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Anno Dracula – One Thousand Monsters
A long time ago, Kim Newman wrote Drachenfels, which was a novel with a vampire, Genevieve Dieudonne, who wasn’t a generic villain, and that did so well for him that he couldn’t give her up. She showed up in several more Games Workshop novels before ending up in Anno Dracula, Newman’s alternate history where Queen […]
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Everything stinks
I kept noticing (and then forgetting) that the lobby of the Roppongi b hotel had a harsh, bilious smell to it, as though either somebody had just been sick, or they had trouble with the drains, or the kitchen staff were just dreadful. I put that behind me today as I took a taxi to […]
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Another night in Roppongi
It’s a year and a week since my first visit to the fake casino in Tokyo, so tonight, rather than stay in my somewhat miserable hotel room all evening and wonder what I’d done with my life, I went out to see my friend at Backdoor, the worryingly named poker joint, and try to win […]
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Back to Tokyo again
As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait until 2am for my flight to take off today. I had to wait until 3am for my flight to take off, because the plane was late. Hanging around at Changi at that time of the day isn’t much fun; all the shops are shut, you’re knackered, […]
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Not uplifted
Every day in this hotel, I find a note pushed under the door, warning me that the lift will be non functional due to repair work, although so far each day it’s been when I’ve been in the office, so I haven’t really cared. What I’m more annoyed about is the incredible heat in the […]
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Waking up in Tokyo: bathroom disappointment
Sensibly, I gave up on trying to function by about 9:30 last night, when it was abundantly clear even to me that I couldn’t type (what seemed to be appearing was the stream of consciousness of somebody who wasn’t conscious, which isn’t a good combination). Reading that back now, I think I was trying to […]
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Things I learned this week
This pelican is something every parent should have. My wife ordered this large bird-shaped jug from an American website a few weeks ago, and I thought she had lost her mind in buying effigies of cute animals. But it turns out to be really great. In the past, we’ve used an old plastic jam jar […]
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Nearly Death Experiences
I’ve really enjoyed my time in Tokyo this time around. Last time I was in an awful grump, but thenm I was also in an awful hotel at the bottom of Roppongi. This time I’m in a slightly nicer hotel: there’s a bath (which I criminally failed to utilise during my stay) and the bed […]
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Confused and on the cheap in Tokyo
I’m struggling with time zones a bit. I know this, because I just got an email from Oracle inviting me to a business breakfast at the Gherkin, and the first thing that crossed my mind wasn’t why can’t anyone call 1 Bishopsgate by its proper name?” but “cor, I think I’ll pop down for that” […]
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Pumpkins and long walks in Tokyo
My elder daughter would love Tokyo right now. Because it’s Halloween in less than two weeks, it seems as though everything in Roppongi is festooned with plastic orange pumpkins. Whether it’s the shady bars like Wall Street and Joker, or the lobby of my hotel, grinning pumpkins stare out everywhere. La Serpiente loves pumpkins, or […]
