Day One - Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more

We got off the plane and realised that it's pretty cold over here! However a few minutes of trying to navigate the airport and we were down to t-shirts. Getting through immigration and customs was easy - no waiting. The tricky bit was figuring out where to pick up the Rail Pass. Found it eventually from the map on the back of the exchange form and a bit of wandering around. The lady at the ticket counter helped get us to Tokyo Station. There was pretty scenery and lots of old Japanese style houses on the way. We've realised that nothing over here is less that double story!

Once at Tokyo Station, Michael's Japanese got us directions for the next two trains to Asukasa Station, the closest station to our accommodation. Then came the hard bit - figuring out where the damn place was. We had the address, but in Japan there are hardly any street names, the address goes by block number -> section number -> suburb. Unfortunately the block numbers aren't in numerical order, according to Michael they're in order of construction date or something crazy. They also aren't signposted. Once you have a map that shows the block numbers you then have to make sure that you are looking in the right section number. Because if you are looking for block 14, there are about 5 of them on the map! One helpful guy noticed us squinting at a map and offered to help by walking with us for a bit to point our feet in the right direction... but we still got lost.

In the end I just ended up following Michael, who managed to figure it out before we both collapsed (something we'd better get used to I guess!) - if only there was an emoticon for the feeling that we felt when we finally saw that sign!!! It was so good.

The hostel is really nice with free WIFI, free computers, tea and coffee, TV and ensuite with fancy toilet that has heated seat and makes a flushing noise so that people can't actually hear you going to the toilet! The staff are really friendly and speak english and told us all about the area.

Our beds weren't ready yet so we stashed our bags and went in search of MOS burgers, recommended by Chang, Anth and Sharon, which we had seen on the way over. Michael reminded me of enough Japanese to be able to order the most delicious little cheeseburger. Mmmmm, cheeseburger. After that we went back to the hostel to chill for a bit before the room was ready, reading some Sherlock Holmes and sending emails to anxious family members to assure them that we were still alive. Then up to the room for a nanna nap. Then a quick shower (quick for me anyhow) and a costume change, then out in search of more food. This took ages. There were too many things to choose from! Luckily one of Japan's specialities is fake food so the displays were very helpful. After a bit of wandering around we found somewhere promising, cheap but clean, with other customers, always a good sign. When we tried to order they directed us to a ticket machine where you put in your money and select the button that's got the picture of what you want. It gives you a ticket and you give that to the cook. We didn't really know what we had ordered, but it turned out to be really nice noodle soup. Totemo oishi deshita!

Then off to the supermarket to stock up on supplies - tissues for my permanent sniffles (a pain since blowing your nose in public is considered rude!) and some breaky for the morning (utilising our collapsible bowls and cups so that we can eat in the room. The issue of keeping the OJ and milk fresh (no fridge) was solved by Michael's ingenious plan of putting them into a bag and then hanging it outside the window (since it's freezing outside at night!). Now we are just going through the rest of our trip, making accomm bookings, since everything seems to be booked or nearly booked out already. And then I am ready to crash, what an awesome crazy day!

(Ladies and) Gentlemen; Start Your Engines!

I am sitting here on the plane to Tokyo, listening to Pink Floyd, Green Day, Muse and a whole load of other fine rock artists on the  'Rock on Q' in-flight music channel while writing this article.

We were really busy for the entire of today; packing our backpacks, helping my Dad get all of our stuff into the storage shed (I swear I haven’t seen him so in his element in years, he was like a pig in shit!), seeing Anth and Sharon for lunch, packing our suitcases to get sent over to the UK to meet us when we get there and trying to get to the airport in time.

As per usual, Eileen, Stewart and Claire arrived at the airport before us. When we got to the airport there was no line at the check in desk, so we managed to get our bags checked in nice and quick. Jen and I have packed as light as possible so our total weight shared between us was only 21kgs.

The last hour or so before the flight was spent in the airport's ale house, sharing a few drinks with Eileen, Stewart, Claire, Matt, Catherine and my dad Pat. Mum couldn't make it to the airport because she had tickets to go and hear the silky smooth tunes of Tom Jones, so we said our goodbyes before we left for the airport. (Mum: If you are reading this, Jen and I both hope that you enjoyed the concert and that you weren't too upset to enjoy it).

When it came time for departure Jen and I said our goodbyes which were very emotional for everyone. (Eileen: If you are reading this, don't worry, I'll make sure that I take good care of your girl and bring her back home safe to you).

Once in the departure lounge, Jen and I got to utilize her Platinum QANTAS Frequent Flyer membership to get us both into the fancy pants QANTAS Lounge (thank-you Rio Tinto!). There we treated ourselves to a couple of free glasses of Chandon, along with cheese and biscuits while watching the soccer on TV.

Before we knew it, it was time to board and we were in the plane.

As per usual, the in-flight facilities on the QANTAS plane are non-existent. Let me say to everyone that I've talked to about this that 'I TOLD YOU SO!'. As you can see from the attached photos, there is little to no in-flight entertainment :(

Fortunately, due to such a busy day, both of us feel asleep shortly after takeoff. I awoke about 6 hours later thanks to the snoring sounds of the guy sitting behind me that sounded like he was hocking up the world’s biggest ball of phlegm.... Yuk!

Anyway, we will be arriving in Tokyo very soon and I still need to fill out my customs declaration form. Tune in during the next couple of days to see what we get up to in Tokyo!

Miss Sassy Pants - Not Quite the Adorable Loving Kitty We Thought She Was

One of the main reasons Jenni and I moved into my parents house for the 2 weeks prior to leaving Perth was to get Miss Sassy Pants acquainted with what will be her new home and family members for the duration of our travels. For the first couple of days she was very anti-social; hiding under the couch in the family room and hissing and spitting at various members of my family, especially my mum. Over the next week she started wandering around the house a bit more (although retaining her main base of operations as the family room) and being a bit more sociable with everyone (although I am told she is only being sociable on occasions where Jenni and I are around).

As time has progressed she has come out of shell a bit more, getting back to her chirpy old self.

By the end of the 2 weeks she is mostly back to her old self, although she is still a little bit jumpy. This probably has mostly to do with households existing feline, Hamish. Hamish is a few years older than Miss Sassy Pants and is used to having the run of the household, so it has been a bit of a shock to him having another of his kitty brethren moving in. After a week or so, he seems to be rather indifferent to Miss Sassy Pants, but she HATES him with a passion. When they have an encounter, Miss Sassy Pants turns into a cat that has been spawned by the devil and hisses, spits and makes horrible high pitched screeching noises at Hamish. It is no wonder than on multiple occasions he has turned tail and ran away to his mum because he wants to get away from what he is thinking is 'that crazy bitch'.

As time has progressed Miss Sassy Pants seems to be a little bit more tolerant of Hamish, so hopefully they will get along eventually.

Even though Jenni and I have been recently exposed to this evil side of our kitty cat, we will miss her with all our hearts because she is our little kitty that we adore so much and it breaks our heart to leave her because we know that she will miss us just as much as we will miss her.

Last Drinks

We had our leaving drinks on Friday the 12th of March, 2 days prior to leaving Perth. To our delight heaps of people rocked up and we managed to pack out the back section of the Grapeskin Wine Bar. Jen and I would like to extend our thanks to everyone that managed to make it; we really appreciate your support. You can check out a whole stack of photos from the night on the flickr page.

The List

For the couple of weeks prior to leaving Perth, Jen and I had HEAPS of stuff to do. To manage everything we generated 'the list'. We started working through it about 3 weeks before we left and slowly worked our way through it.

Some of the list's, err, 'highlights' included taking Miss Sassy Pants to the vet, organising and holding the garage sale, Jenni having to get her wisdom teeth pulled, acquiring a storage shed, taking a couple of scooter lessons and attending various leaving drinks and lunches.

By progressively working through the list, we managed to do all of the things that we needed to do to enable us to set off on our trip without forgetting anything.

Exodus

The day after the garage sale saw Jenni and I moving out of our place in Maylands and into my parents place. This would serve as our temporary home while we would tie up all of our loose ends and make sure that Miss Sassy Pants would be settled into what would be her new home for the duration of our time spent overseas.

Like the previous morning of the garage sale, the day started early as Stewart and Jenni's Mum rocked up around 8:30am to help us move. Stewart and I picked up the removal truck around 9am. Stewart was handed the keys so he could utilize his vehicular prowess to be the driver for the day. Shortly after Stewart and I got back, my parents and my brother rocked up to lend us a hand. The rest of the morning involved getting the truck loaded up with all of our worldly possessions. The stuff we managed to sell at the garage sell on the previous day considerably cut down the amount of things that we needed to move.

By noon, pretty much all of our gear was in the truck and Stewart and my dad set off to drop it off at my parents house. In the meantime, Jenni and I gathered up the last few bits and bobs, grabbed Miss Sassy Pants by the scruff of the neck and put her in the car to take her to her new home.

The drive from Maylands to my parents place with Miss Sassy Pants in the car was... eventful. She cried the whole time and was absolutely petrified going through the Graham Farmer Tunnel. The poor thing started making horrible howling and screeching noises because she was so scared. Once out of the tunnel, she calmed down a little bit, but still cried the rest of the journey.

We had Chicken Treat for lunch, but was informed at the drive through that they had run out of chickens..... seriously.... what the hell Chicken Treat!?! Run out of chickens!?! Chicken is in your bloody name! How can you run out of something that is in your name! Anyway, we had to all settle for chicken rolls (we are rather suspicious of these because if they claim they have run out of chicken, then what the hell is in their chicken rolls.....)

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent unpacking, delivering a BBQ to Chiddo who bought it off us at the garage sale, getting denied entry to Niche bar because I was wearing sneakers, attending Chiddo's surprise birthday party and trying to get Miss Sassy Pants to come out from under the couch in the family room to be a bit more sociable.

Jenni and Michael's CrAzZzzzZy Sale!!! - Part 2

The morning of the garage sale found us frantically trying to move most of our wordly possessions into the backyard before the first of the scavengers arrived. Michael had not even put out the signs before the first guy rocked up - 45mins before opening time... He was about to walk away with a colour printer, an old iPod and a portable radio for $23, and still tried to swindle us out of $2! Either that or his mental maths was even worse than mine - but even I know that $15 + $8 is not $21!

There were some other interesting sales, like the other Jen who bought all the pots and pans, the Kiwi lady who was very chuffed with her 'new' red bike for $10 (the tyres were flat so I threw in the bike pump for free) and the group of young guys who bought pretty much everything else from the kithen as well as my green wastepaper basket that included chewing gum stuck to the bottom. We (by we I mean Michael and his Dad), also conducted a home delivery service, with a bookshelf and chest of drawers being carried down the road to 2 different houses in the 40 degree heat.

Anyway- a combination of Michael's ingenious signs, flyer drops and gumtree resulted in a steady stream of customers right up until closing time. If it wasn't for Michael's parents giving us a hand we would have been seriously under-staffed.

We managed to sell nearly everything ($500 Kaching!), and what was left over fitted nicely into a trailer which we then took to Good Sammys on Monday.

That was after the big move on Sunday of course, but that is for the next instalment...