Japan (Tokyo) April 2010 D-1

1) Ready to go ! Departing KLIA at night and arriving Narita in the morning !

2) Three first timers in Japan ! Welcome to Narita and guess who were the two darkies in the picture ? A hard but steady landing at the Narita Airport due to strong wind & gloomy weather ! But all of us look forward to see the best of Japan in the days ahead

3) Our wholesome meal (a supper) served on the Japan Airline flight - my worms birthday today !

4) Next, an unexpected and long arduous train ride from Narita to my Japanese friend's hometown in Shimizu ! Bad weather and strong wind causing train delays & suspensions so we were travelling forward and backward to and fro from Tokyo - worrying that we might not reach Shimizu in time for our first overnight trip to Osaka ! But thanks to a Samarian on the train , a Japanese backpacker I befriended, who just returned from a visit to Malaysia - he was so helpful and with his little English and local experience, we scraped through the train ordeal and were back on the right track after switching to another train to continue our train ride to Shimizu. I always enjoyed talking to backpackers and seeking their advice - a friend in need is a friend indeed when you get stuck in a sticky situation when travelling outside of your home country !

What a great start ! See my wife and sister-in-law's expression ! An hair raising experience as they had no way to hide from the strong wind blowing towards their bodies. This was the spot where we had to switch train as it was motionless for an hour !

5) Half way between Tokyo and Shizuoka, lady luck was with us and from the train windows, we had a quick glimpse of the magnificent Mt Fuji - its top covered with thick snow

6) At around 17.00, our train arrived in Shimizu train station and Mochan drove his bus and picked us up from the train station to his double storey house - a 3 hour delay but we enjoyed the rough train ride.

We had 3-4 hours rest and a home cooked meal at Mochan's home on our first night. At around 22.00, together with 3 CS members from overseas, we started our overnight bus trip to Osaka.

" The Secret of Life : No matter what happens, do not shrink back but move forward. Life is a constant challenge "