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| Gala Yuzawa Resort Although some purists will tell you that "true snowboarders/skiers" go to Nagano, Hokkaido or blah blah blah ... if you've only got a day or two to spare, you cannot beat Gala. Using the Joetsu Shinkansen (bullet train), it takes less than 90 minutes from Tokyo Station to Gala Yuzawa (Echigo Yuzawa Station). A one-day "package tour" includes transport there and back as well as lift ticket for 13,000 yen. With trains leaving a couple times every hour starting at 6 a.m., you'll be on the snow in no time. At Echigo Yuzawa Station, get off the train and you're at the rental/locker area. |
| Get what you need and take the gondola up to the lounge. From there, take one of the lifts to wherever. Be sure to grab a beer or two, maybe even a shot, before you go and break your stupid neck .... |
| Sengakuji Temple (the graves of the 47 ronin) Any of you who've seen Ronin with DeNiro, will know what this is all about. For those of you who don't, click here for the story. Although there are a shitload of temples and shrines in Japan ("shitload" being a metric term of measurement), after a couple of them you're gonna be hard pressed to tell/remember one of them from another. This one stands out because of it's cool story. To get here, find you're way to the Toei-Asakusa Subway Line and get off at Sengakuji Station (Exit A1). Go up the stairs, turn right, go about 50 meters, grab a beer from the convenience store, continue on another 50 meters or so and there you are. The main temple is up front, with the graves being off to the left a bit. |
| Travelling through Asia, you can't help but notice all the "Nazi swastikas" on Buddhist and Hindu temples. Hitler had a hard-on for religions and stole this symbol, flipped it clockwise, and made it his mark. The ones above have nothing to do with Hitler and/or the Nazis, but it's still kinda freaky seeing them all over the place. |
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