GlobeTrotter: Tabula rasa

After a busy couple of weeks to start the New Year, I can happily say that things have settled down and I can now relax a bit. So, as promised, here's a recap of my New Year celebration and vacation......
Countdown to 2007
Unlike last year, I had half a plan for the big night ahead. Mark joined me early in the afternoon and we began drinking, played a bit of ball and drank some more (2 player Kings Crown is nasty!!!). We cruised into Shibuya at about 10.30pm and met up with Miyuki, then headed into a massive club called "Womb". This place was huge (capacity: 1000 party-heads). The headlined DJ (I forget his name) played a nice set for the crowd. Basically we danced and drank til we couldn't go any more then called it a night. The worst part of the night was the one hour wait for the train in the freezing cold. Overall, it was a pretty cool night but the hangover was just beginning.....

Mark "Hunt" smashes some dude on the train; Miyuki, M-Do and Me

Inside Womb

Yamanashi
I spent the 1st in bed, feeling like crap but I had to get up the next morning at 5am to hit the road to Yamanashi. Aki's family were nice enough to invite me to join their vacation in Yamanashi, near Mount Fuji. We spent the first day at the ski field where I tried skiing for the first time. I was still feeling suspect from the party night so skiing wasn't so fun as it took too much stamina which I did not have. Instead, I found my comfort zone with the kids on the toboggan where I could just sit down, slide and not fall off....much more relaxing than skiing!!!
We then drove to Lake Yamanaka where our accommodation awaited. Aki's Mum works for Shiseido and the company has a beautiful place, like a Bed and Breakfast, for employees and families. This place had a Karaoke room, table tennis, pool table, awesome cooked breakfast and dinner, and a view of Mt. Fuji! The next day we went hiking in the nearby hills. A very light snow was falling and the dirt track was very icy. It sure felt good to get into nature even if it was freezing cold! When we got back we were all pretty tired so we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The final day was a beautiful clear day, so Mt. Fuji was most impressive. We left in the morning and went to Gotemba where there is a big outlet shopping centre. The ladies had a great time shopping, while I was more content just relaxing and people watching. We drove back to Yokohama in the evening and I went straight to bed after a fun but tiring sojourn.