Taiwan: Unfortunately, I do not have a single picture from Taiwan.. bummer. As much of my time in Taipei consisted of bars, I have graciously stolen the following photo to sum up my time there

[photo credit: mike chang]

Hong Kong: Hong Kong blew by quickly but I did take a few shots. Unfortunately, they are only of our hotel…

Island of Lights

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A Perfect Bowl

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Delicious home-cooked food. Fun at the izakaya. Late night video games. Late night street ramen. Awesome train ride back to Tokyo.

Good times.

Whiskey and Eggs

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Some things I learned in Tokyo:

• The subway is pretty darn convenient. Plus, I like the pleasant sounds that play when they arrive in the station.
• There are a LOT of Japanese people. This one is probably obvious, but when you are crossing the street in Shibuya, it is a little scary.
• You can drink on the streets. Why buy drinks at the bar when you can walk across the street and drink in front of 7-11?
• Tuna fish are big. I’d freak out if there were a bunch of these things swimming next to me.
• I’m not sure how Japanese people are as skinny as they are because I would be 10 pounds heavier if I lived there. The fried chicken they sell at Family Mart (kinda like 7-11) should be taken seriously.
• Only in Japan can you go to a bar called The Lockup and be handcuffed and served drinks with fake eyeballs in them.
• Abercrombie & Fitch is not a clothing store. It is a daytime club with guest list and bouncers.
• If you think getting a private karaoke room is fun, you need to try and get your own private virtual golf room.
• The streets are so clean. Problem is, you feel bad littering so you walk around for blocks with random trash in your hand and no garbage cans to throw it away.
• Tokyo is best enjoyed with friends. Thanks Atsuko for showing us around!

You Had Me At Hello

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Here are things we learned in Matsumoto

• Japanese people are really nice. This guy was going to walk 10 minutes with us to our Ryokan when we got lost. It took a lot longer to explain to him that he didn’t need to escort us
• Even when it is snowing and freezing, Japanese girls still walk around wearing skirts. Crazy.
• Did I mention that Japanese castles are really amazing?
• Not a big fan of horse sashimi
• The really old ryokan was surprisingly very comfortable, not to mention the shared bathroom smelled very pleasant.

Swans

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From Kyoto, we headed to Himeji for the day to check out the castle there and then back to a modern Osaka. Here are a few things we took away from these two cities.

• Japanese castles are seriously amazing. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves
• Riding bikes around Japanese castles is even more fun than it sounds
• It is really clean… everywhere
• Blowfish is not bad… and hardly as dangerous as the Simpsons makes it out to be
• Confused why they get small Japanese women to carry luggage to our room… it not only didn’t feel right, but she probably couldn’t even lift our bags anyway
• I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more neon lights in Osaka than in Las Vegas

Cruisin

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Here are a few things we learned in Kyoto:

• The Shinkansen (bullet train) is seriously fast
• Fresh mochi is really really good
• You tend to spend a lot of Yen when making wishes at different shrines
• Even if you lose your bus map, you can still find your way around Kyoto
• McDonalds in Japan serves Shake Shake chicken which is not only delicious, but fun to eat

I Like Gold

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P.S. For those that have been following my “weekly” photo posting, you might have noticed that I didn’t quite make it. Today is the last day of the year and well… I clearly didn’t fulfill my “weekly” goal. Regardless, I am going to cheat and continue posting into 2010 until I get 50. Happy New Year!

Jet lag is now in full effect. I can’t sleep anymore so I played with PhotoBooth to document my fun morning…