Now I don't confuse cauliflower and broccoli

Just checking in

Not a lot of news. I'm back at the gym after a 2 month or so break around Christmas and New Year (both kickboxing and the regular gym, also did a 20km or so bike ride today! whoohoo). Passed the Japanese test I took in December, which is nice, not sure I'll ever need it but was a nice incentive to study a bit harder. Maybe try the next level up this year. Am off to Shanghai in about a week so will have more news then. In the meantime here are a couple of food based photos.

Deep fried Brussels Sprouts covered in mince with a citrus based sauce.

Nothing like a good snaffling.

Osaka

Most of my little jaunts away from Tokyo have been to scenic places, little towns or the like so I thought I'd try another big city.

Osaka is the 2nd biggest city in Japan and has a bit of an 'us and them' relationship with Tokyo. Perhaps a bit like Manchester and London in the UK. Tokyoites say that Osakans are loud, rude, dirty or crazy. I didn't see much evidence to these claims. There was however a very vocal argument between two men in the middle of the street which is the only time I've seen such an outburst of emotion in Japan.

It was just a 2 day stay but we managed to pack in the majority of the 'sights' in that time. To be honest I wasn't that struck on the city, but it was nice to get away. The pictures are linked from the title of the post so just tap on 'Osaka' to see the 2nd (?) biggest aquarium in the world, parks, a tower that looks a bit like Tokyo tower (both are a bit ugly and could be radio masts) a castle (reconstructed from concrete after the war) and some other bits and bobs.

I'm still a bit out of sync since coming back to Tokyo. Work is back to normal but my gym visits aren't on track yet, in part due to the stinking cold I've picked up. Again I'm going to blame it on air-conditioning and students! Hopefully it'll clear up before 28th February because......pa, pa-pa-pa, pa-pa, pa, paaaaaaaa......I'm going away again. Shanghai this time, quite a lot of snow in China at the moment so there's time for that to thaw before I go too. Don't really know what's there, but it was a very cheap flight and I've got time to check a few guidebook before I go. Anyone been there? send me some suggestions if you have.

Bangkok

I didn't take many pictures in Bangkok (more than the zero I took in England though! shocking), but I've uploaded a few photos of tuk-tuks and the golden palace. Click the 'Bangkok' title to be whisked away to the website.