Chisan Hotel Kobe

... the women. But when they talk in english they talk at a really normal pitch!<br>5. They say `hai, hai, hai` (yes, yes, yes) all the time<br>6. All of them, without fail, are incredibly fashionable. Makes us feel a bit plain. Even Sarah.<br><br>Osaka was also useful just for introducing us to little Japanese details that they have all across the country. Like...<br><br>1. Ridiculous amounts of vending machines on every corner selling loads of weird drinks, even coffee in ...

Seconds please. I had to go back to Osaka, one way or another (my return flight was leaving from here). Ate just as well if not better than the first go around. Went to the Takoyaki museum at Universal city walk but it was more tako vendors than museum, not such a bad thing. Had simply amazing Kobe ...

... but discovered that all major trains passed back through Osaka. So, Osaka it was!...<br><br>I rounded the corner to Lemon House and there she was.<br><br>"Yochi! Yochi!" I called out.<br><br>She turned, and after a moment of confusion she came running with a big surprised smile.<br><br>SWAMI!" she exclaimed, and gave me a big hug.<br><br>Well, that was a nice "welcome back":)<br><br>Next, I went to Tanikawa to see about getting a room.<br><br>He, too, was ...

... this computer.&#12288;So far we did a bus tour of the main attractions in the city. Now we are looking for a place for fCub to have some Kobe beef. Tomorrow we will probably go to one of the famous shopping areas in Kobe. More to follow tomorrow. Sayonnara, Cubnelaine

... we wanted to spend the night but eventually we decided to go to Roppongi. Tokyo is the largest city in the world and is divided into nine main major subsections of the city. Roppongi is the district that is known for having great nightlife and since the trains stop running around midnight we wanted to stay in the area we wanted to hang out in for the night. The other eight subsections are known as Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Otemachi, Ueno ...

... public areas like public baths and gyms (Matt had to cover them there too). Finally we visited the zoo with our adopted family. The family consisted of mother and father, both teachers (one in math and one in english), daughter 7 years old, son 3 years old and baby daughter 10 months old. The house was an apartment on the 9th floor overlooking a park- it was very nice! We spent one night day in Osaka ...

... not one to be religious but I wonder if the Japanese ever stop to think about how they've turned some of their most holy and sacred sites into god-awful (no pun intended) tourist traps. When you enter into the cathedrals in Europe, there's still that sense of awe-invoking silence and, more importantly, space to experience whatever it is you need to take in. Both of those things were in short supply at Kiyomizu...I just can't imagine that Enchin, the temple's founder ...

... be at schools all day. I have to walk to the local airport to get internet connection, as our hotel only has one computer, no wireless connection, and a very slow connection, which you pay 100 yen for 15 minutes. My colleagues say it takes about 5 minutes to get the connection up and in English, then the transmission takes about 5 minutes. So you see, maybe a walk to the airport is the best choice! Until next time, Sandi

... our next stop. it was wild! i started work a couple days later, which is monday through friday. last weekend i went to see HONK!, completely in japanese, with keiko and kiyo in nagoya. what a hoot! and i quickly learned within 10 minutes that japanese people do not laugh out loud in a theatre. well let me tell you that by intermission, EVERYONE knew i was there. come on..the show is hysterical, and everyone was just chuckling to themselves. i couldn`t ...

Week 11 (1.2 - 1.8.03) - Still feeling kinda sick, but decided I had to get out and enjoy my time off work. I went with Nick and Hajemi on a little day trip to Kobe. We went o Rokko Mountain and Rokko Island. Both spots are beautiful...Kobe is really nice with the bay on one side and mountains on the other. After hanging out there we go to Spa World in Osaka, which I think is going to be my first onsen (hot spring) experience in Japan, but the place is really more like a small family ...