Hydra and Poros (some information on the next posts for Blogtrotter Revival, when I’ll have time to post...). No more!
Easter Sunday 2006 is 16 April. Nice time to visit Prague, Vienna and Budapest. There will be thousands of students around, especially at Prague by that time...
With all this, you’ll be missing the best: Portugal. That's your problem!...
those are amazing photos of Sumo!!
how could you snap them?? were you in VIP room?? :)
Hi Niki, I was invited to deliver a keynote speech at a conference on a Monday/Tuesday; got to Tokyo on Saturday morning and had a fabulous dinner while the snow started to fall. I was asked what would like to do on Sunday, and said that it would be interesting to see some Sumo, if there was a competition. It was the last day of the January tournament on Kokugikan. Someone woke up at around 5:00 am to try to get tickets: there were a few available at the top row (miles away from the doyo)... But it was a fantastic experience, and Takanohana won...
awww u must be a real big person!!
i cant get up early for anybody :P
top row?? that sounds like a best seat!! takanohana retired early..
lucky trotter-chan!!
doomo arigatooo gozaimasu for ur nice comment reply!!
You know Niki how kind Japanese people are to their guests... But the tickets that were available were actually the few ones noboby wanted - on the last row, near the ceiling of Kokugitan (that's the top), miles from the doyo... Anyhow, I loved it!
You know the discussion on the origin of the Japanese word arigato and its possible connection with the Portuguese obrigado? well, Obrigado for your visits and comment!
Great pics of Japan. I have always wanted to visit there. Maybe someday.
Ron,
I'm sure you'll get there one of these days!!
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