I pretty much wandered through the French concession for a day and a half or so. It was nice and… leafy. I like leafy streets, and they tend to be in short supply in this half of the world.
I came down with a nasty little head cold on the morning of my departure, but have so far avoided provoking an international quarantine incident. This has limited my picture-taking and, for that matter, what I can remember to blog about (see above summary for an example).
Review of the Shanghai airport maglev, in three key words:
1. Cool.
2. Whoa. (this is the part where it goes 268 mph)
3. Over? It just started…
The flight to NRT was good, considering the cold, because I got an aisle exit seat without even asking. I think it might have been pure random luck, because it looked like they had printed all the boarding passes beforehand. Maybe the consolidator bookers at elong are just extra-devious.
Arriving was pretty painless, despite an answer to the question about cash holdings that made me look like an international drug runner (I brought all my big bills of left-over foreign currency to change). The hostel seems decent.
Why can we not steal these nifty Japanese household tools? Shower doors that do not let a drop of water past, drains that do not clog, automatic lights where they make sense… sigh.
I have spent the day wandering around Ginza and Shinjuku (so far) with my mouth hanging open. Maybe it is the cold, or maybe the rumors of Japan-caused befuddlement were all true. It is hard for me to explain why, without the use of a healthy mind or the apostrophe I cannot find on this keyboard, but things are very (subjectively) weird for me right now.
It looks like finding accomodations in Kyoto is going to be major trouble. I may have to base myself in Osaka.
Smoking policy is weird here. It is banned on a lot of streets and allowed in a lot of private businesses. Maybe this is what Hong Kong was aiming for.
Cough, ok, back to wandering around. Cough cough.
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