Fuji san 2008 preview

Climbed Fuji yesterday for the first time this year. Have another one planned for later in the season by a different route maybe but of course as ever everything depends on the weather. Will give a more detailed report a little later although there are many blogs and sites about climbing Fuji so not sure how interesting it would be.. Still will be reporting on some outdoor products which should be of greater interest. In the meantime here are a few photos from the top....

Hot summer Setagaya Shrine

Another hot day in Tokyo, felt like about 34 today but not sure... very humid too but nevermind.. Went to Setagaya Shrine and saw this... anyone have ideas what it is?

Those interested have been here before.. here & here

Fuji 08

Yes Fuji climbing season is open and yes I am going again. This will mark my third climb and have a few planned options this year... will be looking at some specific routes and info. over the next month and a half as the season remains open. Will also be looking at some outdoor products with some reviews and field reports....... People who didn't know I am an avid climber although I never seem to have enough time which is a real pain...
Regardless stay tuned good things on the horizon

Been a couple of months and really just been rather busy with things to update but apologies for that. Max is bigger and has just passed the 3 KG mark.


He seems to be growing into a good looking cat...well he was a good looking kitten too :-)
Stay posted, will try to post more in the next week or so.

Cat Tower

Who knew they made such things as cat towers.....



of course you have to build them but Max seems to think its worth the effort.

It did take him a while to get the courage to go all the way to the top... after all he is still rather small...
Once there though he could see the benefits of being able to look down on everything and everyone....
Unfortunately most of them seem to be really awful colors - yellow, pink etc.. which while might look good in a nursery school does little to "blend in" Luckily there are some which are a little more subtle...

Max Update

Yes he seems to be getting bigger already and braver... trying to climb the room and enjoying himself in the process.... still he is worth the effort.




His color also seems to be changing slightly and some tiger stripes are showing.. what will he look like when fully grown... interesting!

Max

So the new addition to the family has arrived. Max is an American Shorthair and Scottish Fold mix cat although to be honest I am not exactly sure I can see both in him.
Anyway there will be more entries on him over coming weeks but for now enjoy......

Army Of Two - Update

Army of Two: Good, but too short.

As promised an update on the game, overall it is enjoyable. The weapons being extensively customizable and the missions being fairly varied make for an entertaining experience. As probably others have said it is mainly a co-op game and is best played with others to make full use of the aggro system. (read all about the game here)

The main disadvantage is the length of the game. Having finished it in about four hours it leaves you wondering about the value concept.. (compared to Call of Duty 4 for example). It also limits you on the amount of weaponry you can accumulate.

Army Of Two

Picked up "Army Of Two" (Home page here) the other day. Basically a first person shooter with an emphasis on co-op play and using your partner to the best effect. Review coming soon...




Oh yes also picked up Lego Star Wars.. fun

Kawaiso Cat

Kawaiso, meaning "poor" is a word commonly used in Japan. This cat in a pet shop is particularly kawaiso.. but he is very also Kawaii meaning "cute". I am thinking of getting him..... stay posted for details. UPDATE - unfortunately he was gone the next day... so ill keep looking... Its good he found a nice home anyway.

P.S. - Wondering about the tiger ------> Went to see "The Golden Compass" or "ライラの冒険" as it is known in Japan. Its not bad.... but a bit "kiddy" Anyway the premise is that the people in this world have their souls on the outside of their body and can appear in the form of an animal of different sorts depending on the character of the person.. take the test and decide your Daemon on the official website here

N905iu

My simply awful Softbank phone broke.. well has been broken for the last few weeks and besides that I have been fed up with Softbank's poor service so decided to switch back to Docomo. The network is so much more stable and the services far better...

Picked up the N905iu which is one of the new 905 series but at the same time is a little different to the others being ultra slim and stylish but not having every function but the kitchen sink...


That said it still has everything you would ever need, mail, sms, calling of course, video phone, a 2M camera and full GPS navigation. In fact the only thing it doesnt have is 1 SEG TV which, to be honest I rarely used on the T911 Softbank phone...
It is beautiful..........


I also have to say that the menu system and display is great, the best I have ever seen on a phone... and I have had a lot of phones. The display shows 3D graphics in wonderful resolution and the mail for example gives you previews (which on the 3 inch display is essentially the same as opening it without having to do so!), and many shortcut functions which make life easy. It of course also has T9 input for English and Japanese which is a good point (again compared to the T911). The GPS is a really good system also almost identical to the ones found in the cars in Japan. You can get directions to a location, fix your current position, find out useful places around your current location such as restaurants convenience stores etc... or even have a wonderful female voice "speak" out directions to your location.

More info here

Tesco テスコジャパン

So yes its true there is a Tesco in Japan, I just discovered in by accident but interesting it was!

Check out the website here - in English
in Japanese

They dont have a huge range of UK products but a few essentials are welcome! Picked up some Indian cooking sauces as well as a few old favorites........


Probably the beans are the most important product they carry but also Tesco biscuits and wine is not bad.

Tesco (coming soon)

A Tesco in Japan? Yes its true..... more details coming soon.

Tobu World Square 東武ワールドスクウェア

Tobu World Square (東武ワールドスクウェア) is a theme park near to 8-minute walking distance from Kinugawa hot-spring. The theme park has 42 1:25 scale model of the most famous, UNESCO-designated World Cultural and Heritage Sites, completely with 140,000 1:25 miniature people.

The perfect gentleman

So you aspire to be the perfect gent. sophisticated, suave and debonair.


Now you have the beer to match, the perfect combination! ermmm.....

Premium canned coffee

Canned coffee in Japan is common-place, in winter you have a choice of hot or cold, in summer just cold. There are endless varieties of coffee and new ones are released all the time promising "enjoyment", "joy", and with this particular example "radiance". I am sure you never thought you could get so much from a can of coffee...


Between you and me I think they all taste the same..... still this one has the nicest design for the can itself although it reminds me of a beer can.

Nothing compared to Nespresso though

Takao - Jimba

A couple of weeks ago had chance to hike from Mt. Takao to Mt. Jimba. Both are fairly near to Tokyo but the total hike is about 20 km and takes about 6 hours. Luckily..unluckily there was a reasonable amount of snow on the ground which made the going slower than usual Take strong legs ;-)