Andrew Parker’s blog

Photos were taken December 2007.

Living in Tokyo has made me realise how many nice parks there are in Melbourne. There are definitely fewer in Tokyo, so we are quite lucky to live very close to one of the biggest - 新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyoen). The park has a few different styles, and is very popular on the weekends, especially during spring (cherry blossom season) and autumn (when the leaves change colour).

Here are some pictures taken in December 2007, when the leaves were changing colours. The rest of the photos are in this album (or click the photos).

Bron and I went to 高尾山 (Mount Takao) during autumn.
高尾山 is about 45 minutes west of Tokyo by train, so it’s really easy to get to. There were lots of people there, but most of them took the cable-car to near the top so at least the trail wasn’t too crowded. We took the side trail up and the main path down, which was a good move as the side path had some nice spots to rest and enjoy the view, and also has some variation in incline (the main path is uphill all the way).

The rest of the photos are in this album (or click the photo).

In Yotsuya, only 4 minutes from the nearest subway station, 30 minutes from my work, and about 25 minutes walk from Shinjuku.

The rent sure isn’t cheap, but it’s quite big and gets plenty of sun, and I didn’t have to pay key money. The landlord also provided a refridgerator and a washing machine, and curtains - yes, you usually need to buy your own! And it includes free broadband internet as a nice little bonus.

Updated:
A photo of the lounge after finally getting a table and rug.

It seems that walking cats is a not-so-uncommon past-time in Japan.
First I saw the following (while walking in the forest down from the top of Mount Takao (高尾山) no less):

Then spotted in Shijuku a few weeks later:

Seen on the way to my first day of work in Tokyo: