What have I done!!!

I overdosed on clam chowder and pineapple chunks this evening and boy don’t I know it! (Not in the same bowl obviously, what do you take me for?) My stomach looks like Pikes Peak on a bad day and it is aching and rumbling somewhat! Then I thought it would be good idea to go for a walk but there are no street lights outside the hotel in Narita and although I did a quick ten minutes brisk walk, I decided that it was not good form to be out and about, looking like I was ready to mug somebody!!!

But earlier!

I gave myself a haircut this afternoon and as usual, the hair clippers started off set to number four but by the time I finished, I had sort of a number one, two, three and a bit, all rolled into one, as the clippers must be getting worn out. I looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards and then forwards again for good measure. Not to mention the odd-looking red zebra marks on top of the head where I obviously pushed down too hard.

Anyway, the clippers are now plugged back into the mains to charge up and hopefully I can get about ten to fifteen minutes out of them in the morning, to balance the new (old) look up a bit and give myself a proper number one all over before I go and meet the lad’s in Narita airport

The huge walk.

Japan is the most amazing place to be in the fall! I have been very lucky to be here during various seasons over the last two years and I have seen many sights that normally you would only see in a book and I am very grateful for that opportunity. But today, on my own again, I believe I had the best day yet!

I went on a huge walk today as the sun was out in all of its glory, following one of the drain away canals back up into the hills overlooking Tokuyama, from just in front of the Shinkansen railway line adjacent to the harbour.

It was all up-hill and was quite invigorating but not tiring at all. What astounded me the most, if you exclude the Dambuster squadron of beautiful Kingfisher birds I was watching, were the huge Koi Carp that were trapped just in front of the small dams, all the way up the drain away for at least 1.5 to 2 km from the harbour. Even beyond that distance you could easily see smaller Koi Carp without any colouring, in the shade, generated by small bamboo saplings in the waters.

In the attached pictures, I have tried to capture (Very difficult with the poxy small camera I used, should have brought the big one out with me!) today’s events. Some of the pictures could be considered a bit abstract and some, why! But on the whole, I had a good walk, if a little cold and I take pictures of what I like, even if they are a bit odd.

I loved the little shrine type buildings I found in one of the houses I walked past, superb.

If only they would burry their power lines!!!!!!!

Tokuyama at dusk.

I had a walk round Tokuyama last night, as I was bored out of my mind in my hotel room and although it was cold, wet and windy, I managed to get some slightly different pictures of the usual areas I walk through.

The big ariel thingy can be found in most Japanese townships and cannot be easily missed and it is a useful landmark for when you get lost.

Lots of leaves falling at this time of year and most of the trees are starting to shed their load. Some have kept their leaves slightly longer and they are a golden syrup colour, others are sunny orangey-red and some have a lovely purple hue that my little camera cannot pick out.

It’s a shame the heavens opened while I was on my walkabout but I still was happy to be out and about!

Whatever next!!!!

The dog’s cloths are better than mine!!

I was cold!

So I can only imagine how this beautiful bronze sculpture was feeling!!

Crabs

I also found some more new friends at Hikari beach in Japan.

A little bit feistier than the last lot but just as entertaining and they most definitely were up for a fight!

They really did not like having pictures taken of them and they kept going for the camera, although a good powerful flash subdued them for a few pictures.

Those small claws can give a painful nip you know!

I know a local restaurant that would like to meet these crusty crabs. A good hot bath will sort them out!

Romford Station!!

I noticed a London bus way off route in Hikari, Japan this weekend!

An odd find if ever I saw one!

If a beautiful women were to be a camera, she would look like this!

Obviously not met the correct women yet!

A couple of decent sized lenses would not go a miss too!

But hey I know what I like.

Sorry if the terminology offends but if the hat fits!

Masuyoshi

I was taken to a local restaurant in Kudamatsu last week and I really enjoyed the night out and I had a super Beef stew that was fantastic.

I can fully recommend this place and they have a lady who works there who can speak very good English too.


I have taken a quick picture of the restaurants calling card for your pleasure and it is attached above.

Top marks to anybody who can recognise the book and the train I took the picture of the card on?

Today is a good day.

I woke up this morning to the sunlight bursting into my room, from the slit of a gap I left in the curtains last night, before I hit my pit.

It is not often nowadays, that I wake up with the mind in good spirits but this morning something is different! I have even been for breakfast! (Which is not normal for me!)

The mind has been working overtime on a number of fronts and backs recently and concentration in all but a few areas have been tainted to say the least. The last few weeks I have found particularly hard, as I am always in two, three, four or more minds about various issues, events and problems and it has been very hard to prioritise them in the correct order and to know which of them should be cast aside, to allow the priorities to come shining through. Especially so since the 45th birthday is on the horizon next weekend.

Now those of you who know me from work will be the first to tell you (Or even me) that I am on another planet and/or dimension most of the time anyway and I apologise for that but that is me normally. Recently though, I have tried to come down from that lonesome place, to integrate with normality but it is very hard and it has screwed up allot of 'my natural flow' and thinking, etc.

But not today. I will rectify this issue, as the sun is shining and I want to be me again and not something I am not, which is not me as I am now!!

So, war has been declared on a number of fronts and the good thing about being the real me, nobody will really know what I am about to do next.

(Hopefully this will also sort out the ‘missing word, part word and the word swapping position syndrome’ I have been recently having with my laptop. As it never really types out via my fingers what I thought I was writing and I hate reading what I have written, when it looks nothing like what I was thinking about when I thought I was writing what I was actually thinking about!)

I hope the above makes sense to you, as it does to me!

Today is a good day for me but not for those who are about to annoy me!

The PLL is now synchronised and it is watching. Your destiny lies with me, I am the master!

Ba,

A.

It gets better but girls at work do not like my special friends!

Spotted this lovely creepy crawly at work a few days ago and it obviously did not mind sitting on my hand and having a few pictures taken of it. (It should have been a model!)

The locals know, to their cheery delight, that I am different but I can assure you that I am sane! It’s you lot that are warped.

Sanity is a compromise. Think on…….. ((Ref: Vivian Stanshall, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, 1995,) A super geezer!)

November 9th, Ell’s ditch. Be there!

Ba,

A.

What the bloody hell are they washing my bed sheets with!!!

I have never had rub marks on my knees before ever and they hurt.

Had a quick ganders at the bed sheets tonight and they are as rough as sand paper in some areas and this would explain the small amount of blood on the old bed sheets this morning. (Got to have been a bad dream!!)

Obviously they have never heard of fabric softener over here!

Going to have to hit them with a Production Issue (PI) for this misdemeanour!

Praying Mantis

While I was minding my own business at work yesterday, I spotted a rather beautiful if not menacing looking Praying Mantis.

Although I did not mind picking it up, which I did, it was quite unnerving to have the little monster scoot up my arm towards shoulder, then it just sat there looking at me. This is a first for me, as I have never seen a real life Praying Mantis before and it was pointed out to me that this particular model was a female version judging by the size of its abdomen. (Yep its butt definitely looked big under those fine looking green wings of hers.)

What I liked most about this little scary creature was the way it kept swaying around with its two front legs folded back, ready for action. I picked it up off my shoulder and decided that it was time to show my new friend to one of the girls who works in the factory where I am overseeing the build of some new trains. The young lady was not impressed one bit, nor was the second girl either, so I decided to let it go but only after watching it scoot around my desk very rapidly for an hour or so. It was most definitely was interested in me, as it kept making a rapid charges towards my hand and whisking up the outside of my sleeve and if you placed your finger near its head, its little front legs would shoot out and grab hold and it would pull its self up on to my hand, great.

The little insect was all over my works laptop and quite happily sat there watching me type but as soon as my hand came close, it got me and went walkies over my shoulder again, again and again. This is one super little creature and it has superb eyes. You could look straight into them and see the little black spot within.

I suppose am lucky that I am significantly bigger than this little critter, as I am sure it would take a chunk out of me for its supper, if I was a similar size but did not appear to be that scared of me! It was if it was playing with me! Who knows?

English milk tea ice cream, what next!!!

Although I have only been back in Tokuyama, Japan for just under one week, I have found another dubious flavour of ice cream.

Whilst in the local Lawson mini-market the other day, I spotted a small carton of Häagen-Dazs ‘English milk tea’ ice cream, which looked quite disturbingly refreshing at first glance. Although I do not mind a good cup of tea, the thought of eating an ice cream that tastes like a cup of cold milky tea, especially after the Häagen-Dazs ‘Green tea’ debacle left me with cold comfort. But ever the hopeful, I purchased a small carton of the English milk tea ice cream and returned back to my hotel room to conduct a small scientific tasting session.

On first opening of the carton of English milk tea ice cream, I was surprised by how much it looked like a frozen cup of milky tea. Not only did it smell of tea its colour was pretty well spot on too. The taste did not disappoint either, as it definitely tasted like an insipid cup of cold milky tea and I admit that I would be the first person to ditch a cup of cold milky tea, anyway.

So, the verdict is not good just like the Green tea ice cream torture I had a few months ago but there again, the ice cream is definitely tailored to the oriental taste buds and not mine. (The small tub of the Maple Cookie ice cream was used to remove the bad taste left in my mouth from eating English milk tea ice cream, honest!)

The evidence from Ell’s Ditch is here!!

If you have ever been to ‘Ell’s Ditch’ in Tokuyama, you picture might be here????

I can see me, can you see you?

It’s got to hurt twice!!!!!!!!

Although I have had numerous curies in Tokuyama over the last 18 months, tonight’s curry extravaganza should be the most colourful bum burner I have had yet! (With any luck)

I went to the “Ganesh” curry emporium in ‘Tokuyama’ tonight (Situated under the Mini Ginza) and what a superb evening meal I had. (I do not usually bother with rice, as I prefer a couple of starters instead. (Got to think of the waistline you know!)) The presentation, colour, style and warmth of the curries I had tonight were fantastic.

The usual curry heat level for the normal ‘Japanese curry’, is somewhere between “1 to 8” on the Richter scale and “8” equates to a stereo typical English Korma. Well tonight, I went off the normal Japanese scale and I had their level “10”. It was full of flavour and was quite spicy but was not overtly hot. So, the next time I go to the Ganesh, I will try a level ‘12’ instead. (Bearing in mind that the ‘off’ menu heat level goes to level “16”, now that’s got to hurt, hopefully!!)

Now then, since I was taught in the ‘Goodyear & Wilson’ academy of curry eating, unless it hurts twice it ain’t good enough and that’s a mark of a good curry. So I am not expecting any spontaneous combinations during the night, as it was not that hot. But, I live in hope.

I will follow through with the results later!!

The Cricketator (Cicada)

At this time of the year in Japan, there is a little insect (About 3 to 4 cm long) that makes a huge noise and cannot usually be seen.

Now them, I have spent the last week looking covertly into trees and bushes, (I do not want to be accused of doing something dubious!) trying to find one of these noisy blighter’s and today I found one, turned tortoise on it’s back paddling fresh air.

I did not have the heart to stamp on it, (I am sure it would have made a satisfying crunch when stamped on) so I gently turned it over and instantly it started making the extremely loud cricket type clicking noise that’s started to annoy me this last week. You can potentially imagine then, what a few hundred or thousand of these little creatures clicking in unison sounds like, it’s loud, very very loud! Especially so when they are outside your hotel.

Quite an ugly looking beast and to be honest its not going to be your best friend. I spotted a few old skins of ex-Cicada and they look pretty brutal even when empty of life in a tree on Kudamatsu station.

Have a good look and see what you think!

(It's a shame it did not stay still while I was taking the pictures)

Titanic & Enterprise

A picture of the youngest, with a Lego models of the ‘Titanic & Enterprise’ he built.

The amount of bricks that goes into making a smallish model like he built is immense. It does not float either; he tried that in the bath, so once again proving the floored design of the original.

And here is a picture of the ‘Star Trek Enterprise’ he built!! That was huge too. (It did not fly either!!)

Going Nuts!!

Literally.

This shop sells good tasting nuts, not cheap but very tasty.

Pretty obvious what type of nuts they sell from the ones shown in the picture!!