30th September - 24th Oktober 2005
Heidelberg, Germany - 30th September
Since I have only one month of vacation this year and will spend my time in two cities rather than backpacking around
I expected this trip to be a more relaxed and easy-going one. However my subconscious doesn`t seem to be very fond of this
idea and decided to add its own little excitement: 30th September, day of my departure. After packing all night and doing last minute preparations
I fell asleep at around 3am/ At around 9 or 10am I get a phonecall from my STA-travel agent Klaus. He asks me if I was sick.
I didn`t quite get it. Of course not. He went on: `Why didn`t you take your flight yesterday?` I told him it was today but he
insisted I missed it. A joke! I know Klaus for some time and book all my flights through him. He liked jokes. So to prove him wrong, I get out
of bed and grab my ticket. No joke!!! He was right. My flight was a day ago, I missed it. How could that happen? I could swear
it was on the 30th - not that I ever rechecked that information. I was simply sure about it. Anyways too late now, what do I do?
`Come to my office as soon as possible.` says Klaus. So I go to the bathroom to have a shower. This is when I remember that my canadian
couchsurfer Evan (see www.couchsurfing.com for further information) disarmed it the day before. So no hot water. Ok, this is
when I realize that its `one of those days`. A taxi brings me to STA where Klaus is trying to do a rebooking so I could catch the
flight today. He asked me to come back later. So I go to lab where everyone welcomes me with a big smile: `Missed your plane?`
After a while I get a call from Klaus who says the Japanese Airlines guy in Franfurt hardly speaks german and won`t do a
rebooking. Ok, thats bad news. Klaus suggests just to go to Frankfurt airport tonight and pretend I didn`t realize that the
date is wrong. I don`t like that idea as I am a terrible lyer. The other option would be a complete cancellation and rebooking
where fees around 300 Euros would apply. That hurts. Klaus gives it a last chance and calls the airline`s helpdesk in London.
They are a great help and put me on the plane tonight for just 80 Euros. The day is saved. I feel like hugging Klaus but I don`t.
Get him some chocholate instead for his help. That night I take off and am happy to get back to Tokyo...
Tokyo, Japan - 3rd October
First I go to Shibuya. Tokyo, Japan - 4th October
Time is flying by and I just realized that I am leaving for Australia tomorrow already. These short trips aren`t really for me. Tokyo, Japan - 5th October
Another night in the capsule (I like their expendable toothbrushs that have instant toothpaste right on the brush. Just
add water and brush your teeth...) and a frappuccino at StarBucks for breakfast. Randomly choosing something from the menu in
a foreign country and hoping it will be something good is not a new concept for me. This morning however I didn`t expect
any surprises when doing this at StarBucks. But I have to admit that the green color of my frappuccino DID take me by surprise.
I learned a new vocabulary: `matcha` means `green tea` and the frappuccino isn`t all that bad...
Tokyo -
Sydney -
Tokyo
Ok, its vacation time again and I decided to visit my two favourite cities again. Scroll down to the end of this page if you want to read whats going on in Sydney and back in Tokyo.
On my way to Tokyo
A pokemon airplane at Narita airport, Tokyo
From the airport I go straight to Shinjuku what takes ages. There I call up Rickard, a swedish friend that I know from
last year.
He picks me up and we go to his place. He and some friends are cooking tonight. Among them is Seiichi, who I also know from
my trip last year. For some reason we are watching Star wars three times that night (2x english, 1x japanese)
I spend the night there and have brunch next morning. Jetlag is torturing me.
Afterwards we decide to go to Yoyogipark via Harajuku. Sundays all kind of dressed up girls gather there (as reported
last year). Yes, Tokyo is a strange place somehow.
Furtheron at Yoyogipark we have a couple of beers. The weather is great and we spend the entire day there.
Some Japanese take the opportunity to take their pets for a walk. Besides cats and dogs there are also ferrets and
rabbits.
Another cooking session at Rickard`s follows and this morning I am pursuing last year`s tradition and lock my
backback at coin locker No.J8 at Shinjuku station and walk off into the city.
There I check out the newest japanese music at HMV. I spend far too much money and buy three CDs at once.
Getting hungry at noon, I decide to go to a sushi bar. I love sushi. You know that.
And right now I am sitting in my one-squaremeter-cubicle in the manga-cafe GeraGera to keep you updated...
Later I met Toshi, a university student who I met last year in Kyoto. He is planning to visit Germany next year.
We went for dinner and later on for `Pachinko` which is incredibly popular here but I have never played it before.
If you look closely you will notice that this one was a `Neon Genesis Evangelion` pachinko.
Eventually I decided to have an early sleep and went to the good old capsule hotel.
Today I just found out that here in Tokyo
they are also celebrating Oktoberfest:
However I just ignored the fact and went to Akihabara electric town instead to check out some prices for laptops.
Tonight I met Hiro, another friend here who just cam back from his trip to Norway and the UK. We had an `Izakaya`-dinner
and went for a drink afterwards.
A view of Godzilla's playground from the Tokyo Metropolitan Gouvernment buildings.
Concrete as far as you can see.
