Hotel New Wakasa Nara

Day 2 we caught the train to the old, old capital, Nara. In Nara we hired an English speaking guide who took us around the various sites of the Nara Park - again temples and ...

... one that didn't show up in my cameras. We headed back to the Inn for dinner, which was marvelous, if a bit odd. It turns out that the owner and her son were taking culinary courses in Kyoto, so there was an interesting mix of Japanese and European food. The quality was high and the preparation good, so I didn't complain. With little else in the area (this Inn was WAY the hell out there) we turned in early. When we got to the room, Kaoru was having ...

... maze of dodgy gentlemen's clubs, a few drag clubs and some hostess bars, before one of the group, Joris, decided to talk to an ex-pat Louisianan operating a bar called LA, Gumbo (the pun does not escape me, it's just not amusing). Common interests in percussion led us being dragged up with Joris to see the man's bar, which ends up being the size of my studio. Many bars actually operate like this, 30 bars in a medium sized apartment building, each bar essentially ...

... only spent a day in Osaka - as its only about half an hour away from Kyoto by Shinkansen - but even so, we still felt part of the action.<br>I think, the most impressive thing about Osaka we saw is its Aquarium. As soon as you lay eyes on it, you can already tell its huge. In fact, it holds around sixteen tanks displaying organisms from different aquatic environments around the world. The enclosures are amazing, and most tanks extend over a few floors so you can view every thing ...

... dis*gree, *s the complex is *stoundingly l*rge. The entire *qu*rium is built *round its enormous, five story t*ll center t*nk which is home to, *mong other things, the biggest-*ss m*nt* r*y you've ever set your eyes upon *nd its very own wh*le sh*rk. E*ch succeeding t*nk is view*ble from multiple levels, displ*ying * l*rge v*riety of se* life from *ll *cross the globe with stunning *nd surprisingly life-like enclosures to m*tch. Everything from dolphins to gi*nt otters w*s covered, *nd ...

... from the Mount*in to get fed. You know, monkeys do NOTHING, but fight, e*t *nd poo. But for some re*son, you c*n spend hours just w*tching how they inter*ct *nd be endlessly entert*ined by their cr*zy shen*****ns.<br><br>Next up were the 'Nine Hells', * series of n*tur*l hot springs which h*ve (unfortun*tely) been turned into somewh*t of * themed *musement p*rk. There's * 'Demon Hell', *n 'Anim*l Hell' with * Hippo *nd * re*lly s*d looking Eleph*nt *nd even ...

... some very old looking buddhas, all wearing bright red bibs. There wasn't any lobster to be seen, but perhaps they'd already finished their dinner. After Ryoanji, we took a taxi to Ginkakuji (silver pavillion). Made by the same people who made Kinkakuji, the biggest difference is the lack of shiny wall coverings. Apparently the family ran out of money before they could coat the building in silver. Lyndsay and I were ...

... an X with their arms) and saying 'door' too. That, of course the door will be locked at 10pm. Yes we got the picture several gestures ago! It was an interesting first night in our traditional Ryokan room. The bed or I should say mats was certainly harder than we were used too but not too bad. Give it another night! The doddery old couple then proceeded to call our room phone and asked us what time we were going out. Well that is what we understood from ...

... Determined not to drift off to the raspy sounds of someone mimicking Jack Palance in Japanese, we called it a night and I opted instead to drift off to the sound of Japanese hipster space-music wonders Sugar Plant. We awoke the next day to rain. Lots of rain. Rain that made the previous day seem like nothing. This was Florida hurricane season rain. Or Japanese monsoon season. But nothing short of Rodan strifing the countryside was going to keep us inside ...

... t the big splits in both my big toes *nd without * word squeezed both *t the s*me time. HOLIFARK! W*s wh*t c*me out of my mouth within * hundredth of * second. It took * few seconds for the burning sens*tion to even begin to die. He w*s soon pointing the nos*ls *t two more splits *nd *fter Ann* h*d *lmost jumped on my shoulders to hold me down he squeezed both tubes *g*in. HOLIFARK! W*s wh*t c*me out ...