Hotel Century Shizuoka

... which consisted of a variety of small soups, fish, sushi and rice dishes all with unique tastes, textures and colours, a great place to experience some traditional eats and relaxation.

Only there for a short time but it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and a key souvenir spot! I've never seen so many cartoon fuji-chan souvenirs! Endless!

... and tea. And just what our cold cold bodies needed!

There is a tradition that you call someone or send a post-card from the top of Fuji, and I had brought addresses with me but the line for the tiny post office looked like it would take another 30 minutes and with the exception of it getting light out, our situation had not improved and the gusts of wind seemed to be getting worse.

So we took a few commemorative pictures and started down the never ...

El domingo nos levantamos a las mil. Todavia teniamos el cansancio acumulado y la noche anterior nos pusimos a planear donde ir despues del Monte Fuji y a reservar hostales.

El plan era coger un autobus que nos llevara al Lago Saiko y ver un pueblo y de vuelta ver un museo, pero luego cambiamos de opinion (cuando ya estabamos en el bus). Asi que nos bajamos y caminamos de vuelta por la orilla del lago. Hacia un dia soleado muy bueno para la ...

... to Kakegawa Castle which had been re-built and was re-opened in 1994. It is the first fully restored wood construction of its kind in Japan. There were a ton of steps up to the tower and once in the tower the steps up to the upper areas were really steep and we had to do them without out our shoes on! I would estimate that each step was about a foot high and 6 inches deep. Not easy to maneuver at ALL! I was worried about slipping and falling the whole time ...

... que estabamos rodeadas de mosquitos. Asi que nos fuimos a ver los puestos de comida que habian puesto para la ocasion. Habia pinchitos de sepia, pasteles con trocitos de pulpo, patatas con mayonesa, salchichas, carne a la plancha... comida para todos los gustos. Nos sentamos un rato y a las ocho en punto empezaron los fuegos. Tenian las plataformas en el centro del lago, asi que el espectaculo era prometedor.

La verdad es que acostumbrada a los fuegos artificiales de Valencia ...

... and not deer! Needless to say most everyone was very excited at the thought beer brought the message of God. lol

The next stop was supposed to be the Lake but it turned out that the parking lot was full. So instead we headed up Mt. Fuji! So according to the tour guide we can now say that we've "climbed" Mt. Fuji. We ...

... and a great experience. Then, three days ago i get a knock on my door:  Zach : "Hey man i'm just about to head to work, i got a question though..."Sol : "Yeah man shoot what's up?"Zach : "Do you wanna live here?" And so now i am living with these three guys, and a **** situation accommodation and organization wise has just turned out better than i could've imagined! Corey and Zach both teach English and can speak pretty ...

... we all eat after Christmas dinner. It is, in essence, a strawberry shortcake. However, it is advertised in every bakery around town as "Christmas Cake." All the bakeries specially put out their own versions of Christmas Cake and one has to order far in advance if you want to bring one home for Christmas. But perhaps the most interesting part of Christmas here has to do with Kentucky Fried Chicken ...

... peers.) There are several things that really struck me in my observation of the Japanese school lunch period. First, it was interesting to me how, before every meal, students and teachers place their palms together resembling a praying motion, and they all say "Itedakimasu" before they begin eating. Nobody begins to eat before this is said. It is roughly translated into, "I humbly receive this food." It is not a religious prayer and it is ...

... the Head English Teacher came over to me and talked with me about my lesson. He seemed to have really enjoyed it. As I was taking down a picture of Johnny Depp, whom I had posted as "my favorite actor," my Head English teacher asks me, "How would you describe Johnny Depp? Could you describe him as cool and sexy?" Now, I don't think this teacher really understood what he was asking me... he must have heard "sexy" being used by the kids around and ...