AMG...

My little R32 puts out 250 bhp and accelerates from 0-100 in under 6 seconds, imagine how I felt when a TAXI blew by me on the mean streets of Tokyo. Having been severely embarrassed I gave chase, finally catching up with the Mercedes cab at the next traffic junction...

Take a closer look...

That's an AMG modified S-class with a 5.5 litre, V8 supercharged powerplant capable of doing 0-100 in 4.6 seconds...

He must have noticed me taking a picture, because when the light turned green he decided to show me just how fast 0-100 in 4.6 seconds looked from the rear...

Small space, more lots...

How do you squeeze many parking lots into a small space? Easy, use only one lane for entry and exit...

Random pic

A fat truck.

Another day, another quake... and a typhoon

5.10 am, a 6.4 temblor 170km SW of Tokyo, by the time it got to us, it was probably a 4... enough to shake the daylights out of the bed and jolt us awake, with the exception of Nicole who, not surprisingly, slept through the whole thing.

Not quite sure how long it lasted as we woke up in the middle of it, but it sure took a while falling back asleep.

And this evening we've got a typhoon that'll brush by Tokyo... what next? Godzilla?

Bit of a tremble last night...

Had a smallish but rather long earthquake last night, apparently it was a 6.9 at the epicenter, but by the time it reached Tokyo it was a 4.

Large and long enough to shake a few household appliances, but not big enough to break anything. Definitely the biggest of the year, if not the biggest since we've moved here.

Again thank goodness we live in a pretty modern, solid and squat structure; while talking with some colleagues today, one said she lived on the 11th floor of a high-rise and last night it was swaying so much, she and her husband had to lie down on the floor...

Yikes.

Giant Gundam protecting Tokyo...

Mysteriously appearing on Odaiba island a couple of months ago, a giant Gundam on a mission to protect Tokyo and all Tokyorites from an unseen and unknown foe... as he stands guard, people from all walks of life mill around him like little ants, posing and taking photos, oblivious to any impending danger.

Scanning the skies and the horizon, prepared to protect Tokyo with his life, the giant metallic guardian waits, ready to do his duty.

A policeman stands guard, incase some poor Tokyorite gets stepped on by accident...

Click on the photo for a bigger view...

Silently watching, waiting ready to strike... an imposing, giant, mechanical sentinel.

Oh, yes, 3 monkeys and a Gundam.

Dim Sum without the parking fees...

Recently we had lunch at the Chinaroom in the Grand Hyatt. An adequate à la carte dim sum buffet lunch for about ¥3000 a head...

While the dim sum was decent, the serving portions were tiny (even by Japanese standards) and the meal was served by supercilious waiters who can't seem to comprehend how anyone would have the audacity to order more then one serving, even if it is a buffet.

Thankfully the restaurant validates parking... because, for the mathematically challenged, that's S$3.00 for every 10 minutes you park at their hotel.

T'was a good break in Singapore and Bangkok...

...but alas all good things have to come to an end.

We're back in Tokyo and right in the middle of summer, the mosquitoes are out in full force and the heat is blazing, though the humidity is much more bearable then that of Singapore.

Two weeks in Singapore is just enough to see everyone and satiate one's Singapore food cravings, but it leaves little time for relaxing as the days and nights are pretty packed. Happily we managed to eat our way through the holiday and had an additional 4 days in Bangkok to recover before coming back to Tokyo and the grind of summer.

I am desperately missing my fishball noodles, especially a bowl from the ABC market off Alexandria road... damn you Lyndsey for introducing us to this stall.

Best damn handmade fishballs in the land...

Awesome 'Zher Char' dinner at Dickson Road, off Jalan Besar, it's a bit of a dive, but the food is delicious.

Hot, humid, no parking, long wait, but the food is worth it.

Singapore was fun, but hectic, we had a more relaxing time chilling out in Bangkok. Mei and Nicole clearly enjoying the free canapés and drinks at club lounge of the Intercontinental hotel...

...and dinner at the Hotel's empty Chinese restaurant. We had a rather generous voucher we had to use, incase you're wondering why we would be eating in the hotel.

And finally someone enjoying her brand new Nintendo DSi, skillfully extorted from her grandparents.

9am, Monday morning at the Doctors...

in Singapore, there would be a queue a mile long, but we're in Tokyo...

and it's completely empty. The whole trip to the doctor took less then half an hour, including examination time and getting meds from the pharmacy next door. The only downside is they don't validate parking.

By the way, since the Japanese seem to have an aversion to handling money, you pay the machine, not the nurse. It's alright, luckily it always seems to have the right change... and it thanks you too.

All quiet on the Tokyo front...

The Sashimi doesn't have much news to report. It's deathly quiet here in Tokyo, aside from the odd buzz on the street of Swine flu or a couple of minor demonstrations outside the Myanmar embassy... there's zip going on.

Must be the dog days of summer.

Oo, newsflash, one minor report, we'll be heading back to Singapore on the 24th of June, then Bangkok on the 7th of July and back to Tokyo by the 10th... and now, back to the dog days of summer.