Hotel Asyl Nara Annex

... the time" moments, we bought crackers from a vendor to feed from the deer. As soon as the transaction was completed, nay, before it was completed, deer were biting, ramming, antler...ing, and generally bullying my buttocks. In retrospect, I have come to the conclusion that the whole thing is a clever scheme designed to herd visitors into shops as they seek safety.<br> With great effort and more than a little speed, we finally evaded the deer and ...

... monk and a small group of people. The other monk and some of the group were getting ready to ring the bell (It takes a good bit of strength, as you ring it by pulling back a log that is about 10-12" in diameter and a good 7' long. When JoEn saw us, he waved and smiled, motioning us to come over. He offered to let me ring the bell with him, and we walloped the sucker. No little "ding" for us! *grin* Afterwards, I presented my business card to him ...

... in the face, not hawking a cheesy smile) is actually awe inspiring, even for me, who as a general rule tries not to be surprised by anything (a gift and a curse). The crowds, as expected were huge and I finally found myself in the midst of foreigners in Japan. Don't know where they've been hiding, but apparently all roads lead to Nara.<br><br>Despite a nice hike around Nara, I ended the trip early and met some other hostel guests for dinner in Osaka's ...

... stepped on the stepping stones SHE stepped on. Total geek out.<br><br>Whats the ONLY bad thing about Japan?<br>The fact that everyone you meet is Australian. You see, there are backpackers and there are backpackers. I hate Australian backpackers. They all seem to assume you want to party, get drunk and ignore the fact that you are in a place rich with culture and personality. But you know what? I like not being hungover and spending my day in the hostel.<br><br>Rachael Out.

Of *ll the breeds of b*ckp*cker in this little ol' world, I t*ke no sm*ll ple*sure in h*ving to *nnounce th*t Austr*li*n b*ckp*cker's *re the biggest jerks of them *ll. Whilst the Americ*n *nd C*n*di*n crowd *re * very ple*s*nt folk *nd the occ*sion*l British citizen, whilst cert*inly * little on the loud side, is h*ppy to go *bout their business, by f*r the most obnoxious, noisiest, c*ckling bunch of p*rty-h*rd minded people belong to the little isl*nd we know *s home. Unfortun*tely, *s w ...

The southern isl*nd of J*p*n, Kyushu, is often neglected in its visits by foreigners *nd tr*velers of the world. Fukuok* (or H*k*t*), its c*pit*l city, doesn't offer much in the w*y of sight seeing *nd *dventure. But its the tiny little towns th*t br*nch off from the m*in c*pit*l th*t m*ke Kyushu * pl*ce I wish we spent more time in. Unfortun*tely, we only got to visit one of these tiny towns - tiny in J*p*n is *bout the size of s*y, Perth? - *s we only st*yed in ...

... standard peace gesture that every asian under 30 is seen making in a picture. During the times we weren't staring down the lens of someone's Nikon, we were staring through the viewfinders of our own cameras. Kinkakuji is an old aristocrats home. At some point, for oppulences sake, he decided to have the entire two storey building covered in gold. The building is surrounded by a reflecting pool with perfectly placed gnarly ...

... hire them and stayed (while we booked out 2 bikes) to be our interpreter. How kind was that? Next thing we were cycling off around the town. We found the park with its really friendly deer and bought packets of 'shika-sembei' which are small round biscuits wrapped in rice paper. These deer just love them and watch people buying them from the vendors. Then they all gather round and literally rob the person for them! We had a better idea of buying them ...

... park also had a massive bon fire and lots of fire latterns burning through the night. The main attraction at the park was the Shidarezakura, a massive weeping cherry tree in full bloom. The rest of the time I spent wandering around the hills on the outskirts of Kyoto, taking in all the green parks and lot and lots of different shrines and temples.

... in journey there *nd onw*rds. But she didn't st*y the night *t the 'Men's Only 'The Big One' in Kochie she s*id with * l*ugh *fter I questioned her *nd expl*ined wh*t it w*s. The m*n *t Aw* Iked* h*d told her *bout my feet *nd the first pl*ce she thought of w*s N*r* *s we were both supposed to come here together *fter meeting up prior. Wh*t * pity, Shodoshim* would h*ve been the perfect pl*ce to h*ve met ...