Esaka Tokyu Inn Osaka

... Nyt tulikin taas näköjään pitkä reissu!

Mutta ei mitään hätää! Matka Takayamaan oli nimittäin aivan uskomattoman hienoa kyytiä, vuorien ja jokien keskellä, eikä tullut aika yhtään pitkäksi. Melko totaalinen mahdottomuus oli saada kuvia junan ikkunasta, mutta sellainen maisemien sarjatuli tärähteli verkkokalvoille, että voi pojat! Melkein jo jäätiin kyydistä paikassa nimeltä Gero, mutta päätettiin kuitenkin jatkaa matkaa Takayamaan asti. Ihan kiva oli täm ...

... noin 10 minuuttia, eikä siinä ehtinyt kuin lyödä ahterinsa penkkiin ja avata teejuoman, niin oltiinkin jo perillä! Shin-Koben asemalta lähdettiin kävelemään (tietysti taas) kohti Kobe Lumierea ja löydettiinkin paikka parin kilometrin talsimisen jälkeen.

Ja kannatti kyllä kävellä, koska tosi komea oli tämä Lumiere ja aivan mielettömästi oli tullut ihmisiä sitä katsomaan. Valoista oli tehty ikään kuin kirkon seinät ja massiivista kirkkomusiikkia raikui ...

Today we spent the morning to touring around Kyoto before catching our train back to Tokyo. We stopped to visit the Nijo Castle which was originally bulit in 1603 as the official home of the first Tokugawa Shogun. Although it didn't have the beautiful gardens like the temples it was still a very interesting place. It even had a moat like European castles. We then went to see the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go ...

... went to go find a postcard. Upon going down the 2nd escalator, I received a BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) from Christie... 'COME BACK!!!!!!!!!' Can you imagine? This must be serious, they must be on a train that departs any second. I must sprint and go meet them or else I will never make it to the ship, never make it to Hawaii, and be dismissed from the Semester at Sea program. SO... I turn around and start sprinting up the escalator. Realizing I am not making much progress ...

... Plus, there is very little talking on the train at all. I assume most people don't know each other, but the train is very quiet. I saw a few people talking, but they were always very quiet and respectful of other people by not being too loud. This was obvious to me because when ever we got on the train, we were by far the loudest on the train, and we were just talking, not even being obnoxious. It was just that no one else talked. · Book covers. Most people ...

... her back (a bit nicer then the 10 dollar one) so we figured if we had one we might as well get two. I got mine first (not the 10 dollar one) but KJ needed to test it for me before I could ride on it :-). They have come in handy for riding to the train station, making runs to the store, and when the weather turns hopefully exploring up and down the river. 3) In our old apartment (1E) there was an empty apartment next door. Apparently an older ...

... momento, al final le hemos entendido, eso, que nos quedaban 10 minutos, asi que le hemos dicho que una hora más y más cervza. Cuando hemos bajado a pagar y la tía nos enseña la cuenta de 24000 yenes (24000 pelas) casi nos da un telele, en realidad no es caro porque 8 personas con 13 bebidas (aquí la bebida alcohólica es cara) y dos horas cantando a menos de 2000 yenes por persona me parece barato, pero haciendo gala de nuestro caracter ...

... at Osaka International Airport with 46 Yen (23p) and a detailed plan to start, and finish, the inaugural "World Thumb-Twiddling Championships". I knew from the outset that it would be a long day. Things were not helped when the quarter-finals between Conor and Conor were interrupted by a rampant and sugered-up group of Korean schoolchildren, who pranced and screamed around me, like prison guards testing out some new and extremely effective form of ...

... trekked through Kyoto's commercial center on foot. Late in the afternoon we reached Heian-jingu, a relatively new shrine built in 1895 to commemorate Kyoto's 1,100th birthday. With its vast open courtyard and bright orange paint, It reminded me of the Forbidden City in China. I would later learn that my association had some validity. Heian-jingu is a 2/3 scale reproduction of Kyoto's original imperial palace, which drew inspiration from Beijing's ...

... with pop, snacks...and beer.
Make it or not we grabbed a few for the road and boarded. On the train we sat together and the conductor didn't mind, though I found Paul sitting in his assigned seat one car over and brought him back. Strength in numbers.

It was a little hard to maintain our optimism as we approached the airport. Keith was all for staying, but some of us had to work in the morning, and I don't think any one of us wanted to make that ...