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Now out:
VJ Tokyo Neko
February 18, 2010 - Snow and work and a little fun
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My new bike is freedom. 1.25 bike trek to Shakuji Koen along the narrow and winding pathways along the "river". Fresh morning air (as least as fresh as it gets in Tokyo) Not a care in the world. Happy.My new bike is freedom. 1.25 bike trek to Shakuji Koen along the narrow and winding pathways along the "river". Fresh morning air (as least as fresh as it gets in Tokyo) Not a care in the world. Happy.
2 years ago
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finally able to categorize everything into subscriptions. :) please contact Klatcher with any technical details. will be helpful for all of us! :)finally able to categorize everything into subscriptions. :) please contact Klatcher with any technical details. will be helpful for all of us! :)
2 years ago
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Currently no Klatch has been posted.
Jaunt to Seoul
Well- in terms of photo/video documentation this trip is a complete failure. i arrived to the airport hoping to at least take photos and videos with a rented mobile phone. i was told by the LG rep that mail is impossible. calls only. WHAT!? even the calm people of Tokyo might riot if they heard that. I didnt riot, but I was pretty bummed.
Then yesterday, at the first tourist stop - Geongbokgung- my digital camera randomly died. low battery. dead battery. makes NO sense since I completely charged the batteries the morning before I left. The only conclusion there is that somehow my camera KEPT turning itself on during the flight (it has auto shut off after 3 min) I dunno. but finding batteries hasnt happened in all the running around. so, i have my lowly tourist camera with only 20 pics. ive missed SO much. and even if i manage some batteries tomorrow, theres been a lot of little things (like the Tomato Saving Bank -- would YOU save there with that name?) that I would have liked to have photographed..
what else? a guy taping carpet over a hole in the street...the fact that man-pulled CARTS are used during road construction. A kid inside the beak of a giant pelican outside the Converse store in Myeong-dong. Delicious nuts wrapped in thin rice noodles that dry - a blend of baklava taste and a spider's nest consistency. Tiny little alleys in Insadong. And oh MAN - i WISH I could have photographed the spa. I know I couldn't have but...
NOT TO BE MISSED - if you come to Seoul. Do the SPA! We went to Chunjiyun Spa in Myeong-dong. It helped to know some Japanese since hardly any English is spoken there. Went in around 4:30 and got out at 7. For 82,000 won (about 80$) you get sauna, bath (onsen - 5 hot baths, some with herbs like green tea or ginseng, or...murky other things that smell Asian..and a cold bath to cool off inbetween) a salt scrub, a cucumber mask and a light oil massage. Here's what it doesnt say in the guidebook -
Into the locker room: down into the basement and change out of everything. put on the robe and cap. dont forget the cap. i had to go back up for it.
Into the sauna. OMG. I walk around the corner and get handed a thick jute-ish rug. I look confused so the woman signs to me until I get it that its to kneel on. When that thought has barely soaked into my cerebrum, another jute-ish rug is thrown over my head so i cant see, and im shoved toward an oven...ahem..i mean traditional korean sauna. Its a huge white dome with brick on the top and a door you lift up. you have to crawl in. I hesitate as the searing heat slams my body. I hear a "hup hup". My butt is slapped and i totter forward into the sauna. the door slams. I cant breathe. I look out from under the jute rug and see someone else inside. Thank god cuz, i was about to FREAK. I kid you not. It was almost too much to take. I was drenched with sweat in under 30 seconds. the air burned my nose. I was literally scared for my life and has this tremendous instinct to run for the door. But the other woman was sitting there. So I sat there ..until she left. (1 minutes later?) and then...then i felt like i had to persevere. so i sat a bit longer until i could take it no longer. i was going to roast like a turkey at thanksgiving. i bee-lined for the door as fast as a squatting person with a jute rug over their head and most of their body can waddle. glory be- the door opened. i wasnt going to die. instead i was led into a cooler room with woodblock pillows. i was to rest. only later did i realize that this was also a sauna...but so much cooler than the traditional sauna. be warned.
after recovering for 20 minutes, i entered into the bath/ onsen. i stripped down to nothing, as normal for public baths, was handed an orange handtowel-sized rag and told to sit in a bath. got it. im in the hot bath, the cold bath, the hot bath, the dark green bath. and a good while later, im wondering when im gonna get that massage that was in the basic course package...
let make this part short - the language barrier made it long. instead of having the ability to ask about the massage stuff, i had to stand around looking confused until someone felt like coming over and dealing with me. and when they did, it turned out that 3 other ladies were waiting. number 2, and two 4's. I was three. lots of time spent looking for 1. More bath time for me. very relaxed. but then i was told to get on a table.
white, clear plastic covered tables in a big room. completely naked with another gal in the same situation. the treatment was carried out by a rolly-tummy 50 year old woman with short curly hair. her uniform was a black bra and black undies. and a orange towel tucked in the side of the undies.
i was washed off, and then salt scrubbed. and i mean SCRUBBED. every nook and cranny until red and raw (well, not THERE! you perv! ) but right after - it felt amazing. i showered again and then back on the table. completely covered by warm oil and rubbed a bit. flip. warm oil again and on my face. this followed by freezing cold cucumber slices pushed onto my face until my breath was stolen. relax. remove. rinse. and then - they shampooed my hair, tied it up. i was told to get up and shower and relax in the baths. and i did for another while until i was ready. another moment of confused and lost puppy looks got me pushed until the drying area - seats in front of a mirror. hairdryers, combs and brushes (the latter I dare not use!)
dressed and OUT.
omg, the bits were torture but the whole was amazing. so relaxed and ready for dinner.
we stumbled around myeong-dong for a big before deciding on outdoor seating across from a long row of Korean restaurants. Beer, grilled fish. Smile.
More from me later.
I have to be up in 6 hours to meet a tour guide. Im going to the DMZ in the morning. dont know what that is? look it up. you dont wanna go any more north of there ;)
Well- in terms of photo/video documentation this trip is a complete failure. i arrived to the airport hoping to at least take photos and videos with a rented mobile phone. i was told by the LG rep that mail is impossible. calls only. WHAT!? even the calm people of Tokyo might riot if they heard that. I didnt riot, but I was pretty bummed. Then yesterday, at the first tourist stop - Geongbokgung- my digital camera randomly died. low battery. dead battery. makes NO sense since I completely charged the batteries the morning before I left. The only conclusion there is that somehow my camera KEPT turning itself on during the flight (it has auto shut off after 3 min) I dunno. but finding batteries hasnt happened in all the running around. so, i have my lowly tourist camera with only 20 pics. ive missed SO much. and even if i manage some... more
having a blast in seoul. dont forget to go to a spa and eat everything you see. having a blast in seoul. dont forget to go to a spa and eat everything you see.
2 years ago
0 comments
Currently no Klatch has been posted.
i would like a 2 week vacation every 2 months. i think that would be perfect.i would like a 2 week vacation every 2 months. i think that would be perfect.
2 years ago
2 comments
[{"date":"August 3rd, 17:48","uid":"872160723","message":"Me too!"},{"date":"August 3rd, 19:27","uid":"138309612","message":"I would like a 2 month vacation every 2 weeks. "}]
As seen on this morning's run --
Cat - slender and sleek. gray/ tabby/ white. the kind with the short tail. trotted bravely in front of me with out a care.
Grandpas with bells- I suppose so we can hear them coming slowly at us!!
Sunshine- beautiful streaking through the cloudcover but deadly for heat. I just about died during the last 10 minutes.
The wall - how is it for you? my "wall" is not exactly physical and not exactly mental. And if I can push through it, the wall collapses and I have another log stretch of road to feel good before another one appears. I think I feel it just below my sternum. It's not a body tired, nor a cardio tired-- yet it must be a combination of the two along with a small mental nag about maybe walking or maybe cutting things short, or suddenly feeling like the run is long. But it only lasts for a couple of minutes and then after that i feel good. "Yes I can!" and "Dont be lazy" "go go go". I think these cliche and silly things, but it gets me through.
Cat - slender and sleek. gray/ tabby/ white. the kind with the short tail. trotted bravely in front of me with out a care.Grandpas with bells- I suppose so we can hear them coming slowly at us!!Sunshine- beautiful streaking through the cloudcover but deadly for heat. I just about died during the last 10 minutes.The wall - how is it for you? my "wall" is not exactly physical and not exactly mental. And if I can push through it, the wall collapses and I have another log stretch of road to feel good before another one appears. I think I feel it just below my sternum. It's not a body tired, nor a cardio tired-- yet it must be a combination of the two along with a small mental nag about maybe walking or maybe cutting things short, or suddenly feeling like the run is long. But it only lasts for a couple of minutes and then after that i feel good. "Yes I can!" and "Dont be... more
don't you cut me off at the turn on the wall or I will RUN YOU OVER! (message to annoying lapswimmers with no sense of lane etiquette)don't you cut me off at the turn on the wall or I will RUN YOU OVER! (message to annoying lapswimmers with no sense of lane etiquette)
2 years ago
3 comments
[{"date":"July 16th, 02:20","uid":"872160723","message":"Good thing I don't swim (actually I don't know how to swim)"},{"date":"July 16th, 05:23","uid":"2767106744","message":"add a little JAWS music and you could chase them right out of the pool. "},{"date":"August 16th, 02:02","uid":"971552197","message":"change into your sushi swimsuit, that will scare them off!"}]
Jewel of my Tokyo Summer
Shiba Koen Pool50 meters, outdoor. 2 roped lap and 6 unroped lap/ play lanes. Secondary Kids pool. Water temp: in the mid 70's F. PERFECT! You have to go down one roped lane and then return down the next making flip turns a pain, but dai jobu!
Open July 1 until Sept 15 with various holidays. 9am - 8pm Mom-Sunday until 9/1. Then just 9am -5pm.
400 yen for 2 hours. 10yen for locker that refunded when you return the key.
Clean and convenient. 5-7 minute walk from the Oedo Line Akabanebashi or Daimon Station. or 30 seconds from Mita line Shiba Koen station.
Not so crowded, surprisingly at 10-11 am on a sunny Sunday (today) there were only 8 people using 2 long lanes. Easy to pass slower swimmers too.
I now have swimsuit tanlines again. Hooray for summer! Hooray for outdoor swimming!
Shiba Koen Pool50 meters, outdoor. 2 roped lap and 6 unroped lap/ play lanes. Secondary Kids pool. Water temp: in the mid 70's F. PERFECT! You have to go down one roped lane and then return down the next making flip turns a pain, but dai jobu!Open July 1 until Sept 15 with various holidays. 9am - 8pm Mom-Sunday until 9/1. Then just 9am -5pm.400 yen for 2 hours. 10yen for locker that refunded when you return the key. Clean and convenient. 5-7 minute walk from the Oedo Line Akabanebashi or Daimon Station. or 30 seconds from Mita line Shiba Koen station. Not so crowded, surprisingly at 10-11 am on a sunny Sunday (today) there were only 8 people using 2 long lanes. Easy to pass slower swimmers too.I now have swimsuit tanlines again. Hooray for summer! Hooray for outdoor swimming!
July 2009
poodle Thursdays call for noise cancelling headphones. its on the shopping list.poodle Thursdays call for noise cancelling headphones. its on the shopping list.
2 years ago
4 comments
[{"date":"July 10th, 01:55","uid":"127446590","message":"or just many pairs of earplugs."},{"date":"July 10th, 02:13","uid":"872160723","message":"i highly recommend the noise cancelling headphone idea"},{"date":"July 12th, 11:22","uid":"2658551721","message":"yeah. im thinking about the headphones...but sleeping on ones side is a pain, literally, with headphones. ill just have to start on my back, i guess."},{"date":"July 16th, 05:19","uid":"2767106744","message":"I've slept with earplugs in. it is so weird. you can't hear anything. I'm used to the hum of the airconditioner or the ceiling fan. not when it is dead quiet. A barking dog will drive anyone bonkers."}]
As seen during the morning run
Clouds: like gray marshmallows swirling thick and dangerous in blue sky icecream, speckled with sunrise
Woman: in long pants and UV protection gloves smoking a long and thin cigarette. I thought her gloves must REEK after her "healthy" morning walk
Man: he always says "morning" to me. I always say "ohayo" or "gozaimasu" not sure which is more appropriate
Kids: maybe in 3rd grade. running short sprints in professional running gear.
Subway: I never noticed the subway station where I do my turn-around near the Summit Grocery. Dont know which one it is tho.
Clouds: like gray marshmallows swirling thick and dangerous in blue sky icecream, speckled with sunriseWoman: in long pants and UV protection gloves smoking a long and thin cigarette. I thought her gloves must REEK after her "healthy" morning walkMan: he always says "morning" to me. I always say "ohayo" or "gozaimasu" not sure which is more appropriateKids: maybe in 3rd grade. running short sprints in professional running gear. Subway: I never noticed the subway station where I do my turn-around near the Summit Grocery. Dont know which one it is tho.
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