A real update!

The last update for our blog was pretty poor, and perhaps ment more as giving you guys a sign from us more than a update. The reason we havent had the posibility to update continiously, is as I mentioned earlier that we haven’t got the wireless internet as we hoped we would. We still can borrow computers at the first floor (we live in the third floor), but first of all, it’s Windows XP in japanese, and second, it sometimes begins to write japanese letters. And as if that weren’t enough, there is a third of all aswell; each time I press comma, the letters turned japanese! I’m sure there is some cind of clever and logical solution to the keysetup, but I honestly didn’t get it. There was an australian next to me, saying “ahhh… Where’s the @ at this thing…”, whereas I showed him, because THAT I had at least found out.

At least we had alot of fun so far, and me and Sara has figured out that this is an experience for life, and that Japan is a fantastic country to have a vacation in. Last night we got here, and after alot of help from kind japanese people, we got to our hostel. We went out that night, to look at how it really is in our neighbourhood, and we noticed a couple of things. Every 20-30 meters we walk, we find a vending machine with different kind of sodas. They are always cold and fresh. And those vending machines, the ALWAYS work. We have seen about 50 of them so far, and none of them has been out of order. Amazing! Also, it is like we were told before we left, incredibly clean streets. You will have to look closely to find some trash. And one last thing we experienced… When we walk the street, there is an unwritten rule. I have burnt myself on it, and so has Sara. When you are walking on the sidewalk, you walk on the LEFT side. On the right side, people walk the other way. Me and Sara walked in our own thoughts once, and we had a horde of japanese people rushing against us. Then it is only one thing to do. Get to the LEFT side!

    
A real clean street in our hood              This is our neighbourhood at night

Anyway… Today we had a real blast. First, we got up to eat breakfast. After that, we went to Disney SeaWorld! And that was an experience nothing like any other. We took alot of pictures! Here are a few of them!

   
The globe when we enter                        The Aztek temple in the Indy part

   
Sara with Ariels dad                                Sara with some snail creature
 
The train moving people to the
different parts of the park!

Our last post before we head east!

We just wanted to post one last post before we go to Japan! The time is 12:26 am, and we are just about ready to go. Now it is just the computer that needs to be put in the bag, then we are ready for departure. We are looking AMAZINGLY much forward to the trip, and many thoughts are swirling through our heads. In one way, we are both pretty calm, but I kind of picture that once I get to bed, and get some calm, my thoughts start to run, and I get happy/scared/frightned/geared up, mostly everything…

We will take pictures on our way to Japan aswell, and those will be posted on this blog once we are in Japan.

So then I can announce our travel has begun. When you are reading this, we might be on our way to Japan! YAHOO!!!

Love Sara and Tage

The day before the day…

So we’re back from the planned trip to the town, and Sara has gotten a hairdo with stripes. Not one of those weird stripings, but some kind of natural sunbleach striping. It turned out really nice! Just look at the picture at the top, taken in Torvbyen, the mall in Fredrikstad where Sara got her haircut. It did take longer than Saras claimed 45 minutes, but I guess that’s how it is sometimes. I read Donald Duck meanwhile, and that was more than enough enterntainment for me!

When she had gotten her haircut, we went to look for a luggage-tag for her, and she found a Hello Kitty at H&M, which probably will do it’s job. This is how it looks

 

Is it not beautiful? Sure, maybe childish, but we thought like this; we are going to Japan, and if you are going to Japan and you are a girl, then Hello Kitty is a real must, isn’t it? I would think so yes!

So now we are home, and the sun is shining hard today in Fredrikstad! It’s about 20 degrees outside, and no skies. Lovely! I freaked out today, and put on shorts and a T-Shirt. LOVELY! So now one laudrywash, Saras packing, the rest of my packing, dinner, remains. And tonight, we might take a walk with Saras friend Marit. Perhaps we will watch a movie aswell with Saras brother aswell later… But we can’t be late tonight. After all, we are getting up relativily early tomorrow. The plane leaves 01:00 pm you know… And we won’t take any chances on this trip!

In the end, I thought I’d put on the beautiful song me and Sara has been singing for a longer period of time, the popular Sukiyaki, written by Kyu Sakamoto in 1961. Here is the song, and here is the lyrics:

 

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Remebering those spring days
Omoidasu haru no hi
思い出す春の日

All alone at night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

And counting the scattered stars
Nijinda hoshi wo kazoete
にじんだ星をかぞえて

Remembering those summer days
Omoidasu natsu no hi
思い出す夏の日

All alone at night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Happiness lies above the clouds
Shiawase wa kumo no ue ni
幸せは雲の上に

Happiness lies above the sky
Shiawase wa sora no ue ni
幸せは空の上に

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Keep walking on, while crying
Naki nagara aruku
泣きながら歩く

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Remembering those autumn days
Omoidasu aki no hi
思い出す秋の日

Sadness is in the shadow of the stars
Kanashimi wa hoshi no kage ni
悲しみは星の影に

Sadness is in the shadow of the moon
Kanashimi wa tsuki no kage ni
悲しみは月の影に

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Keep walking on, while crying
Naki nagara aruku
泣きながら歩く

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Sniff… Rather sad actually. But here’s a little fun fact! The name, Sukiyaki, comes from the fact that the song became really popular in USA when a disc jockey played it at a arrangement. It became a major hit! But the songs original name, Ue wo muite arukou, was a bit hard for the americans (no offense…). Therefore, the song was called Sukiyaki in USA, one of those japanese words many people has heard before. Directly translated, Sukiyaki means beef stew. Charming? Well…

As I said…

… I was going to update the blog with a post once more tonight, to compensate for the incredibly short post earlier tonight. I blame bad planning of time.

Me and Saras brother Simen went home from the birthdayparty while the madams stayed to talk a bit more. I was prepared to start the packing for Japan, so that I won’t have to do it just in time. I honestly donæt think I would have done that even if I started tomorrow, but if youre all geared up, you are all geared up! After looking alot at the briefcase me and my dad went out to buy before I left Bergen for a long time, and studied how the clothes are lying in it, I have, eventually, undestood that it would be lovely with a bit more space. I’m then thinking about stuff I can bring back from Japan. Saras mom offered me a briefcase that was bigger, and I decided to accept the offer. It was with a slight heavy heart, since mom and dad after all helped me get the first briefcase. But it was a good help from Bergen to Fredrikstad! And it will be used frequently in the future. Don’t worry Fosse (the name of the briefcase), you are much appreciated!

I therefor asked Saras dad when I got home, if he could help me get it from the attick, something he did welwillingly! I then started moving clothes over from the smaller briefcase to the bigger one, as you can see!

… and it did get a bit spacier! Here all kinds of japanese stuff might land! I also repacked the hand luggage, and gathered all the electrical wiers and stuff into the PC bag which is in the hand luggage. So now it is a bit tidier in there! And tidiness, that’s something we all appreciate!

Tomorrow is the last day in Fredrikstad, before we head east! And we have some stuff to do that day aswell. First of all, Sara is getting a haircut! She has complained a bit today about her bangs is falling down in her eyes all the time (“aaaah! crapbangs!”), so at 11:45 am tomorrow the hairdresser will scissor her or his way through Saras hair. I’ve heard ruomors about her striping her hair aswell. Not much, but just some weak lines. I’m kind of excited about that. I am going to stay home, and go to the city so that I’m there when she is done getting her haircut. When I’m there, we will find out if there is any last things we do before we go to Japan, and walk around in town just for the sake of cozyness! Then it’s time for Sara to pack!

I have allready told Sara, I do not think I will get any sleep at all the night before we are going to Japan. In one way, it’s a good thing, because then I can sleep at the plane. In another way, it is not so good, because I  would like to enjoy the travel itself aswell!

I can hear Sara is entering the door now, so now it’s time to learn her a couple of japanese glossery. One I learned today, which I prepared, is “watashabi wa seyko des”… I think that’s it… It means I’m a student, something I am, so that will come in handy. I also learned what Norway is in japanese… “Noruwey”… Exciting? YES! Glossery coming your way Sara!!!

We were out shopping, right…

As I mentioned in the last post which I wrote in the nightly hors, I was going to tell you guys if I dreamt about Japan today. Well, I didn’t, but I have to write anyway!

We are about to go to the birthdayparty for Sara’s grandpa now, but we have been out in the boat before that. Prior to the boattrip, I took a picture of the stuff we bought yesterday! Here’s a picture of Sara from our boattrip today!

We had a lot of fun! But now I must go, because we are a bit short on time for the birthdayparty. There will be an extra post sometime during the night, since thisone got so short. Hey ho!

A couple of Japanfacts in the nightly hours…

 
Japanese gameshows are some of the weirdest things you can check out at TV…

So, here I am, in the night, thinking about Japan again. What can one do? It’s so exciting! Then I came to think… All you people whom we have told that we are going to Japan, and whom we have asked to follow us on our blog… Maybe you would like to know a couple of fun facts about Japan? So that you know somewhat where me and Sara is going? Here they come!

- Japan in japanese is Nippon, and means directly translated to english “Land of the Rising Sun”

- Japan has over 127,000,000 citizens. 12 million of them lives in Tokyo

- The capitol of Japan is Tokyo, the citi me and Sara will live in the first week

- You must never put your eatingsticks in the rice during a meal or after. This is something you do in a funeral, and is looked at as a insult. It is also something the japanese mafia Yakuza does to tell you your days are about to be no more.

- In Japan, they have an emperor, who works in many ways as the king in Norway.

- The currency in Japan is yen, and can be symbolized like this: ¥

- More than 70% of the country is mountains

- The biggest mountain in Japan is in Tokyo, and is named Mount Fuji. This is an active volcano.

- The lifetime to Japans citizens are counted as one of the lonvest in the world

- Whe you eat, slurp. This way, you show that you enjoy the food. If you don’t do it, it can be insulting to the ones who made the food.

- In Japan it is a delicatesse to eat rotten beans for breakfast, with the slime that comes with it…

- The Japanese says the Chinese eat everything

- You never wear shoes inside, only slippers.

- The biggest mall in Akihabara, the electronic quarter in Tokyo, has 6 floors, 600,000 articles… And a golfcourt…

- Fruit is looked upon as luxury in Japan. The reason is that it is extremely expensive! A peach can cost about 4 dollars, as for a watermelon? Up to 100 dollars…

- In Japan you drive on the left side, just like in Britain!

- Small streets have no name in Japan, only the big uns…

- Vandalism is almost non-excistent in Japan, and is absolutely at the bottom world-wise.

- In Japan you can find vendormachines with everything from smoke to hot food, soda to underwear, and squid-snacks to ice cream!

- The japanese are counted as beeing very helpfull! If you need help, they will do anything to help you!

- The red dot in the flag symbolizes the sun

- The japanese rarely use cards as a way of paying. Over there, hard cash is still the king. You can pay with the card at some restaurants, and at hotels.

- The cheapest way of getting a bed in Japan, is the tubes. You crawl into a hole in the wall, which is about the same size as a normal bed.

- If someone sneezes in Japan, ignore it. No God bless you!

- You don’t shake hands in Japan. Bowing works the same way there as handshaking here. Western people visiting japan can have it as a rule to not shake hands unless the other part takes the initiative

- Manga, japanese comic books, about the same size as a pocket book, often black and white, and red backwards, is wildly popular in Japan

- Japan has 4% unemployment

- The japanese has a good sense for TV enterntainment. Just look here

In other words, we have alot to look forward to. Well, now I should go to bed, so that I will get out of bed tomorrow. Japan here we come!

Travelfever

I had a dream about Japan again last night. I dreamt that I was walking along a street in some city in Japan, behind a lady with a baby in a wagon. She was walking really slow, and in the end, she stopped to let be pass her. She understood that I wanted to pass. I thought “I’m in Japan”, and said “Arigato…”. She said something in japanese, and bowed. I thought “Damn, I forgot to bow”, and turned around and bowed frenticly. That was somewhat emberassing…

3 days, and we’re on the plane. I’m having alot of travelfever now, at least that’s what Sara is saying. I think she has travelfever aswell. She only pretends. Today we are going to the shops to buy stuff we need from Norway. This is our list:

- Crackerbreads
- Strawberry jam on a tube
- Nociouslowering wristbands
- Bandages
- Magazines

And we’ll probably come up with more stuff while walking the stores. We are doing this today to get ready a bit early, so that we won’t have to rush on in the last minuet. Clever, eh? Tomorrow we will pack our bags for Japan, before we celebrate Saras grandpas birthday. And on monday, well then we will take a chillpill, and let our thoughts sink before we become globetrotters!

The journey so far…

In the last post i mentioned that I would update within the night, but I guess not. It all ended with getting done with the packing, some drinking of Urge Intense, and many… MANY… thoughts on Japan. So it all resulted in very little sleep.

I woke up at 06:00, to arrange Skype on my desktop PC for mom and dad, so that we can talk to them when we are in Japan. I got that done, before I grasped all kinds of stuff I needed. We got in the car, with all my luggage in the trunk. When we were about to hit the highway, i yelled out “STOP! I left my passport…”. Because thats how it is, you forget about the most important stuff. With my passport, I also had our yen money, 30,000 yen. Phew, that’s all I can think of. Well, it all resulted in dad backing up, in the intersection, and he almost hit a car behind us. Luckily, he backed up aswell. After that, we drove to Flesland, the Bergen airport, and I got on the plane after standing in one hell of a security line, with Kari Traa (the norwegian skiing celeb). Yes, she was there. That was cool… Kind of…

The flight was perfect. Just look at the picture at the top of the post. Nothing is like getting over the clouds. It’s always sunshine there! Lovely… The plane kind of shook when we were going down, but it all went good. Then I took the bus to Riisløkka, and here I am. I was allowed to use the can, I had a glass of water (MAN I was thirsty), and also, i got some nudelsoup by Sara. Lovely. So now all that matters is to enjoy the 5 days we have in Fredrikstad, before going to the east. The blog will be updated those days aswell, so be sharp!

How is Tage’s packing doing?

In many ways I feel like the dood in the picture. But it’s somehow working out. The tiredness is probably because of first of all, I have not slept much, and second... It is unlikely hot in here. "Let me teach you something Tage, little grasshopper ... You must open the window!". Hey, do not call me grasshopper, that's my thing ... I have thought much on the open window, but it is really not so cool looking outside, and it rains, and it blows a lot! In other words, like they would call it over at the good ol Storm Weather Center, a slight breeze on the west. And had I opened the window, I got a state here in the room I could be given a name in the same way with the hurricanes in the Atlantic.

Anyway, back to the point. I've packed the most, and I’m waiting for the final wash. Well ... It will be in the dryer too ... So, a late night for me. Oh, and not to forget, my mother and father said they needed a suitcase anyway, so we went on Europris and found a suitcase in which I may have with me to Japan for loans. Shazam! Thus, I have room for clothes and ... Yes ... That’s pretty much it… But I must rearrange packaging in Fredrikstad. For now, all that matters is to just get the things to the east, before I throw me on the Bergen - Rygge plane tomorrow morning at 08:10.
An update for you faithful readers (I know there are many of you!) comes in during the evening! Hi ho!

Tage is packing…

 

Sara has gone to Fredrikstad, and I remain in Arna to pack my things. Tomorrow I will travel to Fredrikstad aswell, and will be there until we leave for Japan on June 23. So do I, that Sara did, pack for the Japan trip and the rest of the summer now, for when I'm in Fredrikstad/Hvaler when we get home from Japan.

As you see, the packing is rolling. I’ve put on my second laundrywash, and the first one is in the clothes dryer. The tumbledry is probably finished ... Should probably check soon. Anyway, as you see in the picture, I packed my PC, cameras, chargers, travel adapter, mouse and mouse. And there is a Nintendo DS aswell, for the long flight. But you may say "But Tage ... What is the red wormlike bits that lies between the cameras and the big black bag?". Let me enrich you with my knowledge. These are mini-strips, so that I can gather the wires in the bag with no time-demanding spaghetti quiz when I come to Japan.

I have not only packed today, I've also gotten a new XBOX game in the mail (hush, Sara did not know), Beautiful Katamari, which reminded me of how weird things can be in Japan. But it has high entertainment value. In addition, I have heard a lot of Kyu Sakamoto (which I've found out died in the worst plane crash ever ... In Japan ...), and some odd tracks from some Japanese games. You can listen to them here.
I've done a little bit more, I have called Finnair, to see if we could bring more luggage from Japan than we have ordered. After 20 minutes of "All our agents are busy, we’ll get to you as soon as possible" in real Finnish-Swedish, I got an answer from Charlotte from Sweden. The conversation was something like:

Tage: Yes hi, I was wondering, me and my girlfriend are going to Tokyo from Oslo soon, and wonder if we can get an extra luggage with us home from Tokyo ... 
Charlotte: ... I don’t get it ... You can not bring more than 20 kilograms with from Tokyo ... 
Tage: Oh ... Can’t we order more luggage?
Charlotte: No, it is only 20 kg luggage and 8 kg hand luggage per person ... 
Tage: Yeah ok ... And if we are overweight, what ... Is it expensive or what? 
Charlotte: Yes, if you have overweight it is 30 € per kg. 
Tage: Yeah ... ok ... Well, thanks for your help then! 
Charlotte: .. Yes .. Yes, hejdå! 
Tage: Bye!

So we get in any case attempt to either send some of the luggage by post, or just deal with the kilos, and bet that we are able to ration.
After talking with Finnair, I had to check the accident percentage on Finnair. And I was actually relieved. Finnair was founded in 1920, and has had 5 accidents so far. The last two in 1961 and 1963. The 1961 accident was due to drunk pilots. Let's hope the standard is better today in 2009. Eh?
Anyway, I must go deal with the rest of the clothes! Travel fever is in the winds!

Sara is packing…

The wheels are starting to roll. Now, at 02:20 am the 16.06.09, Sara is well underway with the packaging. Yes, it is the major form of packaging, because Sara is bringing things with her not only to Japan trip, but also to the summer in Fredrikstad after we get home from Japan. So this is a major packaging.
But no matter how one looks at it, it's packaging to the journey of all times, japan folder is in place, where all important papers and tickets are in, and it starts to go up for both me and Sara what we really have embarked us out on. I will not go into how many dreams I've had to include that suddenly we are in Japan, only to wake up and think "oh well ... It is not long left ...". For it is in fact quite difficult to at all imagine what we are going to experience. I, Tage, has really inconceivable little travel experience. Outside of Norway, I have been in Sweden, Denmark, and England. So can’t actually quite see how it is going to be. It is an admixture of performances based on the impression from the photos, films and books.
Sara is a more experienced traveler than I am, she has in any case been in the south (cyprus n stuff…), but it works in many ways similar to her. We have never been so far away before, and for not too long ago, we had no plans either.
Thus, this builds up to become a journey that we are going to remember the rest of our lives.
Follow us on guys! There are 7 days left, and we start to get really excited!

Our english blog is live

We thought we have some english friends as well (caugherincaugh), and decided to open our english blog aswell, a direct translation from our norwegian blog about our trip to Japan!

Happy reading! Sara and Tage