Keiryuso Shiorie Matsumoto

... and some old relics dating back to before the Jomon period (each period in Japanese history is marked by the Emperor who reigned at the time. Even today official dates and many business transactions are marked by the year of the Emperor – we are in the 21st year of the current Emperor, Akithio) It is located in the Japanese Alps and called “the roof of Japan.” It is surrounded by beauty and natural hot springs.

We did some shopping in the little old part of ...

... numbers in Japan made no sense. After a while we found the small restaurant that had a small sheet of paper identifying itself. And small was an understatement. The restaurant had only three tables! Luckily a party was just leaving so we didn't have to wait long. We were served the cold soba in a wicker basket with accompanying spices and a mushroom and seaweed appetizer. We basically looked at the other tables to see how to eat ...

... especial aquel paraje natural donde lo bueno es perderse, buscar los miradores elevados, admirar los cerezos y fotografiarlos junto al enorme contraste del intenso amarillo de un campo de flores. A la hora de comer... o mejor dicho... cuando tuvimos hambre, entramos en "COCO ICHIBANYA Curry House".

¿Qué comimos? ¡Arroz al curry! Pero no pienses que es tan fácil... El plato es tan sencillo ...

... the bartender spoke amazing english (he spent two years of high school in the u.s) and let us sample a plethora of sake varieties - hot/cold, dry/sweet etc.. until we had all found a favourite. This was followed, as many night henceforth would, by staggering into a local karaoke bar, and proceeding to serenade with and to the locals until around midnight when, to the tune of sweet home alabama, we sauntered home to pack our things for our train the next morning to Hiroshima.

... some money on cab fare. Hopefully I can remember to ride on the left side of the street and the other vehicles remember to do the same. I'm also hoping that the rumors of English-speaking guides are true.

Adjusting my expectations... I had thought I'd zip through the castle and get to Kyoto early. Probably not. Everything takes longer than you think.

... und dann noch in die Einkaufstüte, od** das Toilettenpapi** ist einzeln in Plastik od** Papi** v**packt... And****seits sind jetzt sogenannte Eco - Bags d**zeit hi** d** totale Renn** - wobei das wohl eh** so ne Mode**scheinung zu sein scheint.
Dann hab ich noch Sake Dosen mit unt**schiedlichen Geschmacksrichtungen gefunden (Japanische Alkopops sozusagen ^_^). Gest**n hatte ich Pfirsich Geschmack heute Ume - also Pflaumengeschmack.Seeeeehr ...

... en anglais. Donc, j'ai fait un peu de repassage, refait mes valises et lu un peu.

Takayama est dans les montagnes. C'est un petit village ou il y a beaucoup d'agriculture et ou les gens travaillent le bois. Ils sont memes reputes pour leur travail. Il y a de tres beaux bols en bois lacques qui coutent, vous vous en doutez, une fortune. C'est une petite ville et tout ferme a 4h30-5h. Et quand je dis tout, j ...

... but we couldn't find it. Finally asked at a post office and found out we’d been reading the map upside down. Kuso. Walked back through town, in the rain. Turned on the right street, but still didn’t see the hotel. So I called them. Unfortunately, at "Oyado Banyo. No English." He finally hung up on me. Kuso. Walked a little farther down and saw the ryokan on another street. Finally.

The ...

... standing there...yelling at people to get them inside...i think thats called service industy in newspeak.

ok, enough for now...i think it is clear why i write in english...in german i can not express myself anymore as well, i bore myself while writing...so read you next time...maybe in german, maybe in english...
btw, its very distressing to log in after 2 weeks without inet to see only 1 mail...thx wew...
can someone pease write me, otherwise i feel so lonely

... ihanan rauhallista (muka) Uenon asemaa. Katja sanoi, että eilen illalla oli maa hiukan järähdellyt, mutta eipä oltu huomattu kapselihotellissa yhtään mitään. No joo, ei ihme, koska siellä järähteli ja pörähteli ihan tarpeeksi muutenkin :-) Tänään aloitettiin siis matka kohti Hiroshimaa, koukkaamalla kuitenkin vuorten keskellä sijaitsevan Matsumoton kautta. Shinkansenilla (luotijuna) täräytettiin ensin Naganoon, josta puksuteltiin paikallisjunalla Matsumotoon ja ...