Kushimura

A yakitori restaurant in Roppongi serving delicious skewers of chicken or vegetables cooked over a charcoal BBQ.

17/20 food (taste) : unbelievable it’s so good

14/20 food (selection) : fairly wide range of options

15/20 staff : friendly and helpful, and they spoke English

15/20 atmosphere : pleasant music playing in the background but our seating was on stools yet it did give us an excellent view of the cooking

14/20 price : ¥4000 each isn’t cheap but it seemed reasonable considering how much we ate and drank

75/100 total : a well deserved “distinction”

My favourites were the chicken wings, asparagus wrapped in bacon, and the capsicums (peppers) filled with cheese and also wrapped in bacon.

Kim*

Azabu-jūban | apartment living

Frijoles

Just because I’m living in Japan doesn’t mean I’m limited to eating only Japanese food.

Frijoles is a Mexican-style fast-food chain although not really in the same style as McDonalds or Taco Bell. Basically burritos & tacos, as the sign (below) says.

12/20 food (taste) : tasted OK although it could benefit from being a hotter temperature

07/20 food (selection) : limited options

14/20 staff : very friendly and they spoke eigo (English) quite well

12/20 atmosphere : familiar music playing in the background and fairly comfortable seating

11/20 price : ¥890 appeared to be similar to other lunchtime prices in the area

56/100 total : a “pass” but far from scoring a “credit”

Kim*

touchdown

Touchdown at last!

The night flight from Sydney to Narita, Tokyo was smooth and uneventful.

The food was good and fortunately the flight was far from full so I had a couple of seats to myself to stretch out my legs. I even managed to get about 5 hours of sleep on the 10-hour flight.

My first impressions of Tokyo are:

Clean. Orderly.

Vending machines. Smoking booths.

Polite. Respectful.

Cars and trucks and buses on the LHS of the road.

Surgical face masks. White gloves.

Police and security.

Quiet, empty roads. Toll booths.

Baseball field. Rice paddies.

Western-style numerals.

Rural becomes industrial.

Very tall high-rise apartment buildings.

River. Bridges. Canals.

City peak-hour busy but moving freely.

External fire escapes.

Metro. Railways.

Crowded living. Tightly packed.

All-in-all it feels a lot less chaotic than initially anticipated. I think I’m going to enjoy it here!

Kim*

counting down the days

OK. So now the countdown really begins. Admittedly it has been a while since I posted anything to the blog. But I’m off again travelling the world and seeing the sights.

Only 5 days until I head over to Tokyo, Japan!

I will be living there for a total of three months so I expect it will be a wonderful opportunity to learn the language, meet the people, discover the culture, and take some great photographs.

But I’ll let you be the judge of the latter.

Kim*

Kowloon

We land in Hong Kong but choose to visit Kowloon this time after deciding against finding a hotel for the day. A short sleep and a refreshing shower would have been nice but we should have organized it in advance to ensure an early check-in time and a good price. The Ramada had a room on wotif for HK$850 a couple of days earlier but when we ask the hotel desk in the airport they quote us HK$1300 minimum.

After dropping a couple of bags at Terminal 1 on level 3 (where they charge HK$10 per hour per piece with a maximum of HK$120 per day) we catch the airport express into Kowloon. We have been told the area around the Gateway Hotel is good for shopping and the girls are keen to see what there is to offer.

A free shuttle bus service gets us the last few blocks however once again we find ourselves in the area that caters for the big spenders. The likes of Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton are doing a brisk trade in this vibrant city of commerce. So keen are the shoppers that they are made to queue outside as you would a nightclub on a Saturday night.

What’s more fascinating is how the the opulence of these big-ticket retailers stand in such stark contrast with the small-end of town; the countless sole traders spruiking their wares in tiny shops that are like holes in the wall. The Indian tailors are especially keen and are on every street corner handing out business cards, eager to get your clientele.

Look up and you’ll see apartment buildings towering high above, some with laundry hanging out to dry in the shadow of an enormous billboard. This place is intense and despite being a small island, is much too big to see in one day.

Whilst the girls are off shopping, the boys do a lap of the local area and then find a place to eat. A Japanese restaurant, HIP Katsu looks a good bet.

When we hook up with the girls a couple of hours later we are starting to feel the effects of jet-lag and so after they have a quick bite in one of the food courts we return to the airport for an hour or two of shut-eye.

Kim*

HIP Katsu

A Japanese restaurant in Kowloon near the Gateway Hotel building, on the corner of Peking Rd and Canton Rd, serving very good food.

Red tea arrives piping-hot shortly after we’re seated and although the view is OK, the soft, leather bench seats are comfortable and give us a pleasant respite from the frenetic pace of the city’s hustle and bustle.

We both order a prawn tempura bento box with a sashimi salad and drinks yet are unable to finish it all.

Excellent value by Sydney standards at only HK$270 for two people.

Kim*

All Seasons Lyon Part Dieu

Our hotel is conveniently located a stones-throw from the train station, Gare de la Part Dieu in Lyon, where we will depart from tomorrow as we embark on our return journey home.

The hotel, part of the Accor group, is brand-new having been recently opened just a few months ago. The staff are friendly & helpful and speak excellent English.

Our room is clean and decked out in relatively hip and funky wallpaper and curtains. However, the room facilities are minimalist with only a TV provided. No room safe or minibar fridge and the space is fairly small compared to others we have experienced. Still, it does the job of ensuring a good night’s sleep with double windows blocking out any noise and the double sofa-bed permits four to sleep in the one room.

The now mandatory free Wi-Fi doesn’t function inside our rooms but works fine downstairs in the lobby and restaurant area.

A more than adequate petit dejeuner is also complementary including toast & pastries, meats & cheeses, cereals & freshly-squeezed orange juice, fruit & fruit salad, and the must-have morning coffee!

All-round a good hotel though not as fun as others we have enjoyed yet ironically more expensive, probably because it’s in a large city.

Kim*

Lyon to Paris

We board another TGV fast train like the one from Paris to Marseille that will take us directly to Charles de Gaulle airport in 2 hours.

As we hurtle to our destination the quiet countryside of lush, green farmland is reluctantly awakening to an eerily misty, overcast day.

The creeks and rivers are full to overflowing from recent downpours yet we have managed to avoid rain for most of our month abroad.

It’s very picturesque but frustratingly difficult to photograph when travelling at speeds of up to 320kph.

Kim*

Le Chat Fou

An awesome little shop located on rue du Boeuf in Lyon that specializes in absinthe.

The knowledgable owner explains in very good English the method of drinking this unusual spirit which involves slowly dripping water over a sugar cube placed on a special spoon with holes to create a careful balance of alcohol and water.

Naturally the shop sells a wide range of the 70% alcohol (on average) beverage, each with its own distinct flavour and aroma, sourced from a variety of countries all over Europe.

Unable to resist the temptation to have such a typically French souvenir I purchase a couple of bottles, one for myself and one for a friend.

Kim*