Diary

January 31, 2005 - Monday

Quite a strange feeling this morning. Woke up and no Patrik in the living room. I guess he was sleeping in his own bed in Sweden. Otherwise no unusual things happened. Life was back to normal again.

January 30, 2005 - Sunday

Woke up and got ready to drive Patrik to the airport. I was driving to the airport. Lucky. No traffic. Stopped at Doutour to buy breakfast which we had in the car on the way to the airport.

At the airport Patrik had to wait for a while to check in. Meanwhile Chie and I waited and watching people. I saw a group of Japanese girls that looked excited. I wondered why and started to detect... After a while I concluded that they were waiting excited for some rock start looking guys behind Patrik. My conclusion was based on that these guys were looking strange - one had a pink fluffy jacket with a black skull on it and another was dressed totally in black including his colored hair - and the girls were waving at them and they were waving back.

To detect some more I sent out one of my most trusted and competent spies. Chie detected that the it was indeed a rock band they were waiting for. Called Negative. The conclusion was based on that many of the girls had a CD with the name Negative. We followed the progress of the band and their fans while waving Patrik off.

When Patrik was gone we went back to detecting the rock band. They were now occupied with signing CDs, hugging girls, and trying to look cool and manly in a pink fluffy baby suit when you are thin, have long hair and look like a girl.

Anyway, we got tired and drove back home instead. After an hour and a half or so we got back home. I checked the Negative on the web and it turned out that they were from Finland - this was a confirmation that my other spy (Patrik) had detected (based on that they were talking Finish). In Finland they seemed to be the latest big band, selling gold with their first single and latest CD. I have never heard of them but here you can read for yourself Negative.

In the evening I and Chie went to Ebisu to have a dinner with Chie's mother and brother. His girlfriend was there too, and so was Yoshiki-san. The dinner was nice. Japanese dishes. Yummy.

January 29, 2005 - Saturday

Today was the last real day for Patrik in Japan. We woke up quite early to make the best of the day. First we had breakfast. Yogurt, bread, cheese, orange juice.

After breakfast we took the subway to Tsukiji for a visit to the fish market. Walking pass all the small restaurants and small shops for fish and other Japanses food. It took about 10 minutes to walk from the subway station to the fish market.

When we entered through the main gate we almost got run over by about a million trucks, motor cycles, and people running with lorries full of fish. It felt like the traffic rules ceased to be when we passed through the gates. Left traffic became any-side-traffic and the right of way was taken by the most brave man.

After five minutes we overcame the shock and managed to cross from the gates to the BIG building where the fish market was.

Walking around in the fish market is amazing. So many fishes of kinds you cannot imagine. Some you can recognize, but most - it feels - are just new to you. After a while we had had enough of impressions. A rest was necessary. We walked around outside the building and then we returned to the subway to go back home.

At home we had a rest before we went to Shinjuku. Patrik wanted to check some more camera equipment before going back to Sweden. He found what he wanted at about a 25% lower price. Guess what he did? Yupp, bought it.

We also had time to create a postcard from the pictures on Patrik's camera's memory card. They had kind of vending machines where you could insert your memory card, CD, floppy, DVD, you name it. Then from some menus you could select the style of printout you wanted and then select the picture(s) you wanted to print.

About 2 minutes later and 50 JPY less in your pocket you had a quite good printout in your hand. Patrik choose to printout in a postcard style with a collection of 6 pictures. He chose some from Kyoto.

Around 5 pm we had to go to Ebisu. We had planned to meet Chie there for a dinner. As you might have noticed - if you've read this diary the last week - Patrik has not yet had a sushi dinner. The last day in Tokyo was his last chance. So we went to a sushi restaurant in Ebisu.

For two hours or so we had various kinds of sashimi and sushi. Aji, maguro, chu-toro, o-toro, hamachi, aburi-toro, fatty salmon, and many others. We were totally full when we finished our miso soup - which you by the way eat as the last dish.

Despite being full we decided to go to Red Pepper for a desert. The plan was to share a desert. For some reason we ended up with one desert each. Patrik and I had passion fruit sherbet, chocolate tart, strawberry mousse, and a new chocolate pear tart. The last one was on the house just for us to try. It was not on the menu, but since Chie is a regular here they treat her and her friends as VIPs. Chie did have a grappa for desert.

It was all delicious - well I cannot say anything about the grappa but looking at Chies expression it, too, was good. The strawberry mousse and the chocolate tart I had had before. But I think I liked the passion fruit and the new chocolate pear tart even more. Yummy.

After that we rolled back home. Relaxed. And after a while, when the most acute feeling of being full was fading, crawled into bed.

January 28, 2005 - Friday

Day 2 in Kyoto. The last day. Woke up early and went out on our hunt for temples and shrines. First stop was the Heian-jingu. A big red temple.

Outside the temple was several police cars, and bomb cars, and... Some kind of parade a little bit further away. Anyway, we had the chance to spot a police car that would make any Swedish police green in the face by envy... A Mazda Miyata police car.

Our hunt for treasures continued. Next up was the Ginkaku-ju or the Silver temple. Established in 1482 by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eight Muromachi Shogunate. It was a really nice temple located in secluded area, calm, and surrounded by beautiful nature. In the garden was also a lot of sand shaped in various forms. This was the inheritance from the Zen culture.

Before we continued our journey through Kyoto we stopped to have a rest. Some coffee for Patrik and some hot chocolate for me.

Then we walked to the Nanzen-ji temple. Last time I was here I went to the Zen gardens. Now Patrik and I went to another garden. We spent quite some time there taking photos from all directions of the building and of the waterfall.

our pursue of Kyoto temples continued by a short walked to the Chion-in temple. Here we did not enter. The main thing is the gate. It is the biggest temple gate in Japan. And indeed, quite big it was.

The last stop of our hunt was the Kiomizu-dera temple. From Chion-in it was a 20 minutes walk or so. Through old style Japanese buildings. Here and there we stopped to take some photos. Slowly making our way up towards Kiomizu-dera.

Just outside the temple was a monk apprentice of some kind standing, chanting, asking for a donation. What can you do? We did as most people and ignored him. Who knows where the money goes, huh?

We climbed the stairs up to the temple itself. From here we had a great view of Kyoto - the view is the best thing with this usually crowded temple. We followed the main flow of people and entered. Continued around and exited 15 or so minutes later.

Now we were tired everywhere. Feet. Body. Head. Soul. So many things in such a short time. We walked to Kyoto station and dropped down in two chairs at a Starbucks. Sitting, reading, drinking hot chocolate and coffee, waiting for the train. 40 minutes before the train was departing we left Starbucks to buy something to eat on the train. Patrik went for a sandwich and juice. I went for the Japanese style with a dinner box filled with rice and fish.

Usually business travelers buy this type of boxes and a beer on their way home after a business trip. OK, this was not a business trip but who would know? 2.5 hours later we were back in Tokyo.

January 27, 2005 - Thursday

Woke up quite early in the morning to catch the Shinkansen bound for Kyoto at 7:01. Not a big deal if we should miss it either since the next train departed at 7:18 and the next at... And the next... So many trains.

We had got tickets for Nozomi, the fastest of them all. And most expensive. Actually, the other Shinkansen classes are not slower in terms of top speed, but they stop at more stations. Our flight... I mean train was Nozomi 171 at 7:01 am and at about 9:25 am we arrived in Kyoto, about 400 km away from Tokyo.

Just a short note before we continue with the trip to Kyoto... Kyoto (京都) means capital. The first kanji is the same kanji as in Tokyo (東京), which means east capital. Before Tokyo was the capital it was named Edo and Kyoto was the capital at that time.

That was short about the history. So at about 9:25 am we arrived in Kyoto. And what better things to that early in the morning than having some tea and coffee. So that was what we did.

Then we found bus 205 from stand B3 that took us to Kinkaku-ji. This was the bus recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book. However, as we later found out, the 101 bus from B2 is an Express Bus and much more convenient than the 205 bus.

After a long ride we arrived at the Golden temple - Kinkaku-ji. We paid the fee and went inside. Compared to when I was here with Robert last summer it was less crowded now. Unfortunately there were no snow, but the views were quite nice anyway.

When we finished watching the Golden temple we went back to Kyoto station. From there we walked towards the Sanjusangendo - the 33 columns shrine. It contains one thousand and one (1001) Buddhist deity. Thousand statues are standing and one is sitting in the middle of them. These statues are made of Japanese cypress and was quite impressing to see. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos.

Then we continued to walk through Gion - old style Kyoto with a lot of restaurants - made a loop back towards the Kiomizu-dera temple, through other parts of Gion, passed art museums, a zoo, and Heian-jingu temple to our ryokan - Japanese style hotel. We checked in and rested for a while.

Just before dinner time we went out again. Walking to the Nanzen-ji temple. We had dinner at the Nanzen-ji Junsei restaurant. Yudofu. A dish that Kyoto is famous for. The main dish is tofu which is boiled in a hot pot of water. We also had sashimi, tempura, and other Japanese dishes. It was yummy, but a little bit painful... Japanese style rooms means that we sat on the floor made of tatami-mats.

After dinner we were to exhausted to do anything else but crawl back to our ryokan. Fall into our beds. And sleep.

January 26, 2005 - Wednesday

Went to the office in the morning. Then I met with Patrik in Awajicho. Showed him where the sports shops are located. Had lunch. And went back to the office.

In the evening we went to a ramen restaurant - Misoichi - to have a delicious ramen. With a lot of garlic. Just to make sure we will have a lot of space in the Shinkansen train tomorrow. We are going to Kyoto.

January 25, 2005 - Tuesday

Went to the office in the morning. Had Japanese class from 9:30 am. After the class I worked for an hour or so before I left to meet Patrik in Roppongi Hills.

He had been walking around the Imperial Palace since around lunch time. I guess he enjoyed staying outside in the nice weather. At least it was nice in the morning.

When we met in Roppongi Hills it had started to get cloudy. We still could get a view of Tokyo Tower - 333 meters high. Actually higher than the Eiffel Tower - someone said. After watching and taking some pictures we continued inside the Ropping Hills complex. Checking some stores.

Then we continued to Ginza and the Sony building. Here we checked the Sony store for all their gadgets. HD TVs, HDDs, DVDs, MP3 players, CD players, head phones, and other things. Patrik bought a noise canceling head phones for just under 8000 JPY. In Sweden they are about 30000 JPY. I bought a pair of batteries for a camera. Cheap ones.

Then we continued to Kamiyacho to get a closer view of the Tokyo Tower, and to meet with Chie after her job. Closer to the Tokyo Tower it looked... Bigger. And as it got darker it looked... More shiny. We took some pictures and waited for Chie.

After Chie quit for the day we got on a train for Harajuku and dinner. Tonight we had a reservation at Tonpo, a Chinese restaurant. Mina-san joined us and we had a few hours dinner trying many dishes that you cannot find in a Chinese restaurant in Sweden. Yummy.

Ooh, I almost forgot... Before we got to Tonpo we stopped at a pet shop in Harajuku. We just passed by and it looked a little bit strange so we entered. It was actually not a pet shop but a shop for pet clothes, or dog clothes. A whole shop just for buying clothes for your dog. What about that? I guess Japanese dogs are cold.

Passing by this strange store made us hungry. And, as I already wrote, we went to Tonpo to have a dinner after that. And after the dinner we went back home. Quite late around 10:30 pm.

January 24, 2005 - Monday

Office in the morning. Research meeting at 10 am. Not so interesting - especially when it was conference championship in NFL this morning - but I had to go. After the meeting I worked for half an hour or so more and then I went to Ginza.

Outside my favorite store in Ginza I met with Patrik. Oh, you might wonder about my favorite store. It's the Adidas shop. Unfortunately almost all their things are made in China so I guess I have to reconsider it. Anyway, I met Partik there.

We checked some shops in one of the department stores - Mitsukoshi. Then we found a place to have lunch. Patrik had Niwatori-hitsumabushi, chicken, rice, and some kind of soup based on chicken bullion. I had chiken-karage or fried chicken, and miso soup.

After lunch we went to Bic Camera. Another of my favorite stores. We walked around Bic Camera watching flat screens, DVD/HDDs, PCs, digital cameras and all other things they have that can make a beep or blink in blue, or green, or red. When we got tired - just after Patrik had bought a battery for hiis camera - we had a coffee (Patrik) and hot chocolate (guess who).

We finished our drinks outside and continued to the international forum. Here we entered an exhibition about the human body. It's called Mysteries of the Human Body and is quite macabre. Human bodies where the flesh is cut open so you can see the inside (check Jintai). Bent. Opened. Twisted. Removed. Sliced. 45 minutes later we were outside again summarizing the exhibition with one word... Bizarre.

Next stop was Akihabara electric town. We walked around for quite some time just watching the shops. Some we entered to have a look, but most we just passed by. Too many shops. Too many things to look at. Too many people. Too many neon signs. Our heads started spinning from all the impressions.

Then it was time to go back home for dinner. We caught a JR train on the Yamanote line, going all the way back to Meguro. 15 minutes walk from Meguro station and we were back home again. Tonight was Shabu-shabu and we did not want to miss that.

January 23, 2005 - Sunday

Woke up quite late in the morning. Had a Japanese style breakfast with grilled fish, rice, miso soup, nato (fermented beans), ume-boshi (sour plum), spinach and fried tofu, minced meat and spinach like vegetable, and mushroom and small dried fish called jacko.

Right after breakfast (brunch) we got ready to leave for the Sumo tournament. We were a little bit late so we caught a taxi to the Meguro station. Then JR train to Akihabara where we changed to go to the Ryogoku station. Just outside the JR Ryogoku station is the Sumo stadium.

When we arrived there we almost collided with a big sumo wrestler getting out of a car. He was on his way to the tournament. I did not recognize him so he was not one of the most famous one. But big.

Inside we got seated and watched the opening ceremony. The east team with their colorful skirt like dresses got presented first. Then the west team. Then the yokozuna had an opening ceremony and the final day of the tournament could start. The first games are not so interesting - the worst wrestlers of the tournament - and we payed not much attention. Took some photos and waited for the final three matches.

One of the most popular wrestler had so many sponsors for his match. He usually has that. They carried 16 flags around the ring before the match started. Each flag is worth 20000 JPY, which is about 1500 SEK. The popular wrestler - I don't know his name - had a show before the match started. The other wrestler was not ready to start and aborted and it was used for the show off by the popular wrestler. But... the popular wrestler lost the match... He always does.

Then finally it was the final match. Asasuyori (yokozuna) wrestled another guy. Before the game started they carried about 45 flags around the dojo. The winner would take it all. Around 900000 JPY or 60000 SEK. Asasuyori was too strong and won easily. He was un-defeated and won the whole tournament.

Then we were hungry again. Subway back to Naka-Meguro. Quick walk to Yasaka. Where we had a great dinner for a few hours. Eating Japanese style BBQ. Grilled squid legs, grilled quail eggs, grilled sea shell, grilled chicken, semi-raw chicken with wasabi, grilled chicken liver, rice ball, and many other things. After the dinner we rolled back home and went to bed.

January 22, 2005 - Saturday

Picked up Patrik at Narita around 11 am. Then we drove back to Tokyo. An easy ride since it was almost no traffic. Quite unusual.

After Patrik unpacked and had a shower we went out again. Shibuya. It is quite a lot of young people in Shibuya. Especially during weekends. I thought it could be fun to watch. We spent an hour or two walking around in Shibuya, watching people.

Then it was time to take the train to Ebisu. We met with Chie and three of her friends at Red Pepper for dinner. The last western style dinner for Patrik this week. Like a farewell-to-Europe-and-welcome-to-Asia dinner. We talked and ate for a few hours before it was time to go back home to get some sleep.

January 21, 2005 - Friday

Friday again. Last work day of the week. And tomorrow Patrik arrives from Sweden.

In the evening Chie and I finished watching 24. We had a pizza delivered home. Then ate it in front of the TV watching 24. But not until we had finished cleaning. You have to clean before you have guests visiting.

January 20, 2005 - Thursday

Work, work, work... In the evening Chie and I went to a sushi restaurant in Naka-Meguro. The same that we went to just before Christmas. It is quite cheap but good sushi for the price. Hmmm... I say sushi but in fact we usually have a mix of sashimi and nigiri. The nigiri is a common name for anything that has rice, for instance the traditional sushi and rolls and... Anyway, yummy.

January 19, 2005 - Wednesday

Busy at the office. Have started to test my model by implementing. Takes some time to get into programming again.

In the evening I stayed up far too late. Watching 24. Only a few hours left now until the whole 24 hours have passed. Phew. Fortunately the third season is on its way.

January 18, 2005 - Tuesday

After office today I got some great help from Chie with my presentation for the Japanese class. We are supposed to make a presentation in Japanese and it is a little bit tricky to say the things that I want to say.

We were recommended by the teachers to make a presentation about our home country, but I found that too boring for me. I do not learn anything new and it is not so fun making the presentation. So I made up a story instead, using some real facts about Sweden but twisting them a bit.

It's a fairy tale about four brave men on a journey in a magic land. This land is so cold and dark that only few people have chosen to live there. The natives dress funny, can ski in the summer time, and live in houses made of snow and ice. And basically it is about the trekking I did with Patrik, Håkan, and John a few summers ago. We started out in Sulitjelma, passed through Padjelanta, and ended in Rago national park.

January 17, 2005 - Monday

The day started out with a research meeting, ended with watching 24. And in between the lab visited Makino Milling Machine. A milling machine manufacturer that built the first milling machine in Japan, the first machine center and the first FMS.

January 16, 2005 - Sunday

Woke p early. Playoffs again. The morning started out with a game between Jets@Steelers. Within the last 2 minutes Jets had a chance for a field goal... But their kicker missed. Then Steelers QB - Roethlisburger, or something like that - threw an interception. Jets got a new chance for field goal. Miss again and overtime. Ended by field goal by Steelers.

Next game was between Rams@Falcons. Falcons QB - Vick, almost like the one you take when you have a soar throat - is an upcoming star. One of the most athletic QBs in NFL. Halfway through the game it looked like Falcons were going to win... And so they did.

In the evening Chie, I, and Yoshiki-san went to a Korean restaurant in Gotanda called Chegoya. It was quite OK. Not the best Korean restaurant I ever been too. And not the best atmosphere. But quite OK.

January 15, 2005 - Saturday

A cold day. It was supposed to snow in Tokyo, but it didn't. Stayed inside all day long. Started to watch 24 where I left off before. Exciting.

January 14, 2005 - Friday

Had a chat with Patrik on MS Messenger just before my weekend started. It felt quite good that when my weekend was just about to start, Patrik had a whole work day ahead of him before his weekend could start.

January 13, 2005 - Thursday

Hmmm... A Thursday and not much happened. Office. Dinner. Stretching.

January 12, 2005 - Wednesday

Today I found a better dictionary for my Palm. And, to no surprise, it was a freeware. Great software even though it is a 0.3.2 version. But it works the way I wanted. It has a simple trainer also, so that you can add some words to a hotlist that you can randomly go through and practice.

So after office hours I got back home and added the words for the next Japanese lesson. I thought I could practice on the subway instead of reading a book. Anyway, before I forget it, you can find it the dictionary at the PAdict homepage.

After that it was dinner time and then the second day of Wharton's stretch program. It is quite hard work. Not at all like traditional stretching. The whole point is to use opposite muscle groups to stretch the by then inactive muscle or muscle group. Kind of a workout while stretching. I guess it is not called active-isolated stretching for nothing. Have a look at Wharton Performance.

January 11, 2005 - Tuesday

Not much happened today. The Japanese class started again. And it was fun but difficult to get started again.

After work I was looking for a rope, first in Awajicho at L-Breath, the outdoor store and then in Meguro. But I could not find what I wanted. I only found a 30 meters rope in Meguro but I only need 2.5 meters. Now you may wonder what for... I have started on a new stretch program to increase my flexibility. The Wharton's stretch. And a rope is needed for some of the stretches.

I actually started out with the program yesterday. Measuring the flexibility in some of the joints. Today was the first day for serious stretching. Without the rope I had to manage with rope in a bathrobe. A little too short but manageable.

January 10, 2005 - Monday

Surprise, surprise... Today was a national holiday here in Japan. Meant no office today. Which meant playoff football. Minnesota@Green Bay and a big win for Minnesota. And Denver@Indianapolis. Indianapolis crushed the Denver Broncos. The first half ended 35 to 3 in favor of Indianapolis Colts. The second half they hardly played at all. Result? 24-49.

Chie cooked a Chinese dish which took several hours. Pork which first needed to boil in water. Then fry in a pan. And then finally steam. The result was a tender pork which tasted great.

For desert I made apple and cinnamon ice cream. It tasted quite well, but I prefer the strawberry ice cream that I made before. So I go for that the next time.

January 9, 2005 - Sunday

Yihaaa. Playoff. St Louis@Seattle, St Louis won. NY Jets@San Diego, Jets won. I half watched the games and setting up my Plam for Japanese dictionary use. It took a while. but now I finally have a portable Japanese dictionary.

January 8, 2005 - Saturday

I got three deliveries today. One from Amazon. Three books that I ordered. I also got a late Christmas gift from my father and his family. And finally I got my Palm T5 that I had ordered a long time ago.

It went a trip to Hawaii and ended up at a dive shop called Green Dolphin. I finally found that out after some detecting. Then it took a while for the owner, who by the way was Japanese, to send it to Japan. Anyway, it arrived today.

January 7, 2005 - Friday

Friday again. I like Fridays. So much to look forward to during the weekend. Wildcard playoffs in the NFL for instance. And some books from Amazon that will be delivered tomorrow.

January 6, 2005 - Thursday

Continued to work on the paper with Professor Kimura. He writes and I am doing some figures and some refinements of my models.

Today I got a new desktop also. I have no idea why I got it, but Professor Kimura bought one. I think it is because he needs to spend some money that he got from JSPS for my project. Since I have not used much of it I think he invests it in things that can be useful. Anyway, I had problems running Pro/E CAD on my laptop/notebook, but that should not be a problem on this monster.

January 5, 2005 - Wednesday

Back at the office after the holidays. Had a lot to do since I help Professor Kimura write a paper. The deadline is on Sunday.

January 4, 2005 - Tuesday

I decide not to go to the office today. Why? Because for most companies this was still a holiday. Instead Chie and I went shopping. As did about a billion other people it seemed. I wanted a new Gore-Tex like jacket for skiing and trekking. My old one is... Well, old... And broken.

After some shopping in Ginza and Shinjuku department stores we finally got L-Breath in Shunjuku. L-Breath is an outdoor equipment store that is quite nice. o far I know of one in Shinjuku and one in Awajicho. Today I went to the one in Shinjuku, as I already written. Anyway, I found a Millet Gore-Tex XCR jacket at a 30% reduced price - last day of the new year's sale.

Back home I threw away my old jacket. OK, I have space in my storage room for it, but why save an old and broken one?

January 3, 2005 - Monday

The last day of the new year's holidays. Relaxed all day. In the afternoon. I watched Troy on DVD. It was quite a good movie. Better than I had expected. But how fun is it when you know how it ends?

Anyway, we have quite a lot to thank the old Greeks for. Like the naming of a lot of things... And since this movie is still in my mind all I can think of now is Trojan horses and Achilles heals. OK, these are not good tings... But still, the naming is from the old Greeks. OK, to be honest Troy may not have been Greece either but...

January 2, 2005 - Sunday

Yet another day of sunshine. Cold (below zero) in the shadow but warm in the sun (above zero). You could tell because the snow did not melt in the shadow but it did so in the sun. Quite elementary, my dear Watson.

Anyway, it was a day like made just for walking to the shrine. And today there were almost no people at all there. I got a tiger to protect myself this year too. It looked really happy in the sunshine. But I think mine was ill already... The color was not as bright as the other tigers.

Going to the shrine and walking back took two hours. But it was a nice walk in the wonderful weather. And, best of all, it justified a nap when I got back home.

For dinner was sashimi. And for the sashimi, of course, wasabi. For anyone that did not know what wasabi was - before they read this - it is the green spicy paste you have for sushi and sashimi. And it does not come from a tube or a can. It comes from a root thing. Well, you can have a look at the root thing on one of the pictures.

January 1, 2005 - Saturday

The sun was shining today. Had a plan to walk to the same shrine I visited a year ago. Started out but I only had summer shoes on and it was wet and cold from the snow. Soon after leaving the house my feet were wet and cold too. Had to go back. Took the car instead and stopped by Yaoko to buy some better shoes.

Then continued to the shrine. At the shrine it was chaos. So many cars. So many people. Decided to come back tomorrow instead.

For dinner it was sushi. Kind of tradition for New Year. And I helped making it. Also kind of a tradition. Anyway, it was yummy.