BootsnAll Travel Network



On the road again!

May 25th, 2007

Today is the first day I start my true travels through Japan.  The time I spent at the Solar Cafe in Narusawa was an exciting experience and provided a different type of life than I’ve been used to, but it was too easy to make myself at home.  By the time I left I had friends that were like family, 2 pet dogs and a rooster, a bed of my own, a favorite grocery store, a bike and even an SUV at my disposal (not to mention an office with a great view).  Strapping on my daypack and taking weekend trips to Tokyo was exciting, but not much different from short hops to NYC or Phila back home.  I never really felt like much of a vagabond… but that is all changing.  Now I leave to begin my nomadic lifestyle.  For the next six weeks left of my visa, I’m backpacking and hitchhiking south west through Japan bound for South Korea.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Yamanashi Adventure Day

May 24th, 2007

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Back to work… if you want to call it that

May 22nd, 2007

I’ve really been spoiled as backpacker and before that as a freelance musician.  The idea of staying in one spot and working a nine-to-five job terrifies me.  I grudgingly woke up for work on Wednesday and started laboring.  Not very long into it I remembered how much fun the work is, and the good times that would follow hanging out in the café afterwards.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Konjaku: Past and Present

May 15th, 2007

As much as I enjoyed the last night and day in Tokyo, it was mostly just great conversations with good friends.  There is not much to tell that would captivate your attention other than Nabe and I making plans to play music when I come back to town, and a last minute lunch with Mihye (the Korean girl who introduced herself as Michelle last time I was in Tokyo).  I really wish I could’ve stayed a little longer, but I have work to finish on the farm before starting my true travels through Japan.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Fight of the Mostly Naked Fat Men + The Tokyo Underground Music Scene

May 14th, 2007

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Yoyogi-Koen + Irezumi + Manga Cafe

May 13th, 2007

On Sunday morning I walked Megumi to work and begun to venture towards Yoyogi Park for a massive Thai festival that Anthony told me about. I took my time enjoying the European-city feel of Kawaguchi before heading into the JR Station. Just before I bought the ticket Megumi came running up to me and explained that they changed the schedule and today is her day off.   

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Back Alley Establishments

May 12th, 2007

After all of the drinking I did last night, I was surprised to wake up relatively early. Took advantage of the fact that I can now bath more frequently then twice a week and hopped in for a quick shower before heading out for the day… Ah! I still had a few hours to kill before meeting Horiyou to discuss a new tattoo I want to start. I slowly headed in the direction of Oostuka and took a few photos of regular Tokyo city-life on the way.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Roppongi Madness!

May 10th, 2007

After taking care of a few last minute errands at the farm, I loaded a backpack full of dirty laundry into Yulia’s car and drove to Kawaguchiko. It was pretty uneventful hitchhiking from her house to the bus station, but I was fortunate enough to have a good neighbor for the bus ride: Soh just spent the last three years going to school in Pasadena and spoke good English. Upon arriving in Shinjuku we hung out for a little while playing 2 Spicy and he helped me look for a prepaid mobile. Unfortunately the phone was too expensive, but I did make a new acquaintance and found yet another person that proves Japanese are some of the friendliest and most helpful people in the world!

I checked into a dumpy little hostel in Central Tokyo, and was finally able to wash the laundry that had been accumulating dirt and sweat during the last few weeks of farm work. After a well-needed shower, outfitted in fresh clothes, I made my way to Roppongi Crossing and met Kanako and Yuri, her friend who is visiting from San Francisco.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Truck Surfing and Leaf Eating

May 7th, 2007

At 9am on Monday I’d normally be waking up for a day of work on the farm. Fortunately, due to the massive recovery wake from this weekend’s festivities I arose for something entirely different. Jake let Adam and I have the day off so we could attend a vegetarian BBQ in the nearby town of Kofu. The only difficulty was that we had to find a way there. It was way too far to consider walking, and everybody else from the café with a car was still recuperating.

Luckily, the people who invited us, Marcel and Chris were kind enough to drive the two hour round trip to pick us up. The only catch was that Marcel drives a typical Japanese miniaturized pick up truck and we would have to ride in the back. Speeding around in the cab of one of these coffins on wheels is a terrifying experience by itself, but “surfing” in the back of one through the winding curves of the mountains is an absolute adrenaline rush!! Read the rest of this entry »

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Children’s Festival & Baleric Sunrise Rave

May 6th, 2007

5.6.07 It’s hard to deny that you are alive when you look up to the dawn sky, dancing in the mud amongst the falling rain with a girl named Ai (Japanese word for love) who earlier the night before dropped a hit of acid on your tongue. As surreal as that sounds on its own, once you throw Mt. Fuji being at your doorstep and the contrast of events preceding the moment it is hard to think of any day remotely comparable. Read the rest of this entry »

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