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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.

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!

Atif Aslam's songs

I Loved this song of Atif Aslam and i often sing it to my daughter Diya (Not that she understands)




And now my wife loves this song, another by Atif Aslam. I think we should buy his albums now!

Things to Buy in Japan - 2 (Akihabara)

I'm in japan after 2 years and of course i have been to Akihabara again. So what are things i could have bought from here, well the list is big. Once you take the electric town exit from the Akihabara station and move towards to main road, once can see the big stores like Laox (see left), Onoden, Sofmap etc. Most foreigners usually frequent these stores coz you usually get the overseas electronics models and souvenirs too. I bought an Ipod Nano for about 16.5K yen about a week back. The real stuff lies in the streets behind the main road. You get stuff real dirt cheap. Most of it is either used (2nd Hand) but i belive of good quality. You also get genuine new stuff in these bylanes. Things that can bought here are
1) Used (2nd hand) ipods, nanos
2) 2nd hand digital camera (saw a sony p100 for 12K yen)
3) Brand new HP Ipaqs for cheap
4) Used and new PDA's for dirt cheap (cassiopiea, sony clie, sharp zaurus)
4) sharp zaurus linux kits for cheap
5) packs of CD/DVD for cheap (10 for 300 Yen kinds)
6) Amazing range of laptops (starts from 20K yen, yes decent configuration ones) (saw a pentium m, 512 mb ram, 20gb hdd, 12inch lcd screen, weight less than 1.5 kg panasonic for 25K)
7) usb stuff, usb fans (damn neat), lights, 10 number keyboards (500Y), hubs (400Y) etc!
8) Memory sticks (Must buy, very expensive in India at least)(got a 1Gb stick for my camera for 2.8K yen)
9) Mouse (usb/wireless) for cheap
10) mp3 players/cd players (1000Yen, being sold on street)
11) External HDD and compact USB HDD

You'd find a lot of this stuff in cartons lying outside shops and being sold. yous mostly find Japanese guys buying stuff from here. Also there are the DIY (Do It Yourself) shops here selling all kinds of computer hardware...name it and u get it here.

On the other hand, there is the huge Yodobashi Camera shop (Yodobashi-Akiba). This is another must visit place if you are in Akihabara. Good stuff at reasonable prices and you always get some stuff for cheap here depending on how much time you spend and keep looking. Split your purchases into multiple days from here coz at the billing counter you can get the Gold Point Card and use it the next time to get discounts. You cannot use the points the same day and they are valid only from the next day.

I did still go to Laox coz you get good souvenirs here although they are way overprices. Am yet to know a shop that has a variety of souvenirs and is cheaper.

Taxis in Japan

Taxis are one of the most convenient mode of transport in japan, although they are pretty expensive compared to Train travel. The taxis in Mishima charge 610 yen as the minimum fare, wheras i guess in Tokyo and other places where ive used Taxis, it was 660 Yen. I use a taxi everyday to commute from the hotel to the office and since my hotel is just next to the station, there are taxis available most of the time. Most of these taxis have a car navigation unit which has the map of the local town you are in and so you get an idea of the route you are taking. Taxi drivers are a meticulous lot. My route usually involves crossing the railway tracks. Usually when the gates/bars (all unmanned crossings) of the crossing are open, the taxi drivers almost stop at the crossing, look right and look left and look ahead and then move along. They even use their finger, point right, point left and then straight ahead. ive seen this happen almost always. its an amazing sense of discipline which never is seen in India. You can ask for the fare receipts by saying "Ryoshosho Kudasai", although they do understand the word reciept (risitto) too.