Hikone North Art Hotel

... 12km straight with no break in inclination. So, given the arduous terrain, we were way behind schedule and ended up taking a major shortcut across the island in order to make it to the campsite before dark. However, even with the shortcut, we didn't make it to the campsite until 8pm and rode the last 2 hours in the dark- with no lights, no helmets, and along a main road. Needless to say, it was a brutal day and we were all exhausted when we finally arrived at ...

... working really hard, some are starting to read, and it scares me a little. Some kids are so advanced and independent yet I still have kids who drool and fall asleep as they chew on their rice at lunch time. So yes..July was a **** month, because of report cards. In previous years, the two teachers of the one class split the report cards in half and so we don't have to do comments for each child, just half. Last year I had to do about 11 full pages of report ...

... it was sad tonight because even though we will see the students tomorrow for lunch it was our last night together. Tomorrow we go to Tokyo with the other students (different school) since the students are divided up i have gotten a chance to spend a lot of time with some of the students i really didn't hang out with much in san antonio. (this comment is for randi sorry - koni, toshi, sakurako, keiko, akiko are the students here ...

We are about to leave so I only have a couple of minutes. We are on our way to Kyoto for the day and karaoke tongiht. yesterday we toured the school and listen to a couple of lectures. we had our official welcome\farewell ceremony dinner party at the hotel last night. again we ate like 30 courses and drank lots of sake. a dentist that had been to mexico five times sat at my table and we were able to communicate in spanish ...

... us back to the hotel and snuck back out we walked around (me virgil and jarod) for awhile but everything was closing (2am on sunday) adn finally went in to this japanese type Dennys or something. we were trying to get beer and you had to put money in a vending machine and get a ticket so we studied the japanese letters on the picture and then picked them out on the vending button and got two beer tickets but when we tried to give them to the lady she went ...

... reinforced bridge, wooden roof of the keep and so on. The castle keep was small, but the view of Lake Biwako was good. Inside of the keep, there were some signs saying,"We make an effort to have the castle designated as a World Heritage." There are a number of candidates for a new World Heritage Site in Japan, but I had never heard that the castle was also a candidate and I know it's a policy to attract more tourists, not to preserve the precious.

... with nature. The garden grows around a large pond that contain smaller 'islands' connected to the mainland by tiny bridges. A traditional Japanese tea house overlooks the pond and further in the distance, Hikone Castle dramatically rises high into the sky, like a guardian keeping watch. A moment of contemplation and a tranquil stroll around the circumference of the pond, and I find myself exiting the serenity of the garden, heading back towards the centre ...

... get my camera out of my bag and take a picture of her before she jumped into a cab and was gone! DAY 2: Golden Temple, beautiful and made of real gold! Zen Garden with 15 rocks, one of which is always hidden! Ninaji Temple with beautiful zen and moss gardens Gion Corner Theatre- we saw a Japanese show with samples of various Japanese arts: maiko (apprentice geisha who are from 19-25 years old) dance, ikebana (flower arranging), tea ...

... and the food is not that bad, actually, so I take my time, and then I realise that everyone is waiting for me. Put the chopsticks down, with a noise, get yelled at. Seconds anyone? The pots start passing in the opposite direction so I help myself to more rice. So of course, I'm again the last one to finish. I open my mouth to apologise and get yelled 'don't talk!!!'. More chanting. More bowing. Hot water and we rinse the bowls with the water, clean them with a ...

... the red gate for awhile. When I finally made it to the shrine I was surprised to find that it was open after dusk. As I wandered through the shrine I observed people out for an evening stroll, or coming to worship. I kept myself busy staring at the hundreds of while paper lanterns and the little gargoyles that seemed to be hiding in the little intimate altars and worship spaces. I was beginning to feel calm being out of the urban environment. I eventually wandered out of ...