Thursday, November 29, 2007

Back Home

Im back home to Bangalore and its been an incredibly tiring last week or so. Had a flight from Osaka to Bangkok and to Chennai. Took the GT Express to Bhopal the very next day and after 3 days, took TN Express to Chennai again. 2 hours after arriving in Chennai, Took a flight with Megz and Diya to Bangalore. Megz seemed to like the kingfisher experience, it was good and the staff at the airport counters esp with the baggage were helpful. Had a similar experience while traveling Air Deccan recently. With Diya along, everyone seems to be very helpful!

Its back to basics now. From the super fast shinkansens (Bullet Trains) to Indian Railway trains chugging along, its been an amazing 2 weeks. Of course not to mention the move from the sleek hands-free toilet experience ( yet again of the TOTO washlets ) to Indian style and the Indian WC experience :)


Should blog about the Indian railways really-noticeable improvements and the toto washlets soon.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Mishima, Japan


Ive been in japan for about 1.5 months now and have stayed all the time in Mishima, which is about 120KM from Tokyo. Its a town and there are quite a few scenic places around which can tour. Mishima itself doesn't have much from a tourist's point of view but is like a transit point for a lot of people going to Mount Fuji or the F1 races (Held this time at the Fuji speedway). I am staying at Hotel Alpha 1, a 10 storied building right in front of the station (On the south Exit). Its just a 2m walk from the station and is a very convenient location to stay. At the entrance of the Hotel one can see the Family Mart Convenience store and the Lawson convenience store is also a stone's throw away. The Hotel itself is decent and seems to be booked pretty much all the time. Its advisable to reserver rather than walk-in directly. The rooms are all small, but then not many hotels provide you large rooms in Japan (Unless you are a millionaire willing to spend a fortune). The hotel has some weekly lottery scheme which i somehow never managed to win. I have no idea about what one can win as well :) The Staff is helpful (As in Japan everywhere) and they do understand English. One of the staff is also fluent in English. They provide a free internet connection which is very useful. I have stayed in Mishima Plaza Hotel about 5 years back and they dint provide internet connections then, not sure now. The hotel is also convenient because the taxi stand is again right in front of the station and there are taxis available all the time. The hotel seems to have ample parking space as well. I haven't tried their restaurant but you do get breakfast etc (i think for about 500-900 yen for a basic one with coffee/toast etc). All in all, its a decent business hotel.


Mishima offers a beautiful view of Mount Fuji which can be seen from the pathway along the Lawson convenience store (2 m In front of South Exit of the station). Fuji si now snowcapped and on a clear day, it looks awesome!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007