The best laid plans of mice… -Slartibartfast When I left Canada nearly six weeks ago it was with the promise that I would be blogging nearly every day. I said that I was going to be traveling around the country on the week-ends, I would be taking a ton of pictures, and I would be … Continue reading Japan: Take 2
I really did have images of going out and having fun every night. I really planned to travel outside of Tokyo and see the country every weekend. That is not what happened. Don't get me wrong... I have gone out for dinners, if mostly close to home. I have also been spending a lot of … Continue reading A (Mostly) Boring Trip
I got off the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) at Kyoto Station, which was a hustling and bustling place, just like Tokyo Marunouchi Station where I had embarked. In fact while the layout was different and so were the shops, there wasn’t all that much to differentiate this building from all of the other major ports I … Continue reading Kyoto is to Tokyo…
The last time I was in Japan I did not leave Tokyo. This time I vowed would be different. Before I left Canada I bought several Japan Rail passes, and I was ready to explore. After consulting with my peeps over here, and with Simon's help tracking down a room (it seems autumn is a … Continue reading Kyoto: The Ancient Capital
When I leave town for two or three days my preparation depends on two factors: How am I going (by car versus by air or train), and what will I be doing (business versus pleasure). My usual MO is to pack two bags: Clothes and sundries in one, electronics (photography and computers) in another. Depending … Continue reading Going Away…
If you know me, you probably know that I am a whisky drinker. Had you asked me eighteen months ago I would have said I am a scotch drinker, but that changed when Michael Kulwicki joined the Rakuten End User Technology team in October of 2013. Michael is Scottish, but is living in Tokyo with … Continue reading Whisky is Wonderful, but…
At the north end of Platform 2 of the Hamamatsucho Station on the Yamanote line there is a statue/fountain that may be the strangest I have seen since I got to Japan. I actually have no business at this station and never would have seen it, except for that another gaijin that I met recently … Continue reading The Urinating Boy, and the weirdest volunteers ever…
The calendar has turned in Tokyo. Although there are a few hours left in North America, here it is now Friday, and more importantly it is November. I got in late from a Halloween party in Shibuya… the whole city was a crazy place tonight, and I have the pictures to prove it (they come … Continue reading Thank you readers and Happy Halloween!!
Saturday night was Halloween. Okay, no it wasn’t, but obviously all of the great parties for that occasion are on the week-end. If you can imagine that in Tokyo people seem to dress up in costumes on a regular basis for no good reason, they you will believe that Halloween in Tokyo (and especially in … Continue reading A Real Trip… Happy Halloween from Japan!
Being sick sucks. I discovered earlier this week though that it can suck a lot less… if only there were ways of doing things more efficiently. I had been coughing and sneezing for a week, but Monday afternoon, realizing that I was short of breath after a single flight of stairs, I decided I needed … Continue reading Sick…
For those of you who follow not only my blog but my Twitter as well (@MGarvis) you will likely know that I have been walking a lot since I got to Japan, and my FitBit (www.fitbit.com) has all the proof you need. You may also have noticed that Tuesday and Wednesday this week my daily … Continue reading Big in Japan: The Week That Was…
With two notable and disappointing exceptions, I have eaten only Japanese food since I arrived in Tokyo. I have tried the Chinese restaurant one more time – it may taste good, but the food has not agreed with me so I will not be trying it again. Other than that, really I have stuck to … Continue reading My Japanese Diet
If you are a frequent reader of The World According to Mitch then you know that I very often take experiences that I have had (or observations that I have made) and apply them to the world of IT. For a change, I thought I would take this opportunity to go the other way. This … Continue reading A Twist…
I got a nasty email today from a friend who is angry that I have been writing about PowerShell. Actually to be completely accurate he doesn’t care that I blog about PowerShell, he is just upset that it has been several days (a week?) since I last wrote about my travels in Japan. I am … Continue reading Back to Japan!
I hadn’t planned to get up particularly early, but I suppose i am still a little jet lagged; I left the room at 8:30, had breakfast downstairs, and headed to the subway. While I grew up a master of the Metro system in Montreal, I am still not particularly familiar with the Toronto subway system, … Continue reading Akihabara
