Granvia Okayama

... gauze material, nothing fazes them, and they don't even need a flat surface to perfectly fold a garment. <br><br>NOW A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER!<br><br>When I checked out of the Toyoko Inn this morning, they presented me with my Toyoko Inn Club Membership Card. I look very happy in the photo on the card! I was speculating what it would be like to rent out my house and use the proceeds to move into the Toyoko Inn and never have to do any cooking again!

... Since it's not watermelon season, I went with the temple complex to see. It's rather less impressive than I thought, but it is the largest probably of the 88 temples on the Shikoku Henro pilgrimage route. This is a route around Shikoku undertaken by a priest Henro, of 88 temples (big and small), and it's said if you finish the journey, whatever wish you want is granted. Apparently, they didn't know that Zentsuji has sand ...

... a bunch of other religious complexes on the island, and they are set in nice locales farther up the mountain, but much of the island is mountainous and forested, which drives tourists upwards via cablecar. But I balked at spending $20 for a couple of cable car rides and decided to hike up to the peak of Mt. Misen (which I promised myself I wouldn't do, as my legs were still recovering from Aso). Well, an hour and at least 1750 steps later (it was so harrowing, turning corners ...

... veramente da buttare via , non ho idea al momento di quanti km sono ma so molto bene che ho solo guidato nel traffico di quelli da esodo tutte queste citta` e o paesi che ho nominato sono coesi fra loro non c`e` un pezzo di terra libero che ti fa capire che stai lasciando un posto per un`altro.

... had a collection of toys, kites and masks from Japanese history, before heading back to our ryokan. We were given a very warm welcome by the staff of the ryokan even though some of them could not speak English. As when you enter most Japanese houses, or any sort of establishment, you have to take off your shoes and swap them for slippers. We were shown our room which was quite big with tatami mats on the floor and traditional sliding ...

We stopped off on the way from Kobe to Kurashiki at Imbe in the area of Bizen which is very famous for pottery and ceramics. Daniella had read in the guide book that there was a place where she could try her hand on the pottery wheel. It was a small town and there were not many restauarants open as it was a Sunday so we grabbed a bite to eat from a local supermarket. While Daniella did her stuff on the wheel, Jon took a ...

... vase will will give to Yoku tonight when we go to Hiroshima. The Omiyagai bag is filling up with gifts given to us--good thing we brought the bags! Well, I will have to sign off as the group is waiting for me. (Oh we went to the factory that makes this dried bean --sweet and tastes a bit like dates) alk to you soon amelia

Day Three after breakfast at the Young Inn we were picked up by Rikako to head out to their parents house, which is where we were staying for the night. A BBQ lunch was planned with the whole family and it was great. Plenty of tasty food and great company. We Spent the ...

... resaurant in London, as you do in most restaurants in Japan. But who knows, one day I may look back at this, maybe after a few years of living here, and completely disagree with myself. This brings me to my little revelation. A mixture of the great time I`ve had here so far, and my frustration at not fluently speaking the language, has got me thinking about taking a gap year (something I was considering skipping as I hear that it can give one an edge in getting into uni) and ...

... got better as we got higher. We first checked out some of the shrine-like buildings near to the villa and then headed up the hill behind which is where the main lookout is. Unfortunately, as it was misty and cloudy due to the snowage, the view was nothing, just hazy mist. Bit gutting, but the walk was well worth it, I needed the exercise, although my foot didn't as it began hurting to buggery again. When we got back, i thought it best to errrr numb the pain ...