TRIP TO JAPAN 1

What to say? Amazing! Japan is truly a fantastic country. I had a great time and I wish I could go back soon. The trip wouldn't have been the same without the help of my Japanese friends that really made a great effort to take me around and show me beautiful places. Thank you everyone!

I've taken way too many pictures and it is taking ages to sort them all out. I'll start posting the ones I've taken in Tokyo.

We landed at approx. 9am and we couldn't check in until 4pm. Luckly we could leave our luggage at the hotel. We stayed at Tokyu Stay in Shibuya Shin-Minaminguchi, which was nice. Cat met us in Shibuya station and we decided to go for a bite to eat nearby. I must say I felt a bit tired after the flight, but I was determined to get used to the Japanese time as quickly as possible.


Cat is cool :)

Giulia tries.

Eirik, too.


I look blind, but happy ;)

My pork with kimuchi didn't need much preparation.

A satisfied Panda.


Cute overload!!!


Behind me are Chopper (from One Piece, if you are a fan of Oda-sensei) and Baby Capibara. I really wanted one, but came back without one. Baby Capibara!!! I need one!!! Please... hint, hint!

Volpe and Rilakkuma.

Sake offerings at the Meiji Temple.

You need to purify before entering the temple. I know everything about it now!

Prayers on wooden blocks...

Cat and Eirik with Kirin at the best and cheapest giyoza place ever!

My healthy breakfast at Jonathan Family Restaurant. The white stuff is yam. So nice!

Tsukiji fish market. You need to go there early in the morning. A crazy place.





Queueing for the freshest sushi ever.

It was worth waiting!!! No pictures allowed inside the tiny restaurant. Can I marry the chef?



Asakusa. We were lucky enough to be there for the annual festival. So many stalls selling all sorts of things and delicious things to eat!











Happy Eirik :)
































Catch the fish with a paper wand... I did it!!!

BUSY WEEK

I had a very busy week. I came back from Italy on Monday night and went to work on Tuesday. I wasn't feeling too well because of bloody Ryan Air's idea of "cruising temperature". It was freezing.

Tuesday evening I went to the premiere of a documentary about Joy Division at the Curzon Mayfair. I really looked forward to seeing this film for a while and I didn't mind queueing up. At the cinema I met Cat and Wayne, who received an invitation for the screening as well, so we had a chat.

The picture above is by Bryony Wright (mine was terrible)

The documentary was very good. It was interesting to see the interviews with the band members and hear how the story really went. There were rare archival footage I hadn't seen before. Although I also liked Anton Corbjin's dramatisation of the events, I think this documentary better conveys the atmosphere of Manchester in the 70s/80s and places Ian Curtis into context with the times he lived in. Joy Division's music and Ian Curtis' poetry, in particular, couldn't have come from anywhere else in the world.

I really enjoyed it and congratulated director Grant Gee, who was there answering questions together with Peter Saville. He said "I'm glad you liked it". I usually keep quiet, but he deserved the compliment. Well, maybe I am a bit partial. Ian Curtis has always been one of my heroes. I remember when I was 18/19, translating (badly) his lyrics and trying to understand what he really meant... good old tormented youth! ;)

On Wednesday I went out for lunch with MJ and Greg. We went to the Diner on Curtain Road. Greg's courtesy. I ordered a chilli con carne, but I wasn't too hungry and didn't finish it. MJ had an appetite and managed to finish a "lumberjack". Apparently it wasn't big enough and she was still a bit hungry afterwards :D

The "Lumberjack"...

On our way back to the office something terrible happened. It had been raining non-stop and I stepped on some weird tile... as soon as I put my foot on it, it sunk like a booby trap from Indiana Jones! I didn't fall, but my left foot got completely soaked up to the ankle and I also managed to splash MJ. I couldn't believe it. MJ got weezy from laughing too much. Back in the office I started freezing. I took off my shoes and socks and put them on the radiator to dry them. My feet were blue from the cold. The bottom of my trousers was also wet, but I couldn't really take them off... The problem was that I was supposed to meet my cousin Silvia for dinner straight after work... I felt so cold and miserable. I arrived at the meeting point looking like a wet dog. I couldn't even take my hat off at the restaurant... Luckily the dinner was nice. We went to Sakura on Hanover Street because Silvia wanted to eat Japanese. Apparently in Milan it is considered very posh and it is fairly expensive. Sakura isn't by all means the best Japanese restaurant in town, but the food is generally good and the bill not too steep. We ate quite a lot and I was happy that Silvia and her friends weren't scared of trying different things. I hate going out with squeamish people.