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When: August 23rd, 4:15 PM (Japan Time)
Where: Bullet Train, to Kyoto

HOT DAMN, THIS THING IS FAST.

And quiet.

And clean.

And comfortable.

I want one.

When: August 23rd, 2:45 PM (Japan Time)
Where: Shinigawa Train Station

When it’s this hot, and this humid, people say “holy crap” when they see the sweat jetting out of my pores. It’s hot in Tokyo. And humid. If it weren’t so damn awesome here, I’d be completely miserable.

Yesterday afternoon was spent stumbling around in a jet lagged daze, hopping from traffic jam to traffic jam on our airport shuttle bus. We arrived at our little hotel, a family run place down a Shibuya alley, and collapsed in front of the air conditioner in our room, only venturing out to consume a slightly expensive dinner down the street at the train station.

The Japanese-style inns are wonderful. It’s everything you need to get a pleasant night’s sleep and prepare for the next day … but nothing more, and nothing less. Futons on tatami mats, a small bathroom, and a closet sized entry way with a small table set for tea.

We’ve spent most of the day getting our rail passes and time tables figured out, then spent a couple of hours in Harajuku, at the Meiji Temple, and a “western themed” pizza joint called Shakey’s. If you’re hip to shrimp, egg, and corn on your pizza, you’ll feel right at home.

The temple has definitely been the highlight of the trip. It’s in the middle of acres of of carefully maintained forests, ponds, and gardens. Wide gravel walkways wind through the forest to the temple, which was straight out of my fantasies about what such a grand structure would look like (albeit with more tourists). The curving roof lines, the thick wood construction, the granite blocks, the gardens and screens — all fit together perfectly, gracefully blending into the forest around it.

When: August 21st, 5:50
Where: 35,000 feet over the Bering Sea

Holy crap. I was prepared to spend 10 hours squished between disgruntled sweaty people, but when we handed our boarding passes to the gate attendant, they said the magic words: “Peter and Nova Bakke? You’ve been upgraded!”

Oh, heavenly bliss! Business class. Hallowed ground of free flowing wine, a menu (a menu!), and lazy-boy chairs of remarkable proportions.

Anyhow. I’m a big fan of flying. I’ll go cattle class and enjoy it, so long as I have a window seat. One of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen was on a flight over the north Atlantic. It was the middle of the night — cloudless, clear, with an extraordinarily bright full moon. The ocean was frozen, but breaking up. The ice was a brilliant silver, shattered like a broken mirror in the pitch black water, stretching off into the horizon. Just beautiful.

This time I’m in the middle row, and all I have to watch is a little TV, playing an uncensored copy of Hot Fuzz over and over again. Bonus points for showing a rather gory British comedy, complete with an abundance of amusingly coarse language. Not exactly “beautiful” … but certainly something special.

Woo, it’s been busy.   So busy, I forgot to mention that I’ll be in Japan from August 20th through September 1st.  Don’t worry, I’ll share the fun with everyone.

If you need to get ahold of me, e-mail works, and if you’re desperate, you can call my wife (who has an international calling plan).  If you don’t have my wife’s number … too bad.  We’re on vacation. 

Check out what arrived in my inbox this morning, a gift from a far away land. If you like good techno, great animation, and a little bit of crazy … watch this video from Hifana.

Happy Saturday!