Shopping At Outlet

We've been to Woodsbury today. I shopped a lot as you can see. My hands are all sore after a whole day holding the shopping bags. There are stuff from The Gap, Ralph Lauren, Armani Exchange, Guess, American Eagle, Converse, and Levi's.

We spent the whole day at the outlet and at the end of the day I really felt what "shop till you drop" meant.

Which shade of purple should I buy? :-D

The Royal Wedding From NYC

We came a few hours ago. The flight went well. The hotel is at 51st/8th Ave. We went out for some food hunting immediately after we had checked in. Went by Times Square. It was crowded as usual. Some new stores since the last time I was here. The big Virgin Megastore is replaced by Forever 21.

Tomorrow's gonna be an early morning day as we are going to Woodsbury for some outlet shopping so we are now back at the hotel after dinner.

Anyway, we didn't miss the Royal Wedding. :-D

Android Is Ready To Play

Stay tuned: Feb 13, 2011, 18:00

Blogger Blocked

Google-owned Blogger is blocked in China-land. :(

 

Beijing Huan Ying Ni!

It was only two weeks ago I came back from Tokyo.

Now it's time again. Sitting in my luxurious hotel room

at Kunlun Beijing right now after a too big dinner.

 

We landed in Beijing around noon today. We went

straight to the office. We had a quick lunch and then

we held some presentations for our Chinese colleagues.

 

Taxi is so cheap here, around 1 yuan per minute.

 

Later!

Work, Work, Work

I've been working long days during the week.
Monday -- Friday was pretty much 9:30 -- 22:00
every day. That sucks!

Today I went to Harajuku and Shibuya for some
shopping. It was very hot!

I think some colleagues and I are going to
Kamakura tomorrow if it's not raining.

Oh. And by the way. I have bought some more
matcha during the week. :)

I'm Here Again!

Yepp, I'm in beloved Tokyo once again. This time it's
for business. I'm staying at the Grand Prince Hotel New
Takanawa. The room is bigger and has better standard
than the Shinagawa Prince room I stayed at last time I
was here for business, but it's a little bit further away
from the office though.

Shinagawa Prince is bigger and has more facilities.
Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa has two pools.
This is one of them.



I landed in Tokyo around 9:30 this morning and came
to the hotel around 11.30. The room wasn't ready yet,
so I sneaked out for a quick lunch. The temperature is
around 30-35 degrees Celsius and it is quite humid.
It is apparently their hottest summer in 30 years!
Luckily I had a pair of shorts with me, but I wonder
if it is OK to wear them at work. They are always so
well-dressed over here.

After check-in I allowed myself an hour of power-nap
before heading to Ueno park for a slow stroll. This
pond here was filled with withered leaves and garbage
last winter when I was here with Christian, and now
it is filled with lotus plants. Quite different.



I had time for a little walk in the Ameyoko bazaar
before closing time 19:30, but I felt done at that
time already anyway. Have to get back to the hotel
and get a night of good sleep. I have to be fit for
fight the rest of the week. I'm not here for pleasure.



Matcha stuff I bought today. I guess if matcha's one
of the ingredients, then it must be good. :)

From Tokyo with love!

When At Home...

We came home yesterday. It was a great short trip actually. Rome surprised me with its beauty. But you should really love pasta and pizza, otherwise it can be hard to find something else when you want to go eat somewhere fast and easy.

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Picture Updates

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The Colosseum

We've been to The Colosseum, Forum Romanum and The Palatine yesterday. It's great to see all the ancient buildings and ruins.

Rome must be the most beautiful city in Europe when it comes to ancient architecture and fountains. The best of all is that everything is within walking distance. There is always something to see regardless of where you walk.

It has been very hot everyday and I really can't recommend this time of the year to travel to Rome. Otherwise it has been great, even with all the German Christian teenagers invading Rome at the same time.

We've been shopping today. Quite bad city for shopping.

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When In Rome...

... sweat a lot.

Magnifico, beautifullo, impressivimo.

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Manhattan View From Empire State Bldg

Danny is over there now so I'm a little bit nostalgic. This is from Road Trip 2008.

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Jigsaw Lamp

What do you think of my new lamp - a jigsaw lamp from Thailand?
Bought it a few years ago, just haven't had time to assemble it,
but now it is up and it's beautiful

Miyajima

We have been to Miyajima, 10 minutes by ferry
outside central Hiroshima. What a nice island
with beautiful nature and nice hiking trails. Deers
walk around the island as they wish and they
are more or less tame and seeking human interaction,
mostly because of food, but still. :)

Sorry, no picture updates since the HD on our computer
is full so we can't sync our cameras with it.

We will be leaving Hiroshima tomorrow for
Himeji and Osaka. We will be staying one night
in Osaka and then return to Tokyo for a final
night before leaving Japan after 3.5 weeks.

Picture updates when I get back home to Sweden.

Hiroshima

Left Kyoto. We are now in Hiroshima for two days.
Today we've been to the Peace Memorial Park and
Museum. Quite a beautiful park and a very informative
museum. Quite sad story though. :(

Peace!

Updates

Januray 2, 2010 - Emperor's New Year Greeting
This day we went to the Emperor's New Year greeting
at the Imperial Palace. Common people are allowed
into the palace area twice a year - December 23 when
it was the emperor's birthday, Januray 2 when the
emperor wished happy new year. Aiko brought some other
friends as well.


Happy goers to the Emperor's greeting.


The royal family.

Afterwards we went to a Daruma market. You're supposed to
make a wish and then paint one of the eyes. When your wish
becomes true during the year, you paint the other one.


Darumas in all sizes.



It was dusty, ey!


Januray 3, 2010 - Leaving Tokyo
We left Tokyo yesterday and are now in Kyoto. Kyoto
has a lot of temples, so we've been temple hopping
yesterday and today. People walk around in traditional
Japanese clothes. Don't know if they do it year-round or
if it is due to the new year.

Pictures coming later...

Picture Updates

A cup of matcha latte in the morning is good for you. :)



Sensoji temple in Asakusa.



Roppongi Hills at night.



Sumo boys. It is the name of the band this guy and I started.



A tree with beautiful yellow leaves.



At Engaku-ji temple in Kamakura.



Aiko showing me how to clean my hands before entering Daibutsu.



Daibutsu, i.e., Big Buddha, Kamakura.



On new year's eve we went to Oedo Onsen Monogatari to wash
away our sins. :) Here I am eating a green tea ice cream in
my sexy yukata.



Ay! Small fishes, come eat my feet...



At Tokyo Tower on new year, 2010.



Group photo.



At the Zojo-ji temple in Shiba, Tokyo.



Shiny happy people in a way too small club in Roppongi
with way too many people. We could hardly move.



On the train to Ueno Park the day after the new year party.
Japanese people sleep on the train, so I figured, why not try it?

New Year In Tokyo

We have been back in Tokyo for a week now.
We've been sightseeing and shopping a lot.
My bag is already overweighted.

The day before yesterday, Aiko took us to see
some sumo training. It was one of their last
training sessions before the big tournament in
the beginning av January. We were allowed to
observe their training if we promised not to
disturb them. Afterwards we went to Kamakura, about
one hour outside Tokyo, for some temple/shrine hopping.
They were all very beautiful.

Yesterday in the early afternoon we went to Odaiba to
go to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari where everything was
Edo-styled. One could easily spend the whole day there
since they were open from 11 pm -- 9 am and they had
restaurants and all. It was a good and clean onsen.

In the evening for new year dinner we had some sushi
with Candela and her friends in Roppongi. Afterwards
we went to Tokyo Tower for the new year count down.
The last minutes of 2009 the lights in the tower were
all turned off. Then a lot of small lights started blinking.
When it finally was a new year a big sign with the digits
'2010' got lit up. Everybody that was there cheered
and wished each other a happy new year. And that was it.
No fanfare, no fireworks...

New year in Japan is quite different from our new year
celebration at home. New year is really about stillness
and contemplation. Every family eats soba for dinner.
It symbolizes longevity and a long life. After that,
they all go to a shrine or temple to wait for the clock to
strike 24:00. It is considered good to get the first prayer
of the year.

We went to the Zojo-ji temple near Tokyo Tower to watch the
celebration. What's special with this temple is that they
let a bell ring 108 times to symbolize our 108 sins and passions
(I think). People has been queueing early in order to be
the lucky ones to get to ring the bell. We didn't went in
the temple main hall since the line was quite long.

After the temple we went back to Roppongi to go clubbing in
a latino club called Copa Cabana. Some other friends of
Candela joined and we were quite an international group -
people from Sweden, Japan, Argentina, Australia, and Lithuania.
It was quite expensive - 4000 ¥ including two free drinks.
It was a tiny little club and they let in a lot of people so
it was very crowded. We could hardly move. It was latino music
the whole night. We partied 'till after 4 when everyone
got tired. The trains were running the whole night, but not too
frequently.

Today, new year's day, Tokyo is quite dead. Only a few
shops and department stores were open. Some of them are going
to have big sales tomorrow. Not every restaurant was open
either, but there is still a lot of them open so no fear
to get hungry at all.

Christian and I went to Ueno Park for a promenade. We ended
the walk at Ameyoko market and took the train back to Gotanda.

Some Picture Updates

About one week ago in Lund, Sweden.



In Tokyo Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I love this garden.



Santa Claus has come to Harajuku by bike.



In Harajuku. Yes, it's a man.



Karaoke with Håkan and Jeanette.



Having dinner in Otsuka. From the right: Jeanette, Aiko, Håkan, Christian, and me.



At Shurijo Mae in Naha, Okinawa. World heritage.



At Shikinaen Royal Garden, Naha, Okinawa. World heritage.



Great swimmer, bad user of fins and snorkel. :-D



Snorkeling at Zamami island, Okinawa. Me on the left and Candela on the right.



Look at the water! Look at the color!



Sailing with Henry-san. He was so nice!



Sunset over Aka island, Okinawa.



Sleeping at a Ryokan in Aka, Okinawa.



At Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The world's second largest aquarium. One of very few aquariums that keep whale sharks in captivity.



The world's largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 metres by 22.5 metres with a thickness of 60 centimetres. They had three whale sharks!!!



A manta ray.



Nemo and his friends.



Mini nemos.



Beautiful pink little fishies...