|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday 25 May
20:51
The Washington Hotel in Tokyo, where we stayed for the evening.
|
Wednesday 25 May
21:42
Actually this is St. George's Bar at the Hilton in Tokyo. I found out to my absolute joy that they have a special arrangement with the SWMS, giving their members a discount, and, better still, selling some of their bottlings there.
|
Wednesday 25 May
21:42
Even better still there was a very good jazz band playing - this was absolute heaven for me!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday 25 May
22:28
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, as seen at night.
|
Wednesday 25 May
23:09
Finding all the restaurants nearby had closed, we instead went back to our room to eat, having stocked up at the conbini on the ground floor of the hotel.
|
Wednesday 25 May
23:09
Me enjoying some Asahi and this very nice Korean nori stuff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday 25 May
23:22
I was actually trying to get a picture of the telly here. It's that bloke (apparently called Matthew) who is often to be seen on Japanese TV, and appeared in Lost in Translation.
|
Wednesday 25 May
23:55
Shinjuku by night, as seen from our hotel room window. Took several pictures from the window, but this is the only one that wasn't too blurred.
|
Wednesday 25 May
23:55
This and the rest were a bit too blurry...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
13:30
Whilst Chie was at an interview, I thought I'd kill time with a return visit to the rather wonderful Shinjukugyoen (Shinjuku park/gardens), for which I have developed something of a soft spot. Here, the English park style bit.
|
Thursday 26 May
13:34
The view from where I spent some time sat down, in a nice shady spot...
|
Thursday 26 May
13:34
...slightly different angle from the same spot...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
13:35
Here's me in my shady spot.
|
Thursday 26 May
14:43
After sitting down on the grass for a bit, I thought I ought to go for a bit of a wander around. So here's one of the lakes...
|
Thursday 26 May
14:43
...the same lake again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
14:47
...the flowers in the French bit...
|
Thursday 26 May
14:47
...and some more flowers.
|
Thursday 26 May
14:56
This is taken from inside the sort of Taiwanese house place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
14:57
...and again in landscape (I think I preferred portrait).
|
Thursday 26 May
14:57
Some typical components of Japanese gardens here...
|
Thursday 26 May
14:58
Similar view to the earlier one, but I felt like getting some rocks in too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
15:09
Further along my wander round I encountered this little forest of weird alien looking stump things.
|
Thursday 26 May
15:22
One of the bits I hadn't seen on my previous visit.
|
Thursday 26 May
15:22
There appeared to be some sort of photo shoot going on here...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday 26 May
15:23
The photo shoot craftily glimpsed at from the other side of this lake.
|
Thursday 26 May
18:19
A random train taken on the Shinkansen a while after leaving Tokyo.
|
Friday 27 May
13:26
The map of the way to Yamazaki distillery, where we decided to go today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
14:19
The road to Yamazaki - my first glimpse of the distillery.
|
Friday 27 May
14:23
There it is across the level crossing.
|
Friday 27 May
14:23
Oh and there's another building too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
14:36
Inside the visitor centre, shelves packed with sample bottles.
|
Friday 27 May
14:37
Erina and Kitichan in the rather nice warm glow given off by all the illuminated bottles.
|
Friday 27 May
15:06
The stills, taken during the tour of the distillery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
15:07
It was very hot in the still room, and superbly there was a sort of haze of alcohol in the air!
|
Friday 27 May
15:07
The spirit safe.
|
Friday 27 May
15:16
Down in the cellar a lovely array of Yamazaki barrels.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
15:16
...more barrels.
|
Friday 27 May
15:35
Taken during the tasting bit after the tour.
|
Friday 27 May
15:40
Me enjoying a nice straight glass of Yamazaki (I forget the age now).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
15:40
Chie, Erina and Kitichan, none of them particularly mad keen on whisky.
|
Friday 27 May
15:43
...luckily soft drinks were on hand.
|
Friday 27 May
16:42
There were two other English guys who happened to be on the tour at the same time, and naturally we got chatting - so here are my new found friends Dominic and Simon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday 27 May
17:40
Was intrigued by this odd bit of graffiti seen on the way back to Dale and Erina's flat, after leaving Yamazaki.
|
Friday 27 May
17:40
A random picture of a tunnel thing, on the way back to Dale and Erina's flat.
|
Friday 27 May
21:30
Later on that evening, after Dale got back from work, a nice picture of the family eating dinner (gyoza).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday 28 May
13:07
A heron posing for a picture in Kurashiki.
|
Saturday 28 May
13:07
Chie suggested it would be nice to get a picture of the heron with the surrounding foliage etc included.
|
Saturday 28 May
13:08
A very typical picture of Kurashiki. A sort of Japanese Venice, or Bourton-on-the-Water, I suppose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday 28 May
13:17
A rather bizarre shop, elsewhere in Kurashiki.
|
Saturday 28 May
13:53
On a recommendation from Chie's Mum, we had lunch at this pizzeria in Kurashiki called La Cenetta. The pizza here was very good indeed - the best I've had in Japan, and of a quality that would be easily acceptable even in Italy.
|
Saturday 28 May
13:54
Chie thought it prudent to get a close-up of the food itself. Again, very good. The service here wasn't great by Japanese standards (a bit slow, and almost a tad unfriendly) but in my opinion the quality of the food more than made up for this.
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday 28 May
14:16
Chie outside La Cenetta.
|
Saturday 28 May
14:19
A bizarre and random picture of some Japanese English (and Japanese French) on a sign elsewhere in Kurashiki.
|
