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| Monday, 12-Jan-2004 00:00 |
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Yoyogi wedding
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The party
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The happy couple
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Photos of a traditional Japanese wedding. They were taken yesterday at the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi park. These days most couples prefer a western-style wedding (the church, the white dress and so on) to a traditional Japanese one.
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| Sunday, 11-Jan-2004 00:00 |
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Harajuku
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Street dancing
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Dressed to impress
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Some pics of those crazy kids who play dress-ups in Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon. It has to be one of the most interesting places to go in Tokyo - rockers, goths and space cadets hang out just by Omotesando Station, just wanting to be seen.
These were taken with the new Ixus L. More to follow...
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| Thursday, 8-Jan-2004 00:00 |
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Mars Attacks
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The first images are in, and they are terrific! Have to get me some 3D goggles...
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| Wednesday, 7-Jan-2004 00:00 |
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My vacation
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Back at work after a week off for New Year. Not enough I tell you! Spent most of it at home reading and catching up with friends via email. Toward the end I decided that I HAD to do something a little more demanding that simply walk to the local Seven Eleven and back, so I went window shopping in Yurakucho and down in Yokohama.
Although New Years is a major holiday for the Japanese, its really a family event, similar to Christmas or Thanksgiving. People usually travel back to the family home to eat with the family and visit the local shrine or temple. There are no countdowns or fireworks on New Years Eve - in fact the only people out on the street that night are foreigners determined to go out despite the fact that many bars and clubs are actually closed. I read that until a few years ago it was almost impossible to find a place open for New Years Eve. Very much the opposite of Melbourne, where just about every bar has to put on extra staff for the Big Event.
I spent New Year's Eve having dinner with friends at an izakaya in Shibuya - one of the really cheap ones in the old Lemon House building. After cooking okonomiyaki at our table and taking drunken phonecalls wishing us 'Happy New Year' from drunken mates in Ballarat (thanks for the song, guys!) and Queenstown, we moved onto the Dubliners Pub where we saw in the 2004 with a pint of the black stuff and a dozen defective party-poppers.
Later still, I met up with yet another friend in a nearby club. At this point my memory starts to get a bit fuzzy, but I do remember that I left around six in the morning, only to fall asleep on the train back home. I realised my mistake when I woke up IN THE MOUNTAINS. I fell asleep a couple more times, so what would normally be a thirty minute journey took 3 and a half hours! It turned out to be fun, and I even managed not to spend a lot of cash. 
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| Wednesday, 31-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Happy New Year
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I've been reading the various nominations for 'heros and villains' of 2003 in The Independent. I particularly love JG Ballard's description of Tony Blair as "as a dangerous man, a would-be Messiah with a pocketful of nails, searching for a cross to die on".
For me, Prime Minister John Howard was the villain of the year for the Australian government's disgraceful attitude toward asylum seekers. Heros? The Hong Kong doctor who died after identifying SARS or any of the NGO staff currently sifting through the rubble in Iran.
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| Friday, 26-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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No gangsters, please.
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Away with you!
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Saw this sign outside a bowling alley/sauna/hotel (its that kind of area  ) as I was walking home last night. Roughly translated, it says: "No yakuza or men with tattoos - The Manager".
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| Thursday, 25-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Merry Christmas
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A weird Christmas for me this year - my second in Japan but the first at work. Hard to get into the Christmas spirit when everyone at work would rather be somewhere else (why does my company stay open? There isn't really any need).
Going to dinner with friends this evening, which should be good. But I have to work again tomorrow, so I guess I won't be drinking too much....
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| Tuesday, 23-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Mongolia blog
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Don Croner's blog just keeps getting better. He usually posts stories and photos from Mongolia, but at the moment he is travelling in Tibet. He has some amazing photos on his site... check it out!
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| Thursday, 18-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Hello Nasty
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Here's a story they never teach you at school:-
League of Nations and Racial Equality
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| Wednesday, 17-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Must be something in the water...!?!
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I just stumbled across this very interesting article about a strange illness affecting the Miskito community living in northern Nicaragua.
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