I've posted a selection of photos from Japan and Mongolia. A few pictures from both places aren't up there yet, including some more nice shots of Khongor Sand Dune area. Both sets have not been touched, no chance to crop or adjust contrast on the road here, so this is straight out of the camera and a few of the pictures may appear too dark or light or have extraneous stuff around the edges.

As a photographer, I tend to shoot a lot of RAW images. I need to back these up to DVD before clearing the flash cards. I don't carry a computer, just a portable DVD drive. There are many Internet cafes in Japan and Ulaanbaatar. In Japan, the only one with a DVD writer was Manga in Shinjuku, Tokyo, but the imminent typhoon Fitow terminated my attempts at burning at DVD. On to UB, where cheap 24h internet access is readily available (T600/hr, or $0.50/hr). But they don't have DVD writers and won't let me plug in my DVD writer (not sure why). Hmmm.

I needed to get some extra items that weren't ready when I left the US, including Rx sunglasses and a flight ticket to Mongolia. Japan seemed like the best place to have things sent to. Following all the rules, my mom put together a package addresses to: Ari Halberstadt / Poste Restante / Central Tokyo Post Office / Tokyo, Japan.

Ha, typhoon shmyphoon. Nothing slows down Shinjuku, why, Japanese must have their after-work drinks and pachinko and Internet manga. You'd hardly know a typhoon was heading straight for Tokyo in a few hours. I'm out there going, ohh, it's getting windy. Hmm, what's that I heard about a typhoon? Why are several Japan train lines shut down? What am I doing on the other side of town? Hey, first time I've had to use those nifty hold-your-hat-on cords on my dorky sailing hat. Maybe I should stop burning this DVD and go back to the hotel.

Japan is nuts. I love Japan.

They bow to empty rows of pachinko machines.

They play pachinko.

They have cheap conveyor belt sushi.

They think we should get rid of atom bombs.

They have the most vile bean crud for breakfast.

Did I mention their awesome sushi?

They watch Red Sox vs. Yankees and sell hotdogs on the ferry to an offshore island.

They sleep on the floor.

They hate shoes in the house. They have special bathroom shoes. Their bathrooms are the
size of a shoebox. You need to buy yourself a bidet, TP is so 20th century. I won't visit

At the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, memorializing the atom bomb dropped on the city in 1945 and dedicated to the eradication of nuclear weapons from the world, there are drawings by survivors. One shows a skeleton standing amid rubble. The caption reads:

Anonymous, August 7th 1945 around 5am, 12 at time of bombing, 69 when he drew the picture.

That is so much more dramatic than what really happened. I had a plan, and it didn:t happen. and why is the apostrophe somewhere weird on japanese keyboards. i give up on shift key. shift or get off the can. day started out great with morning visit to temple and traditional breakfast with the ryokan keeper. what was that sticky beans thing? i like the rest, but those beans... then tokyo national museum, which was interesting and not overwhelming as id feared. plan was to sign up with hostels (should have done at home), book a place outside tokyo, pickup bag, and go to new town.

Flew in on United. A bit of a delay taking off from SFO but otherwise uneventful--if a bit long. Coming in over Narita vicinity, fields of yellowing rice and areas with homes and trees. Took my time getting out of the airport. Passed on cellphone rental, prepaid cards also expensive at airport but I got a couple not knowing better. Trains are modern and clean, even have rotating seats when train reversed direction.

Getting around

Car rental http://www2.tocoo.jp/

Japan rail pass

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en003.html

14-day green 61,200 YEN $504 regular 45,100 YEN $372

A JAPAN RAIL PASS cannot be purchased inside Japan. Purchase an Exchange Order from an authorized sales office or agent before you come to Japan, eg U.S.A. ANA San Francisco 1350 Old Bayshore Highway , Suite 650, Burlingame TEL 1-800-235-9262 (http://www.japanrailpass.net/05/en05_2.html).

Outward Flight