Konnichiwa, Junior! One more time from Tokyo. So many places to see, so many things to do! Went for the all-day Hakone circuit to see imposing volcano Mt. Fuji one more time (and took about every ride known to man along the way - ropeway, cablecar, funicular, toy train, etc.), cruising across Lake Ashi aboard a funny pirate ship replica and visiting Hell's Canyon with its volcanic sulphor springs. Then, I had my kid-in-a-candy-store day: In the western Tokyo area of Shinjuku are countless skyscrapers and 6 of them have free observation decks; you guessed it, I had to do them all!!! Hiked along ritzy Omotesando Avenue, checked out the Goth chicks at Harajuku station, visited the famous Meji Shrine, and enjoyed some more nightlife on the east side of Shinjuku. Mega highlight yesterday: I got super-lucky as I was in town for the opening day of the first and greatest of only three annual Grand Sumo tournaments. It felt like stripping naked ($50 for a nosebleed section seat, about $8,000 for spots next to the doyho on all 15 days) but it was a spectacle not to be missed. I entered the amazing Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena with about three hours of the day's events to go; there were thousands and thousands of people screaming and shouting the names of their superstars. Things really heated up with the introduction of the yokozuna, the highest-ranked and most successful sumo wrestlers of their time (only about 70 total existed in present-day Sumo so far) - a colorful spectacle of ceremonies and flying one's colors. During the last several fights of the night, when the ozeki and yokozuna duke it out, it's absolutely feverish mayhem - everybody jumps up, flashbulbs like thunderstorms everywhere, screaming and ooohhs and aaahhs, and within 5 to 30 seconds the fights are over. Oh yeah, some folks asked about the original sushi... well, I resisted the urge for 10 days, as the prices in restaurants will knock you unconscious upon entering. I did use the common tourist's argument eventually ("well, while I am here and on vacation - who cares, gotta do it once") and took the plunge in a decent mid-level Sushi restaurant in the Shibuya district - what an overwhelming attack on the taste buds and the wallet! Don't you think you've done Sushi with a bite of tuna or salmon... I left about US$80 in that plce and, of the things that I can actually name, I've had mooray's eyes, squid head, electric eel, shark fin tips (those were US$30 alone), and ray tail. Plus a few things, most of them yummy, that I couldn't even describe, much less name. Of course, after this experience, I begun seeing cheap Sushi shops left and right at every street corner. So, last night after the Sumo fest, I went into this dive right next to the stadium and for less than US$18 I have had more regular Sushi fare (sea urchin, yellow tail, salmon, tuna, mackarel, etc.) but it was very tasty, many many plates, and came with some Godo Hi-Boy, kind of a Red Bull on steroids based on sochu booze. I also checked out the Tsukiji fish market, the largest of its kind in the world, which was quite another experience in itself. In front of one of the neighboring Sushi joints, to the cheers of a knowledgeable Japanese audience, I witnessed a chef (assisted by about 4 other dudes) artfully cutting up a 400-pound (!!!) tuna using knives that looked more like 5-foot samurai swords. All the while, the restaurant owner was inviting folks on the street to get into his shop - with success, as it worked with me. Can't complain - haven't had any better (or cheaper) fatty tuna in my life!

Heya Mr. KJ - Back in Tokyo today. I absolutely can't stand to see one more temple for now but Kyoto was an inspiring must-see. Can't even remember all the places but the two highlights were the visit to the Imperial Palace (I had to get a special permission the day before but after that it was actually free) and a day in Arashiyama, a suburb of Kyoto, and its lovely Iwatayama Monkey Park - yes, another boink, boink, boink moment in my life. Amazingly funny to watch the human-like social interaction of these animals without a fence between you and them. Never a dull day in their family lives, that's for sure! The view from the park is awesome - all of Kyoto on a clear day. Speaking of clear days, I have been lucky: It was supposed to be wet and gray here in January but, while it is chillingly cold, I have had nothing but blue skies and sunshine! That made the picture of Mt. Fuji turn out great today - the Shinkansen went for an awesome sightseeing turn around it and I had the good fortune to sit at a window on the correct side of the train. Four more days in glitz and neon lights, then back into the summer and to the South Pacific.

Yowza Junior... more on life in the Big Red Dot. My wallet bled to death but I did take the plunge to ride on the top version of the three Shinkansen bullet trains: I took the Nozomi Tokaido Shinkansen super express from Tokyo to Kyoto - what a rush! Not quite as comfortable as a third-generation ICE back in Germany but, since the Japanese don't care too much for environment and neighbors when it comes to implementing technology, they ride exclusively on purpose-built tracks and, thus, fly from A to Z and not just sporadically like the ICEs. Kyoto is one amazing place... I am getting close to TOS (temple overkill syndrome) but you just have to enjoy all the beauty there is. Highlights today were the visits to the Golden Pavilion with its Mirror Lake (Wait 'till you see my picture - you can flip it upside-down and won't notice the difference!) and to Nijo Castle (Remember my birthday dinner 2 years ago? That's the place!). Topping it all off was a stroll through a shopping palace of superlatives: JR Isetan at Kyoto Station. A futuristic glass and glitz oasis of immense proportions (about two football fields in size, each of the 11-above and 3-below earth levels), nothing but ritzy brand-name apparel for men and women (no fluff stuff like electronics, household items, etc.) - and, most amazingly, that place was packed with people actually buying all that expensive crap! I went for the architectural eye-candy... a grand staircase over 7 levels, an atrium that would make NYC skyscrapers blush with waterfall-like escalators over 9 levels (no zig-zag stuff here), and for good measure you can watch the Shinkansen zip by, right from the glass escalators between levels 2 and 3. Two more days here, then back to Tokyo.

Short-term schedule:

01/04-01/08 Kyoto, Japan The historic side of the Rising Sun.
01/08-01/12 Tokyo, Japan Back for more glitz and a trip to Hakone and Mt. Fuji.
01/12-02/03 Fiji Back to the South Pacific. Details on island-hopping to follow.
02/03-05/01 Australia Including New Zealand, trips to Tazzie, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and a longer stay in Perth.

Happy New Year, little frog!!! - Just a quick hello from this jet-lagged soul, now in Tokyo. Meeting the crew in Madrid on x-mas eve was as fun as always; the flight via Miami to Cancun was another reminder why it is nice not to be in the US these days - ridiculously excessive immigration, customs and security processing, all of this not even the tiniest bit perceivable to be helping the situation at all. Whatever! At least Cancun was a jolly good Washbear time - mostly hotels hotels hotels but a nice day trip to Playa del Carmen and even some diving, even though the waves were high and the visibility comparably poor. Processing at DFW was as annoying as at MIA, so I enjoyed my luck even more having been upgraded from business to first class - woohoo!!! Two bottles of Heidsieck Monopole Brut champagne (that is a lofty 87-point Wine Spectator bubbly, for those of you who care), sushi a-la-carte, a mountain of snow-crab legs, and a good 10 hours of 180-degree sleep during the 14 hours total flight time. Narita is way outside Tokyo; took about two hours to get to my hotel. SSS, then I hooked up with a Canadian travel buddy -whom I had met in Rio de Janeiro 6 weeks ago- and his friends for the New Years night out in Roppongi, the expat party zone. Today I followed Japanese tradition and visited the Asakusa Shrine, the Five-story Pagoda, and the Senso-Ji Temple, alongside about a million or so Japanese folks. Gotta see those awesome ladies in their prime-time kimonos!!! Quiet night tonight, for a change - sleep...

Hi Junior... Waiting in the BA Terrace Lounge at London Heathrow for my flight to Madrid. Nice to finelly get some ass kissed - ehm, respectful treatment - now that I am flying on actual business class tickets, not just upgrades or miles. I helped myself to a wonderful bottle of Perrier Jouet to warm up and celebrate x-mas... oh yeah, Merry Christmas to all of you! Of course, now that I leave Germany before the event is over they actually do have a *white* x-mas this year, can you believe it? That didn't stop me from flying on the Autobahn for 5 days straight... woohoo, nothing better to see that needle go beyond the 200 mark. Went to Cottbus to visit my uncle, whom I hadn't seen in 8 years or so. Of course, there was the visit to the crew in Anklam - always nice to play the gift-giving superstar for your little (...actually, now pretty big) god-daughter. Anyway, the bottom line is that I can hardly walk after feasting at least three times every day, plus the obligatory Weihnachtsstollen all the time in between. Madrid tonight, Miami and Cancun tomorrow - Washbear time!!!

Heya Mr. KJ - Signing off from Buenos Aires. What a great time it has been! I am sure I will be back one day soon, maybe for an even longer period of time. Three more nights here in summer, sun and fun - then it's back to the old continent. I will be extremely busy racking up air miles so I might not get a chance to write an update for several weeks but I will be back, as the Mattinator says!

Yoodidleedoo Kermit Jr... I have made it! Well, almost. Still no Antarctica, but at least I am at the closest thing there is to the Antarctic Convergence 60 degrees South Latitude - Ushuaia... "End of the World, Beginning of Everything", as the locals say. Quite the cool place! It better be that way because getting here from Punta Arenas was an all-day affair, not because of distance but because of the my proven-again-theory that ridiculously unimportant border posts tend to be the ones with the most scrutiny. Never again on land from Chile to Argentina! Two hours at the stupid Chilenean side, another hour spent with the Argentinians. Funny thing is that, while we were processed, everybody went back and forth across the border to shop at the gas station, use the bathrooms, whatever. Just getting the fucking stamp in your passport was the problem. Anyway, made it to Rio Grande, a wind-swept armpit of a location, then continued via Route 3 to Tolhuen (awesome food there at the La Union panaderia!) and for the fun part across the mountain ranges, nearby lakes, and past amazing skies to Ushuaia, End of the World. Wheww!!! Took the lift up to the Martial Glaciar base today, tomorrow sailing across the Beagle Channel (yeah, more penguins!!!). Finally, back to BsAs tomorrow night for one more week in my number two city (if you don't know number one you shouldn't be reading this). Miles miles miles!!!

Short-term schedule:

12/19-12/24 Friedland/Anklam, Germany Kind of Christmas.
12/24-12/25 Madrid, Spain Now that's what I call Christmas!
12/25-12/30 Cancun, Mexico A fun diving tanning boozing Washbear time.
12/31-01/10 Tokyo, Japan Gotta see the Rising Sun rising for the New Year.
01/10-02/04 Polynesia, South Pacific Fun fun fun on Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Yo Junior - Stuck in Punta Arenas for the next three days, so here's an update. No Antarctica this time for me... just not enough luck. Step by step: After my 5 deco days in BsAs by plane via Santiago de Chile to Puerto Montt - what a chaotic and unappealing place. Killed three hours and embarked upon my trip through the fjords aboard the Magallanes, Navimag's supply vessel sailing once a week to Puerto Natales. Great party ship, lots of cool people, super-comfy berths, and even acceptable weather for some great views throughout the journey, especially in Puerto Eden and on the way through the White Passage. Zoomed through Natales to catch my bus to Punta Arenas, where DAP finally confirmed that our team of 4 wouldn't make it to King George Island in Antarctica the next day due to lack of a sufficient number of people willing to make the flight. What a bummer... Heck, at least I have about $2k more in my pocket now and can blow a bit here, as there are no buses leaving for Ushuaia until Monday. So I went on this awesome little trip to a wildlife farm, jumping around between nandus, armadillos, guanacos, sheep and angoras, even a puma, to name a few. Highlight was the visit of Pinguineros, a beach where 10,000 Magallanes penguins come ashore to work on their offspring projects. Hillarious little creatures!!! Enjoying almost white nights here... the sun "sets" at about 11 p.m. and the sky is playing with colors in a limitless number of ways. More lazy stuff tomorrow, Sunday on a ship across the Straight of Magallanes to Porvenir.