Shibuya, Tokyo – Pedestrian Scrambles and Video Screens

In: Japan|Travel

31 Jan 2010

Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s main business, shopping and nightlife areas. It is also home to one of the busiest stations in Tokyo and is famous for its pedestrian crossing – one of the busiest in the world.

(Above) Giant video screens are the norm in these here parts.

(Above) The pedestrian scramble at Hachikō Square, as you walk out of Shibuya station. This is one of the most famous intersections in the world and is very hectic. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

(Above) You see some very strange things walking around Tokyo!

(Above) We stopped for a drink and to rest our legs when we were approached by Mr Suzuki (far left). He was very keen to talk to us and after sending a couple of beers over to our table, he invited us over to join him and his friends. This guy is a bio-chemical engineer with an amazing knowledge and a lot of stories to tell. Several beers and lots of wine flowed as he impressed us with his stories, jokes and science. At the end, when we tried to pay, he was having non of it and wouldn’t let us even look at the bill. I estimate we consumed at least $100 worth of drinks. What an absolute legend!

(Above) A nice relaxing beer after a hard days exploring.

(Above) This is the guy that served us our beers. WTF :)

Ginza, Tokyo – High End Shopping District

In: Travel

30 Jan 2010

In the 5 short days we have  spent in Tokyo, we’ve seen a lot of crazy things but I still feel that we have not even scratched the surface of this amazing city. This is the first of a few blog posts, highlighting a few parts of Tokyo we have gotten to see so far.

Exploring Ginza

Ginza is home to many high end, designer labels and department stores. It is also home to the Sony building and many more big name electronic brands. Ginza is known to be one of the most luxorious shopping districts in the World and after walking around the place, I can sure see why!


(Above) A typical street scene

(Above) One of the countless examples of amazing architecture and building design

(Above) A Japanese fire engine

(Above) An impressive street corner in Ginza

(Above) A big, posh Apple store… iPad anyone?

(Above) There is a diverse range of buildings here in Ginza, like this one.

Arriving in Tokyo, Japan – Exploring Ueno

In: Japan|Travel

25 Jan 2010

The Japanese Adventures Begin

After a 4am start, a 6.30am boarding, very little sleep, a 5 hour flight and then several hours navigating the Tokyo Rail and Metro system, we finally arrived at K’s House Tokyo. This is a nice, clean place with super-friendly staff, a large number of fellow travellers and backpackers and the most awesome electronic toilets you have ever seen (more on that later).

Arriving in Narita Airport, Tokyo

Exploring Ueno

We’re staying on the outskirts of Tokyo, near Asakusa and Kuramae Metro stations. On the first night we went out in search of warm clothes and food to a nearby place called Ueno. This is a cool area with endless restaurants, strange game arcades, shopping malls, markets and other wierdness.

DVD Store in Ueno

Strange Game Arcade in Ueno (There were hundreds of these places!)

My First Impressions of Tokyo

My first impression of Tokyo is “Bloody hell, I am freezing!”, followed by “Man, this place is Crazy!”. It’s awesome, although we have only seen the outskirts so far, we have still seen plenty of giant video screens, massive buildings, crazy signs, wierd anime stores, adult shops (the japanese seem to be kinky buggers), strange food, unreadable menus, and the most friendly people you can imagine.

Everything you would expect from Tokyo and much more.

Becoming Location Independent in South-East Asia

In: My Life

26 Nov 2009

I’m currently travelling around SE Asia on my latest round of travels. After leaving the UK on 2oth of October I proceeded to spend a month in Indonesia (Bali and the Gilli Islands), before heading over to Thailand. As I write this, I am now in Ubon Ratchathani, in North East Thailand catching up on a bit of work with my friend and business partner @myeggnoodles

(Above) A friendly local offered us a fresh coconut whilst we were exploring off the beaten track near Ubon Ratchatani, Isaan

Becoming Location Independent

This is the longest trip I have undertaken so far in my life. Although I don’t have a return date in mind, I expect I will be travelling for at least 6 or 7 months. This trip also marks the beginning of my true location independence due to my selling most of my businesses before leaving the UK. To be specific, I sold off anything that required interaction with customers, deadlines or anything else that could become an issue whilst travelling long-term. I am now left with a handful of passive income streams that I can work on as and when I see fit.

Blogging Habits

I’ll be trying my best to develop a habit of blogging more regularly with regular updates on my travels and random thoughts. For anyone who is interested and wants to follow my often incoherent ramblings, I’ll soon write some more posts about what I’ve been up to so far, and also upload a few pictures.

An Update on my Goals for 2009

In: My Life

21 May 2009

I thought I’d post a quick update on my original goals for 2009, hereby holding myself accountable for my progress (or lack of it). Its the 21st of May now so we’re nearly half way through the year.

  1. Make more of an effort with friends and family
    This one is not going too badly, although it could be better. I’ve been reaching out and reconnecting with some old friends and we’ve had some good times. I’ve still got a long way to go with this one but its a start :) .
  2. Create a new habit of regular meditation.
    FAIL so far. Not managed to get into this at all. My mind still races non-stop and I still need to find the gaps in it all and learn to be silent. Must refocus on this. I’m considering joining a meditation course starting in June to kickstart me into action.
  3. Bank £50,000
    I’ve got till the end of the year to do this and may well achieve it. However, given the recent economic turmoil and the pathetic interest rates on holding cash in a bank, it may be that I am better off investing any spare cash into cashflow-generating businesses or ventures.
  4. Spend at least 6 months outside the UK
    So far I’ve spent 2 months away. To achieve this, I’d need to be ready to up and leave at the start of September for the last 4 months of the year. I’ve committed to some local projects here for a while so not sure if this will happen at the moment. I’ll definately be looking for some kind of long break though, need a holiday soon!
  5. Attend more industry trade shows and networking events
    BIG FAIL so far. I’ve not been able to attend anything so far. I’ll try to get to an event over the summer. Trouble is we’re so far away from everything down here in Cornwall :) .
  6. Simplify my projects
    This is something I am constantly trying to do but it seems like for every project I drop, I start another 3. Its a battle to try and keep focused. I also seem to have issues with letting go. Perhaps I invest too much emotion into my work or perhaps I am afraid that I will lose what I have and not be able to get it back. Not sure at the moment. One things for sure though – I do need to reduce my projects, or at least see some to completion.

I also want to add a couple more goals to focus on for the rest of 2009.

  1. Get more exercise – Getting the blod flowing is a great way to clear the mind and release stress. I aim to get at least 20 mins of exercise per day. This will include running, gym sessions and a range of sport (squash, tennis, surfing etc).
  2. Improve work/leisure balance – I have a tendency to sit at the PC for ridiculous lengths of time and at the moment I am very out of balance with work/life. I aim to start some new hobbies and make sure my life is not one long work day.

I’ll post back in a couple of months or so with another update. If anyone is reading this, I’d love to hear what you think. Any goal areas I am lacking in? How are you getting on with your own goals?

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think below.

My Goals for 2009

In: My Life

8 Jan 2009

ist2_5789124-hand-planning-2009-goals-on-whiteboard

After a generally rough 2008, I’m setting out some goals for 2009

  1. Make more of an effort with friends and family – I’m known to be quite slack and unbalanced when it comes to staying in touch with friends. Through 2009 I aim to go through a process of reconnecting and refreshing my relationships.
  2. Create a new habit of regular meditation – I’ve been saying this to myself for years but for some reason I have a lot of resistance, mainly because I know it will take a lot of discipline. However, I know that this is important for my own health and development. I suffer alot of work related stress and sometimes simply don’t know when to “switch off”. Its almost like an addiction to work. Sounds funny but its true. Meditation will help me to create the spaces in my life in which I can feel peace and heal, helping to create balance.
  3. Bank £50,000 – OK, thats a rough figure that I may modify through the year but basically, I want to bank a nice lump sum this year. I nearly achieved this late last year when I almost sold one of my businesses. For one reason and another, that didn’t happen, but I hope to be creative enough to make it happen this year, whilst also retaining all the equity in my businesses.
  4. Spend at least 6 months outside the UK – The nature of my business means that I can work remotely with relatively few issues. I aim to get myself out into the world a bit more in 2009, perhaps spend a little while working abroad somewhere. My short list of countries to spend some time in this year includes China, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
  5. Attend more industry trade shows and networking events – I’ve been on the lookout for a while for some new oportunities or some refreshing new challenges. I’ll list what I plan to attend when I’ve done some research but suffice to say, I need to get myself “out there”. If anyone knows of any interesting events, please add them to the comments.
  6. Simplify my projects – I’ve already started this process but again, I am finding resistance. I think this may be due to a problem with “letting go”. I feel attachment to my projects (and my own belongings), causing a tendency to build clutter. Rather than taking on more and more (and more) through 2009, I aim to end the year, having offloaded or outsourced a large number of my commitments.

I plan to revisit this post periodically and provide an update on my progress with the points above.

I’d love to see your comments or hear what you have planned for 2009!

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About Me

The personal blog of Matt Goult. A young entrepreneur who is currently travelling the world, exploring life and making money online to pay for it all. I'm always keen to meet like-minded people, so please get in touch.

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