The Adventures of JessiePants in Wonderland

Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!!!

2006-10-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

So what happens when you live in a town with mostly American ALT`s and its Halloween weekend?
You throw a widkedly wild soiree of ghost, ghouls, goblins, vampire maids... and some Hard Gay for
extra measure!

I can`t say that Halloween really yanks my chain so to speak, but once my costume started to reveal itself as more
than just some black material that i was going to wrap around me as i was originally intending, it was hard not to go all out...
which I kinda did... added to that was the chance to pack on the makeup and stick on some fake nails!
the end result was... well... you be the judge

ho ho ho

vampire steel...

having fake nails is FUN!! note all the `claws out` poses... of course they were stick ons, bound to drop off one at a time during various intervals of the night and position themselves like little kamikazi cockroaches all over the place...

people...

even Hard Gay made an appearance, courtesy of pete...

AND the jamaican bobsled team, courtesy of adam...

the girls... and justin

Hard Gay...

and his crotch serenading us...

KAWAIII!!!!!!

my co-vampire-in-crime ethan...

me and paris hilton...note the nails...

what kind of party would it be without `dance dance revolution`?? hmmmmm
that one`s debatable...

more vampire steel...

me looking like i`d just inadvertantly sucked the life out of rob...

colin and his hat..

my vampire co-conspirator

wolfman and bruce lee...

as predicted, by the end of the night, my makeup had smudged... my face was no longer deathly pale and not ONE of my nails were to be found actually stuck to my fingers... they had all mysteriously disappared, like a fine mist on a sunny day in the woods.... woooooooo
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Kusatsu Day Trippers

2006-10-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

"Got a good reason... for taking an easy day out... got a good reason... for taking an easy day out... we were daaaaaaay trippers... sunday drivers yeah... it took us soooooo long, to make it to... ku-sa-tsu"

An hour by train, an overnight stop and two hours by car (thank you GPS) and we were finally there.
The final frontier.
Kusatsu.

Reknown throughout Japan as "the" place to go for crisp clean open air onsen, Kusatsu is a place famous not only for the healing properties to be found in the mineral enriched water, but also for the infamous smell that had me staring accusingly at poor unsuspecting HIroshi who was walking next to me. Because thanks to the smell that had just wafted under my nose, I was convinced that it was the eggs we`d eaten for breakfast presenting themselves in a vastly different light... however, when the smell lingered beyond that of a `normal` lingering smell, I realised that it was the smell of sulphur tickling my nostril hair and not that of Hiroshi`s breakfast movements...

Once I was accustomed to the smell, I quickly became enamoured with this little mountain village. Maybe it was because the air, although slightly pungent, had a crispness and freshness about it that I hadn`t experienced since Fuji Rock. Or maybe it was the blue skies and striking colours of the trees which Japan is so famous for during autumn. Maybe it was The Vibe, maybe it was Mabo. Whatever the reason, this was possibly one of my favourite days out in Japan to date...

the kusatsu day trippers from l-r: kanako, junichi, junko, hiroshi, locks and myself on the first of many convini stops

kanachan and junchan pondering the mysteries of life...

road antics on the way... junko decided that now was a good time to fish out her 1997 cd single of the spice girls `wannabe` WHHHHAAAATTT!!! so to retaliate, i put on ween`s `waving my dick in the wind`... i think we all know who won THAT battle!

rockran needing both kanachan and junchan to keep himself balanced...

junichi practising just in case we got lost...

junchan and hirochan blending into the foliage...

junichi, hiroshi, rockran and junchan looking like they`ve just stepped out of a k-mart autumn sale catlogue...

some goddess of fertility.. legend has it if you place an offering of rocks at the base of the statue, you`re meant to get pregnant... this applies to guys as well so proceed with caution!

autumn foliage...

kanachan drinking from the fountain of youth... or was it immortality... or fertility.. or infertility??

many red tori, leading to....

a fox in a bib with a cucumber... no comment

i think he takes the cake as my favourite little ping pong ever!!!

the kusatsu crew

racoon boobies... by the look on his face, i`d say he was enjoying it...

i think locks was trying to get in on some of the action too...

i`ve been told that pet owners here love their pets, but really, you gotta draw the line somewhere! the scary thing was that the dog was walking the owner... true story

one of the many street vendors who force fed us freshly baked sweet bean buns and green tea...

...well it wasn`t really forced

there seems to be an increased demand for dry ice in the area...

this huge sulfur smelling pond in the middle of town is popular for nude bathing, hotdogs and dry ice...

the stage awaits it time to come to life

did i just enter the land of giant paddle-pop sticks??

reminded me of some kind of thespian playhouse...

you can see the anticipation building...

the water ladies with the giant paddle-pop sticks, demonstrating how to cool the water...

the water dancing ladies, singing about.... water i guess...

what better way to end a fabulous day...

Madness in Tokyo Wonderland

2006-10-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

Luckily for me, when life in the burbs gets a bit boring and mundane, I can hop on the local JR and within an hour I am back in the hubbub of Tokyo Wonderland. Even luckier for me is that two of my dear friends from Melbourne, Rockran and Junchan (Lachlan and Junko) are living RIGHT in the heart of Tokyo, so not only do I have a crew to go crazy with, but I also have a second home on the weekends as I have claimed the rights to the lounge floor of their apartment as my own...

me with my tokyo family, junny and rockran!

the best spruker in the world! don`t ask me how, but this guy somehow manages to dress like a slaryman AND combine the intricate art of freestylin with subliminal sales pitches about coming into his store to check out the amazing range of eyewear they stock! GENIUS!

cross my heart and hope to die that i won`t try and distract MC spruker by shaking my booty in his face and doing my ever impressive running man and `night at the roxbury` dance moves on him...

you never know when an outfit like this might just come in handy. just a taste of the varied items available for purchase at your everyday, late night all-purpose ¥100 store... but tell me, where`s the kinky librarian costume? pfft

engrish. did someone say dust? high fat/low fat, can anyone tell me? anyone? no? dust. anyone? no? dust. anyone? no? dust.

lunchtime at a korean restaurant...

beering and cheering at an izakaya

bommie and kosko... itetakimas!

rockran and akira... homeboys from the west coast

yes junny, that`s SOY SAUCE, you put it on fish and stuff...

2 WEEKS LATER...
Pig`s guts, raw liver, raw chicken, tongue, gizzards, innards, skewered liver... sounds just like the kind of meal you`d find in an Indiana Jones movie right? Wong! Just come to any old Yakitori restaurant in Japan and you can be sure to find these little treats. Luckily for me, I`d been guided to this restaurant by a native Tokyoite so I knew I was in safe hands... wasn`t I?
needless to say, my tastebuds have somewhat expanded to include a new range of rather `interesting` Japanese delicacies...

the chefs do their thing...

akira the hutt. this is a man who loves his pig`s guts. don`t even try and get in his way!!

after waiting in line for over a hour THIS is what they serve us???

you want me to eat that?

chicken sashimi... that is, RAW chicken. venturing where not many westerners dare venture. a delicacy so taboo that even my good friend junko, a native of japan had never experienced it. probably considered culinary suicide by the rest of the world, but not japan. here you can eat anything raw as long as its fresh enough. oh well, when in rome...

and the verdict? tastes like chicken! hehe. did i REALLY just eat that???

i don`t think junchan can believe it either!

judging by the size of the line as we left, i figure my chances of getting salmonella poisining after eating the chicken sashimi are pretty slim...

the first time i`ve ever seen a `no smoking dangas that are longer than you` sign... i guess the youth of tokyo are a rebellious force to be reckoned with...

case and point... new generation non conformists fighting the system in their own revolutionary way

note the bike with the big red cross through it?

hmmmm just as i thought.... this rebellious mindset is spreading to the masses

my favourite street artist back on the streets of harajuku doing his thing...

so he obliged me with yet another portrait...

FUCKING LOCK N LOLL!!!!
Saturday 23rd September saw Jessiepants embarking on her first rock encounter in Tokyo Wonderland at the teeny tiny Statto bar. What it lacked in size it made up for in attitude and noise. It was loud, it was dirty and above all it was 100% ROCK Japan style! This was exactly what she`d been waiting for since arriving in Japan. The venue itself was a Cherry Bar/Ding Dong hybrid, namely due to the silver streamers dangling down behind the stage ala ding dong and the countless numbers of converse sneakers she saw roaming the floor, but the vibe was distinctly Japanese which is what she loved.

ladies and gentlemen, The Faceful... sit back, relax and let the pictures do the talking...

frontmant antics...

clearly junny and i are impressed with the onstage shenannigans

i don`t know if i can say the same for jula...

the faceful at full throttle...

morrissi the bassist bopping along in the background...

the headless, topless drummer in pyjama pants... truly a sight to behold!

lead guitarist and husband of the lead singer, mincing chopping his axe!

yes your eyes aren`t deceiving you, they make PLATFORM cons in this country!!

what kind of gig would it be if the frontman wasn`t skulling a beer on stage?

such a showman... showlady?

no i wasn`t playing with the lighting on my camera. this radioactive greenness was just the standard toilet lighting... maybe there was some sort of anti-rock repellant infrared waves being transmitted from the cubicles to keep the non-believers away... or maybe the light globes were on special at shop ¥99

and then there were two...

nice cons...

you wouldn`t think this woman was a mother of a 2 yr old would you? just goes to show you can find that much needed equilibrium between rock stardom and motherhood...

the crowd looks on in amazement

rockran and junchan at one with the music...

so what`s the one thing you tell eveyone you`re taking photos of to do in a bar like this?

`give us your best rock pose babeee` and you can guarentee there`ll be devil`s fingers popping up every which way!!

so rock..

with a touch of tenderness...

rockran being true to his name...

everyone loves a man in yukata (robe)... esp in a rock bar

help...

i think these guys walked into the wrong bar... they`re not even wearing cons!

mick who?

after party fun at a local izakaya...

it`s here that the camera starts to take on a life of its own and take part in random people portraits...

i`m guessing this is one of the bands and their entourage...

toasting to something.... maybe this guys hair?

zhian and jack... two names i manage to salvage

i don`t know who these people are... but they seemed nice!

same again!

oh jack. i know how you feel

what better cure for a hangover than a nice hearty, greasy meal of bacon, eggs, avocado, tomatos and juice...mmmm

School Life in Japan

2006-10-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

After weeks and weeks of preparation, the day had finally arrived for the most anticipated event of the school calander... Undokai. The Japanese sports festival. But folks, we ain`t just talking about a sports day where the school gathers at the local sports field to compete in various athletic events... noooo. Undokai in comparison, is more akin to an Olympic opening ceremony than a regular school sports day. Not just are the events more interesting than regular sports carnivals (tug-of-war, obstacle courses, giant ball chasing) but the whole vibe of being there made me feel quite privilidged to not only be able to witness this spectacle first hand, but to also participate and spend time with the students outside of the classroom.

For weeks I`ve been watching the whole school practice every facet of the festival, from the opening song, to the marching band, to the warm-up stretches, to the speeches, to the presentation of the trophy, it was relentless. So when it actually came to seeing the whole show in one flowing form, I felt that warm and fuzzy feeling in your stomach not unlike the partents watching their little 6 year olds running for the first time...

So without further adeau, I give you the Araki and Minami Elementary school Undokai

the barren field before the big day...

the opening ceremony... the school prepares to battle it out!

pre-competition exercises...

one of the teachers running a race with a special needs student...

first graders mentally preparing before the big race..

too cute!!

first grade races..

this is the little brazillian first grader who can`t speak english and can barely speak japanese but will be happy to chat incessantly in portugese, bless him

students wait anxiously for their moment of glory...

kocho sensai at the starting block...

the giant ball chasing race...

this was more like tug-of-bamboo-pole-war

and PUUUULLL.. the senior students battle it out

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there`s even a race for the little munchkins who aren`t even in school yet but will be attending next year... bless

first and second grade cheersquads...

japanese drummer boys...

the japanese drum... and here i was thinking it was just an arcade game!

after a costume change, it`s time to get those legs warmed up for the marching band procession...

the marching band...

the solitary image of the piano kazoo girl...

despite their exhaustion and the heat, the kids were still smiling

pressure mounts as the first graders prepare to battle it out for the title of Giant Ball Chasing Champion... you could practically taste the tension...

it was red all the way until right at the finish line where the white team put their little legs into high gear...

who knew senior students were learning yoga?

the pinnacle of school acrobatics...the human pyramid

the final event of the day and undoubtedly the most prestigious, the relay...

both the white and red teams drew on points so for the first time in the history of Araki Elementary school, the outcome was a draw... the solemnity of the cermony is evident is the captain`s faces...

Peter St Days

2006-09-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

This goes out to the Melbourne Massive crew who made my time up until leaving for Japan one of the happiest, drunkest, funniest times of my life... i fucking love you all!! and to think it all started and ended in Peter St... in the end, when all is said and done and everything else goes to shit, we`ll always have Peter St... FLUCs

THE START OF IT ALL... HOUSE WARMING @ 2 PETER ST

welcome to casa del peter street... we hope you enjoy your stay...

trev the terrible...

markoos and jessio...

the tall ones...

hoolies the original housefriend and markoos

don`t ask me where that dolphin came from or what it was used for...

amy-rose and kh looking very hot(house)

thirsty murkin and co.

markoos and amy-rose

diana... the third ingredient of the newly formed peter st family...

murkin and sundae in the times before the rubix crew of love... who woulda thunk it?

how very un-arty like...

Lady Sundae

yes it is my house and it was my housewarming but not only will i let you sleep in my comfy bed whilst i sleep on the floor, i`ll also help you take off your big heffa heavy boots... the things we do for our rubes...

one of the many faces of scotty `murkin man` carroll...

a mouthful of murkin...

time for beddybyes jessiepants...

always a sign of a good housewaming...

early morning game of wine chess...

witharty and i...

backyard cricket with one stump and a lemon...

looks like colin farell has kidnapped an animae obsessed thai fisherman.. the duke looking his classiest ever!

violated with chips... i haven`t eaten fish n chips since...

they did taste good though...

ESPY DAYS...
Now that bronty was back from taking on the world for the past 9 months, it was time to do what we did best... drink at the espy!

SUNDAY NIGHT BEATLES @ THE GEORGE....
some of the happiest times of the last year have been on a sunday night at this tiny pub... but what the george lacks in space it sure makes up for in atmosphere...

eddie, billy, stu and john- the foursome who made sunday nights so memorable

JUST ANOTHER HOUSE PARTY...

the beginning of a beautiful friendship... and yes you can see my tonsils if you like...

THE CNT & CANKLE DAYS...
what surefire way is there to de-sensitise yourself to the taboo c u next tuesday? play a game of coinage and make one of the rules that you have to end every word and sentence with CNT! what can i say, it worked wonders...

the cankle...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...
a night of excessiveness, too much beer and the best crew ever spoling me rotten and getting me severly drunk on friendship, amongst other things...

MY INVIGORATING LIFE AT ANZ...

i think my face sums up my feelings about work pretty well...

i think Scotty`s face sums it up even better!

MURKIN`S B`DAY & BRONTY`S FAREWELL
as much as we tried to stall time, it inevitably rolled around and it was time for our beloved bronty to venture back to europeland...

fluffy puppy in the kitchen

WAREHOUSE PARTY...
picture it. one huge industrial warehouse. one dj room with crazy lasers. another room with circus performers. another room for live bands. given that i was verbally coerced into going to this party, it sure turned out to be an awesonme night... and for more than one reason too...

me and fluffy puppy... my fave pic of us... awww

LAWN BOWLS & PETER ST SCHIZZLE...

YAZI`S B`DAY...
so the troops gathered at risey`s for a night of drunken debeauchery at the best rock bars in melb... cherry bar, pony and ding dong which was where we caught the five venoms making mince out of their guitars...

miss hanna and i

ranch dwellers...

.the proprietor of rancho relaxo himself, whitey the hoser...

and his sidekick jessiepants the librarian

ladies night at the manor de don...

with a scottish tiwst...

and a contemporary dance theme...

FAREWELL JESSIEPANTS...
with the end drawing nigh, it was time to break out the plastic cups and punch bowl for a final farewell @ peter st... same cast, same crew, a few guest stars and plenty of beer...

LAST DAYS @ THE ESPY
not only was this the last time i was to visit my beloved espy before departing for the land of the rising sun, but it was also my last sunday at the george with laura bel nome and tim tams...

MY LAST NIGHT...
being a sunday and all, what better way to end my night than with a final stint at the george?
NO BETTER WAY I TELL YOU!!!

the mother AND grandmother of half the band who comes every single week without fail, bops her head, sings along and quietly sips her lemon squash, gwen you are truly an inspiration! if it wasn`t for this woman, there`d be no sunday beatles!

speaking of her gransdon, eddie doing his dad proud by holding the fort that night... here comes the sun...

SUMMER SONIC 06`

2006-08-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

well well well, as it turned out one music festival just wasnt enough so to satisty my insatiable appetite for live music so when i heard that one of my favourite bands TOOL were headlining summer sonic festival, i really had no choice in the matter... really i didn`t!

the crowds start to gather in the swealtering city heat

the first act of summer sonic, 10 years. this is the lead singer who`s voice strikes an uncanny resemblance to maynard from tool... so much so that we thought we were getting 2 maynard shows in one day... such a shame

tiny little rock bubby enjoying the fun of the festival..note her personalised `summer sonic` nappie and her little bubby ear plugs? awwwwww

me in some black and white world where the only colour that exists is red...
either that or arlo did something funny to his camera setting...

let`s give it up for the melbourne massive.. THE CAT EMPIRE
you can bet that there was a large contingent of aussies here given that this was the only aussie band playing at the festival and not only the only aussie band, but the only MELBOURNE aussie band! yaaay! gee i love melbourne

hanging with the cat empire lads after the show...

picasso hanging with the cat empire lads...

tool

more tool...

maynard james keenan, vocalist of all vocalists and enigma unto himself...

adam jones, lead guitarist

justin chancellor, the bassist

danny carey... unfrickenbelievable drummer of our time!

me and matty may, an old friend from high school i bumped into who i hadn`t seen for about 10 years! go figure

matt m and matt... the much acclaimed light saber warriors and endorsors of japanese tea and vodka

who me? i don`t sweat, i`m a laaaaady

a dead fly. why did i take a photo of a dead fly? just cos

the new additions to my converse family... gorgeous aren`t they?

my magical sweat absorbing festval wrist band with thanks to one mr j schattner... thanks jase!

this guard has been inducted to the stars wars hall of fame as the man who not only condoned but also participated in the now historical `light saber battle of matt and matt`.. .he also let me steal his megaphone for a few minutes too... LEGEND!

train antics...

the girls look on in amusement as matt walks around with his girlfriend`s bikini top on his head, trying to get train patrons to drink straight vodka from a water bottle...

`look, it`s reeeeaallly refreshing, i promise, just try some`

honestly, would this face lie to you??

the end result of too many `refreshing` sips of vodka

DAY 2:
whilst feeling slightly hungover from the previous night`s debauchery, we were ready and willing with another bottle of vodka to help pep us up... hair of the dog as they say...

a view of the osaka city skyline and the open air stage...

little rocker baby sleeping soundly whilst the cardigans are on... doesn`t say much for their singing then does it?

its funny how you run into the same people... this guy remembered us from fuji rock and still had pics of us on his phone! bless

asahi with an asahi... i can`t figure out who`s named after whom but i have a feeling the beer`s been around a little bit longer...

me, mena and asahi before the deftones

metal madness

i love you mum!

so hardcore...

hi mum!

some friends we made on the way back from the deftones

i call it, `the graceful swan lift`

converse party!

i wonder who we`re looking forward to seeing?

and that`s all i have to say about that

the magically enchanting show of the flaming lips

the lips unleashing their balloons on the crowd...

picasso doing his best to imitate a blue balloon

at the end of it all... sweaty, exhausted but the happiest pixie in all the forest!

Ange's B'day Pics

2006-08-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

Cugini from both sides of the family gathered from all over Melbourne to celebrate cousin Ange's 40th birthday!

Sorry for the delay in posting these pics Ange, what can I say, I've been a busy bee!

Anyway enjoy the pics and happy birthday again! Hope you had a great night!

x

FUJI ROCK FEST 06'

2006-08-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

4 days, no showers, uphill battles to basecamp, sledging through mud, burnt by the sun, covered in sweat, washed down with a hose, lots of beer with too much head, emergency ciggies always on hand, little kids, big kids, crazy bands, punters galore, awesome food, pouring rain, but at the end of the day, i`d do it all again for the experience that was FUJI ROCK FEST 06

the fuji rock crew... me, giri, dom, picasso, lyd and lisa

fuji rock astro tent

martha wainwright... 'you bloody mutha fcking arsehole...'

me and XXtofferson...

the main stage...

buddah in the river...

giri looking as aussie as can be with dom's esky and his wife beater...

i love eating beer... mmmm

little mud wrestling festival munchkins...

not just rockers at fuji, but a plethora of families too! bless

bubble girl... she was my favourite little munchkin! her parents were even thoughtful enough to bring a little stool and her bubble mix for her... bless!

another little munchkin playing cards with his mamma...

festival siestas...

japanese style public toilets

the whiskey brothers... these guys befriended us at gnarles barkley by forcing us to drink their warm whiskey... ugggh

i guess it worked!

we call him, harry potternese. what an absolute sweetheart! but note the hand gesture... do you think he was secretly trying to tell us something??

DAY 2:
although most of the day was spent getting soaked in the rain, it eventually stopped. and although we were damp and muddy, spirits were high and we still caught the big acts...

chilling at the campsite..

the pimpinist fro and moe in all of japan...

the hives... 'i wan't everyone to yump around... come on everybody, YUMP'.
we only caught the last few songs but they were so energetic and they def got the crowd yumping!

the japanese love their rock

let's pick it up for the ballarat massive, dom and lisa... awwwww

did anyone bring the aeroguard?

we want chili willies, we want chili willies!

superdom

dom,lise and i at the chilis

fun in the mud...

scissor sisters...

the unbelievable tidiness of fuji rock organisers

DAY 3: THE END IS DRAWING NEAR...
after a day of rain, the sun came out and shone its lovliness on us!

more cute little festival munchkins! i want one!!

picsso, taco and i... we met him on our way to the loo and somehow endeared ourselves to him...

taco, picasso, dave, me and jen getting cosy... jen and dave were the ones who told us that tool were playing at summer sonic, bless!

our special friend, alby...

the first casualty of fuji rock.... r.i.p lovely white aviators

they fit well but the glare is still a bit strong...

many music loving people...

jack white's other band...

XXtofferson... or as i like to call him david copperfield... the reason being that he disappeared sometime on the last night, only to be found again in the bushes near the campsite??? it still baffles me...

one too many heinikens? never!

dom and picasso rocking out to the borings (the strokes)

the other casualty of fuji rock...r.i.p

the other other casualty of fuji rock.. r.i.p

the end result of 4 days of festivalling in the forest...

Japan...my first week...ish

2006-07-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

sayonara melbourne!

wide eyed and hopefully bound for tokyo

lost and homeless on the side streets of minami senju on my first day

a view of tokyo from afar

the joys of backpacks and subways

japanese crazy train!

junny and i in the bright neons of shinjuku

kanpai!

sashimi and sake...　my first taste of traditional japan

it`s now or never

me and the girls

kimono jess chilling at kimi ryokan

catching up on world events in the kitchen at kimi

meiji-jingu shrine in harajuku tokyo

japanese wedding-meiji jungu shrine

a new years wish thats been hung up at the shrine... i thought it was kinda cute

a street artist doing his thing in harajuku square

some of his work...pretty amazing stuff

i then asken him to draw a portrait of me and this was the end result.... see any similarities?

my tokyo godsend gerowyn and i embarking on a day trip hike up to mt mitaki-sen mountain... a mere 900 mts but it was all uphill and defenitely a battle!

we eventually made it to the top though... drenched in sweat and ready to explore the mountain top village

one of the lovely thatched roof houses... so much green around!

the shrine at the peak of mitake-sen... as you can see it was eerily foggy up the top and there was traditional music floating down from somewhere within... kinda haunting but lovely all the same...

jessie howser MD... for those of you who didnt know, i cut my finger 3 days before leaving for japan and had to get 6 stiches. when i learnt that the english speaking doctor had gone home for the day, i had no choice but to use the stitch cutter my brother gave me and remove them myself... it actually wasnt that bad...

OSAKA

mother and munchkin splashing around in a park in osaka

ginkakuju temple kyoto... took a day trip out in the swealtering heat to see if i could negotiate both lonely planet directions and the public transport system in kyoto... amazingly enough the #5 bus actually took me there! yay!

its kinda of like hanging out in mr myagi's backyard...but greener and nicer and there's no ralf machio there waxing on and off!

kyoto loves astro boy!

watching the fireworks in osaka... awwww

traditional japanese kimono ladies

...and not so traditional kimonos... this one reminds me of em... rasta japanese style!!

anyone for juvenile alcoholic advertising??

what about fishing fora goldfish? whatever fish you can catch in the net before it breaks you get to keep... certainly beats bobbing for apples...

making my way to himeji castle...

cruising around on free rent-a-bike with pack...

nice view of the apparantly impenitrable samurai castle...

a view from the top...beyond lies the city of himeji

the castle in its entirety... can you see me in this pic??

retro train, my fave so far.. kinda reminds me of a pair of old school trainers...

the curtesy and politeness in which the japanese line up for the train still astounds me...

more funny looking trains...

..and more...

...and even more...

my home for the night when i missed the last train to tokyo... a manga cafe where you pay by the hour to use unlimited internet, play station and dvd's... you also get to have free showers and use the vending machines for free drinks... not so bad but not ideal for a good nights sleep...

a top view of all the menga cubicles...

finally on my way to nariita for fuji rock with arlo picasso, his sister lydia and her husband giri after 2 measly hours sleep in the menga cafe...