Japan!!!

Japan was great, absolutely fantastic. I'm too tired to blog now, a full post will come later. Just some of the highlights of the trip:

Swensens at Changi T3
Munchkins while waiting for the plane
Sour plum breakfast
Todaijin temple and the deer park
Fire extinguishers
Breakfast and lunch buffets
Bubble-wrapped instruments
Osaka Toin school and their symphony hall
Japanese comedians
Crazy baritone sax players
Huge bands of >100 players
Universal Studios Japan and Hollywood Dream
Giant crabs
Kiyomizu Dera and Kinkakuji
Wandering around Osaka, Kyoto and Fukui
Magnificent Harmony Hall in Fukui
Concert packed lunches that put ours to shame
Tojinbo beach
Mr Jee and Mrs Tan's date by the beach
Paul and his puppet shows (e.g. P1, P2)
Ofuro in Fukui hotel
Sour plums
Meeting Japanese students and talking in Japanese and Troll
Concert to almost a full house
Illicit taxi trips to random aircraft model shops
Yodobashi Camera, that huge electronics megastore
Kansai International Airport
Mountains and lush valleys on the long road trips.
Shining blue oceans and scenic rivers
Food, of course
Shopping for random kamikaze headbands, 5-in-1 instant geisha kits and other random souveniers
Heart attacks as the 4 J1s I was responsible for kept disappearing


and so much more.. What a great trip! The thing I enjoyed the most though, was the quality time I spent with Paul and Shuotian, the 3 of us being basically independent from most of the band as a close-knit group of 3. I couldn't have asked for more. Detailed picture account of our journey coming soon, I hope.