Where are you on the globe?

During our recent stopover in Tokyo I was looking at a magazine and this image totally freaked me out. This supposedly is how the globe appears if Japan were the center of everything. And we all know that Japanese believed for a very long time that Japan was the center of the world. You can click on the image for a larger view. I think it is the way South America wraps around the right side that bothers me the most, although Africa and Europe are also totally weird.

Does anyone else feel freaked out by this map?


We were in Narita for only about 24 hours because of flight connection delays.  We had flown through Narita previously but always made the connecting flights with no problems.  This time our originating flight from Houston was delayed many hours which meant there was no connecting flight when we finally arrived in Japan.  So the airline had to put us in a hotel until connecting flights to Singapore would arrive later the following day.  This made a very nice break in the long trip from Houston to Singapore.  Actually ended up preventing any jet-lag when we eventually reached our destination 2 days later in Malaysia.  The hotel was not too distant from the Narita airport so we saw very little of the area but what we did see appeared very, very close quarters.  The twisting roads were extremely narrow and the vehicles very small.  The hotel room was ever-so-tiny but provided everything one might wish for comfort.  We skipped dinner (even though it would have been paid for by the airline that caused these delays).   

Breakfast was interesting.  The chef prepared 'omelets' using ulra-long chopsticks while cooking in a wok.  The omelets had no filling.  It was simply beaten eggs spread very thinly in the wok and then rolled with the chopsticks so the result resembled a crepe.  Then each person could add whatever topping preferred drizzled over the rolled egg.  Bill opted for something very American (pancakes) but I decided that since we were in Japan then I should try the traditional Japanese breakfast.  I had grilled squid pieces and roasted salmon.  Both were fabulous!!!  The squid was about 2-inches wide by 5-inches long and scored well and had been marinated in teriyaki sauce.  Somewhat chewy and I loved it.  The salmon filet had been cut into 1 1/2 inch strips and then dry roasted.  Does not sound appetizing but it was delicious!  I had to go back for seconds for that.  Wish I knew exactly how they roasted that fish.

The people we encountered were so polite.  Wish we had the money and time to visit Japan someday to truly enjoy that country.