things i like about japan (redux)

[adelaidesean]

Given the relative imminence of Japan's first worldcon, I thought I'd dust off my old weblog of the time I spent in Nagoya for anyone curious about what might be in store for them. I've trimmed it a little, to reflect changed circumstances, but it's much as I originally wrote it. Brought back memories, too. I am hungry now for cake.

Comments

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Yes, showers! I'd forgotten them, despite a couple of weeks struggling with the weird system that Hilton Hotels use in the States. :-)

I didn't have much of a problem getting around without any Japanese language skills at all, but (a) Kim was doing a lot of that work for me, and (b) Nagoya is surely a lot less confusing than Tokyo/Yokohama. At least in the latter there will be a lot of gaijin who ight have a better idea. In Nagoya, they were occasionally very thin on the ground.

Another source of info on Nagoya is Tim Sinclair's excellent verse novel Nine Hours North. Here's a link:
http://tinyurl.com/epku2
He also managed to capture my break-up with Kim in six lines, something that took me months to work out even in retrospect. A wonderful read.

[shadowsandice.livejournal.com]

When I first arrived in Seattle after travelling for 24 hours, the shower in my hotel flummoxed me for 15 minutes. After wearing the same clothes a whole day, and having thrown up on the plane, and sweltered something horrid in LAX, all I wanted was a wash. I nearly called the reception for help, I was that desparate. :p

I'm assuming that after worldcon I'll be travelling on my own, and as I don't know anyone in Japan, I'm going to have to fend for myself. I'd rather not, all things considered, but better to be mildly prepared. I found a Horseback Archery Festival (!!!) that takes place in Kamakura on the 16th of September that I want to go to, and all the tours I've looked at seem to concentrate more on the big cities.