I’ve spent the last 5 days or so laying in bed, taking it easy at home without leaving the house. Let’s just say for someone like me… I got pretty stircrazy!

I despise being sick, mostly because it keeps me from doing all the things that I love to do!

Short and sweet photo post today.. I wanted to share with you some of my photographs that I’ve taken while traveling abroad. Laying in bed made me dream of traveling again and everything I love about seeing new places.

Nice, France

Barcelona, Spain

Rural Japan

Seoul, Korea

New York

Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Lisbon, Portugal

I’ve plotted out all the places I’ve traveled so far on this map… still so many places I want to see!

Of course, nothing compares to home… and while I do love traveling, I will always be a Vancouver girl, a West Coast girl. Living on the West Coast… there really is no places like home…

I’ve finally had a chance to post this up after many weeks… I hope you enjoy my little recap of my adventures trying to find surf in Japan. I only had time to do a day trip in Japan, so this isn’t a good guide for week long adventures in Japan… but if you happen to be out there and want to make a quick trip out to the ocean for some waves, then read on!

I’ve posted this picture before. This is Shonan, near Kamakura. The waves roll into this bay and clean up quite a bit. The downside is, it is super crowded and the waves are usually smaller here compared to the exposed side on the ocean. I do recommend you check it out if you have time though!

The first step is to plan out your route. Most people will be coming from Tokyo. Your goal is to get to the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. In my case, I was coming from the Hamamatsu-cho station near the Tokyo Bay hotel (where I was staying for work). Your best bet is to go up to the information counter and purchase your one-way ticket to the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. You will have to likely transfer at Tokyo station, and then catch the rapid train out to Ichinomiya. I paid around 2,000 yen ($25 or so) for the entirety of my one-way ticket out there (and the same coming back).

Once on the train, you’ll keep going east out of Tokyo, passing many cities, skyscrapers, housing developments, parks, and even cemeteries.

Eventually you’ll be further and further out of the city and you’ll see more rural landscapes, such as fields and forests and more traditional-looking houses.

You’ll pass through the Chiba prefecture and you’ll want to get off at the end of the line, which is the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. If you want, you can connect here to the Torami station which is a bit closer to the surf schools. Unfortunately, I didn’t get off there but I probably should have.

Once you’re out of the station, orient yourself and make sure you’re travelling East towards the Ocean. There’s a long road that goes straight to the water. In my case, as soon as I got out of the station I turned left, crossed railroad tracks, and past a few businesses. You’ll also pass a Surf English language school on your right. If you hit this, you know you’re going the right direction.

I found myself on a beautiful palm-tree lined road with fields on either side. So serene.

I stooped down to take a photo of this little wooden structure… it caught my eye in the tall grass.

After about 30 minutes of walking, I re-assessed my sitation and decided it was best if I hitch-hiked. I knew it was going to be about an hour more of walking according to the GPS on my Blackberry, and I didn’t want to waste any time in my day since I had to catch my flight home the next day and didn’t want to get back too late. I stuck my hitch-hiking thumb out for about 15 minutes before a very cute older Japanese woman picked me up in her beaten-up white farm truck. She gestured at me in both a friendly and impatient way and so I ran over to her and got in the truck. In Japan, people drive sitting on the right side of the car, so sitting on the left sure felt weird! We weren’t able to communicate very well since I spoke no Japanese and she spoke no English. All I knew how to say was Hello, Goodbye, Please, and Thank You, and “Ocean”, “Surfboard”, and “Wetsuit”. That wasn’t enough.

She drove me all the way to the ocean (Bless her heart!) and I understood that she was saying that there were 3 main surf spots in town. She showed me spot number one.

And then spot number two.

And then I was finally able to communicate to her that I didn’t have a wetsuit or a surfboard and I needed to rent one. So she dropped me off at some of the surf stores in town. I walked along the road going into every store, but no one really spoke English and I was able to discern that they didn’t do any rentals and didn’t know anyone that did.

I kept walking and finally came upon the Surf Garden complex. Up the stairs to the left (very hidden) is a gym… (yes, a fitness centre), and surfboard rentals. LOL! What a strange combination.

I had a strange conversation with the man running the shop since he also didn’t speak English, and was able to eventually rent a wetsuit and board for the day for 6,000 yen, about $70. Expensive, like everything else in Japan. But still worth it!

He called a girl downstairs to come help him, and she spoke more English. She was a complete angel, and made sure I had the right size wetsuit and was even able to find me a board I liked… a 7′8″ expoxy board in nice condition. They even lent me some flip flops.

I was stoked.

Then they led me across the street and pointed at the forest and told me to go through it. I asked them twice to make sure I was hearing them right, but they assured me there was ocean and surfing through there. Check out my video.

It was a leap of faith but I ran through the forest and over some bluffs and sure enough, I saw waves. And even a couple surfers, but not crowded at all.

So I grabbed my board, ran out, left my flip flops right on the beach like all the other guys there (no one steals ANYTHING in Japan, apparently… one guy even left his cellphone there)… and started surfing.

It was a little mushy, it wasn’t a huge day, or as epic as they say it is normally there, but it was a great vibe and I had a blast surfing in Japan.

After a few hours I came back to the shop and they even had a little indoors shower for me. Awesome!

I hung out with my new girl friend and we talked about Japan, about Canada, and about surfing. What a different life. So strange to see someone just like me, living the same dream as me but on the other side of the world.

We went down to the bar to have a drink, and only after I had ordered it did I realize that I had spent every single yen I had on the train and the rentals. I had nothing to my name, and they didn’t accept cards anywhere there. So my new friend talked to the manager and he was nice enough to comp my drink and even offer me food if I wanted. I took lots of pictures together with my new friends.

She even offered to give me a lift back to the station… and no matter how many times I declined, she insisted. So I got a ride all the way back to the station in town. What a sweetie. I can never thank her enough. I gave her my card and told her to call me when she visits Canada one day.

Back on the train, the sun is setting and I’m driving by all sorts of sights I didn’t notice on the way there. The tankers, the ships, the ports… even Disneyland!

We went right by a giant Ferris Wheel too.

Finally back in the city I’m craving some food, so I stop by the very busy Shibuya station to get some ice cream from the Stone Cold Creamery. I wait in line, listen to them sing old 50s tunes while sculpting and mixing toppings and ice cream on a ice cold stone slap. A delicious way to end the day.

Surfing in Japan. I’ll never forget it!

Here’s a map for reference:

I feel so much better today. As many people have been blogging about lately, there’s something about November that makes us feel down and maybe on edge. I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and have had to come to terms (again) with who I am and the people I want to surround myself with. I know that good friends are invaluable and hard to come by, and my plan is to surround myself with people who I love, and people who love me. A couple interesting things that have come across my my path…

First off, for you Vancouver Canucks fans, there’s a film showing this Monday, November 10th at some Cineplex and Landmark theatres (not all, so make sure you check before going) called “Forever Faithful“. It profiles Canucks fans and their passion for the team. The trailer looks really good. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it since I’ll be out of town in Tofino this weekend, but I’m definitely planning on picking up the DVD. You can read the Canucks press release here. Let me know what you think if you go see it!

Also in video game news, THQ is yet the next video game company to have significant layoffs. Their new “strategic” plan is to close down 5 studios, including Paradigm Entertainment (Stuntman, Pilotwings, Spy Hunter), Mass Media (Full Spectrum Warrior), Helixe (De Blob), Locomotive Games (Destroy All Humans!), and Sandblast Games. Wow. Not looking so rosy in both the publishing and development side of games right now. Basically, these cuts are going to eliminate about 250 jobs, which is 17 percent of all studio employees.

I finally managed to go through a few more of my photographs from my work trip to Japan. These ones are from a day trip that my boss and I did out to Kamakura. It’s really beautiful. We saw a number of different Buddhist and Shinto shrines, and climbed many hills and stairs, and walked across a long bridge to an island to climb up even more stairs… but it resulted in an incredible view.

Those aren’t Swastikas, they are religious symbols in Japan. Street signs on the way to Kamakura.

Beautiful pond

There were thousands of these statues everywhere. And the interesting/horrific part… each of these statues means there was an abortion or miscarriage. Japanese women would come here and place one of these statues as an offering or a prayer. The sheer number of statues in the temple made my stomach flip.

Bamboo at Kamakura Temple.

Flowers at the temple.

Praying Statues… very cute. I wonder how old these are. I wonder if “cuteness” is something that existed in Japan long before Hello Kitty and the like

Deep red Japanese umbrella…

Scariest spider ever! These guys were just hanging out everywhere. Made my skin crawl just trying to be close enough to it to take a good photo!

The largest Buddhish statue in Japan.

Flowers on bamboo. It was so neat to see so much bamboo everywhere.

The Bay at Shonan (view from the top). A long hike to get here, but it was worth it. We were also able to see a number of surfers in the bay. I already put up a photo of this in my previous post.

So there are surfers in Japan! My first hint that I wasn’t delusional to go surfing in Japan. These guys were surfing at Shonan, and I was planning on going out to the coast at Ichinomiya, but it was still rad to see all these older guys getting on their motorbikes and heading out to the surf.

And another Japanese surfer! It seems like the motorbikes/motorcycles/scooters are the preferred method of transportation for surfers in this area. I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable hitching my precious board to a bike!

Japanese surfing ad… neato!

Fancy eating octopus? These were being sold on sticks everywhere. The vendors would grill them for you

It’s a different way of life out here, than it is in Tokyo or Vancouver even…

Shinto shrine… so serene.

Each of these are prayers.. they are tied to the fence.

I felt like I was at the end of the world..

That’s it for now folks. I’m off to Tofino for the entire (extra long) weekend for some late season cold surfing, so I’ll be back on Tuesday. See you then.

We’re finally on the last leg of our trip. On Thursday night we flew into Tokyo, Japan. It’s very different from Korea and definitely overwhelming.

The airport was awesome. Duty free electronics! Where do you see that anywhere else? Seriously discounted DSLRs, mini computers, MP3 players, harddrives, everything. And no tax. Gahhh what a deal. I decided not to buy anything since I wanted to save my money for actual Tokyo but now I kinda regret not picking something up after seeing how RIDICULOUSLY expensive everything is in Japan.

On our drive from the airport to our hotel, I was informed by my boss that 7-Eleven convenience stores were owned by this Japanese company. Weird. It’s strange seeing 7-11’s everywhere. Oh yeah, and the steering wheel is on the other side in Japan and cars drive on the left.

In Japan, it seems to be that there are a lot of celebrities doing B-list ads. I suppose they are getting paid a lot and figure that the general North American market won’t ever get to see this stuff. It’s hilarious. Tommy Lee Jones of all people advertising a canned coffee drink on the top of a building. These particular billboard is all over Tokyo. It’s strange.

George Clooney apparently doing an ad for Honda. Saw this one in the train station. WEIRD! They don’t really interact with any of the product, it’s usually just a picture of their face.

Our hotel is the Tokyo Bay Intercontinental. I actually liked our hotel in Korea a lot better, especially since this one doesn’t have as many amenities. And the buffet isn’t nearly as good. But it’s a pretty nice hotel, especially for Japan since rooms and hotels are normally pretty small (and expensive) here.

It’s nice to have a high tech toilet that has a heated seats and powers up (vroooooooom) whenever you sit on it, but it’s also weird. Also — don’t press the buttons. EVER.

The subway and train system in Tokyo is ridiculous. It’s huge. There’s so many different lines, some above ground, some below, and some high speed (bullet trains). It’s hard to know where to go, especially since it is almost always fully in Japanese. Good thing I have my boss with me, and he’s lived in Tokyo before so he knows where he is going.

Pretty much everyone takes the train in Tokyo, and people walk everywhere. I always can’t believe the women that are wearing 5 inch high heels and are walking everywhere, climbing stairs, and don’t look tired at all.

We went to Shibuya, where there is a huge intersection. I think it is the largest intersection in the world? (Supposedly). Anyway, it’s huge and overwhelming and definitely a good place to start in Tokyo!

We wandered around. There’s a strange mix of Japanese and North American in downtown Tokyo. There’s also so many people. That combination makes it very surreal.

We went into Tokyo Hands, a big department store in downtown Tokyo. They have just about everything and anything you could possibly want. They carry both Japanese and foreign products. How about a Star Wars R2D2 USB hub, or a humping dog USB hub?

I came across this section in Tokyo Hands and couldn’t resist snapping a picture. Boot stands! Why haven’t I seen this anywhere in Vancouver? (I’m sure it exists, but not as cool as these!) I’m going to pick up one of these to baby my Michael Kors boots. The only question is, which one to get? So many to choose from.

The title says it all.

We did a brief visit to Akihabara, the technology/computer/geeky/roleplaying district. There’s all sorts of gadgets everywhere that you’ll never find anywhere else. You can also find bins of computer parts, and video games everywhere.

There’s a ton of manga and comic book stores, some “safe” and some very pornographic! (Hentai)

Need an extension cord?

We only spent a little bit of time there, so I’m absolutely going to be coming back to this area. I still need to win this maid doll from the arcade, that I failed in grabbing with the “crane machine style game”. I don’t know why I want this so bad. I feel like it is a good representation of Akihabara and therefore a good souvenir. The advertisement tells me that she has “realistic feeling” breasts. LOL. Creepy.

Probably the most cliché post title ever, but hey, it works.

Tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for a plane to Los Angeles, California. I’ll hop off the plane and go straight to a business presentation at one of the satellite offices for the video game company I work for, and then out to meet some friends from university for a drink. Then, it’s off to Seoul, South Korea Friday morning for an all-day flight. I arrive with my boss Saturday night in Korea and then it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for work and meetings at our other office in Korea. Fly to Tokyo, Japan on Thursday and then meetings on Friday and the following Monday at our Tokyo office. Finally, I’ll head back to Vancouver on the Tuesday. Phew! Two weeks of travel for work!

Table in a boardroom in one of our offices

It’ll be really neat to see how our studios operate in Asia. It’s a completely different way of doing business and completely different culture. Especially for video game companies — video games are so big in Asia. The gaming cafes are huge and omnipresent, and video game companies are large and plentiful. I’ve been working on learning Korean, but I can only read and write the basics, and speak a few phrases to get me by. Unfortunately I haven’t had time to pick up Japanese, but maybe that’s something for the future. I really enjoy learning new things. Hangugo-de chogum hasuisimnida! (”I can speak a little Korean”, in Korean)

I’m also excited for the opportunity to take photographs. I’ve never really been to Asia, so it’s going to be an inspiration. I’ll be bringing my laptop and Blackberry for work, but I’ll be writing some blog posts in my free time as well. I hope you don’t mind this Vancouver girl blogging a bit about different countries

Apologies for the bad photos, I didn’t have my cameras on me — only the Blackberry. Tonight I had my send-off dinner with Allan and we went to West Restaurant, one of my favourite restaurants in the South Granville area. It’s part of the Top Table group of restaurants, which owns/operates some of my other faves (Araxi in Whistler, Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown, Cin Cin on Robson, etc). Whenever I go to West, I always sit at the Chef’s Table, which is right beside the open kitchen. I love seeing the chefs prepare my food, especially being such a fan of the cooking shows. The Top Table group of restaurants prepare the most amazing sour apple martinis (my favourite of course), but I really love the one they have at West. The little cutout apple pieces are adorable and the martini is always cold, refreshing, strong, and flavourful.

To start I had the aged risotto with shaved truffle (check out Chef Warren Gerahgty shaving it in front of me), and Allan had the seared scallops. For mains I had the halibut with frog legs and chorizo (surprisingly good, and not pretentious), and Allan had the lamb. We shared the chocolate tart with saffron meringue. Mmmm so delicious!

Anyway, I haven’t even packed yet. It’s been so busy leading up to this trip so I better get to it. I’ll try and check it often with photos and stories from the trip.

Annongygese-yo! (Goodbye!)