Ise City Hotel Annex

... cia jak my. Dlaczego? Otóż udało się nam dostać w miejsce gdzie zwykli śmiertelnicy, nawet z ogromną ilością gotówki, nie mogą kupić biletów, ponieważ te miejsca nie są na sprzedaż. Mowa o miejscach dla VIP'ów zapraszanych przez sponsorów poszczególnych teamów. Lokalizacja wymarzona - tuż nad garażami poszczególnych team'ów! W tej chwili nawet ciężko opisać co dokładnie działo si ...

We did the usual disembarkation and re-boarding to go through security in Nagoya. I threw the Japanese quarantine inspectors into a tizzy. I saw there was no line for the security checkpoint and didn't see them at the far end of where the line normally is, so I jumped the barrier and almost violated their quarantine. The decided I didn't have swine flu and let me through. I had only a few minutes between when I got to the gate and we started to board.

... still ambivalent about organized religion, but it was a rather nice awkwardness-cleansing my hands and mouth at the purification fountain, and bowing/clapping at the shrines--I even said a prayer (for safe travels) at one of the public shrines. Not a bad day in all; even got up the nerve to ask a Japanese man to take my picture on a bridge leading to the auxillary shrine Kazahinominomiya.

Tomorrow...Nara.

On the weekend of the 6th and 7th of December we joined the Kizuna trip to Ise (again attentive readers a place I had already visited but instead of lounging around shamelessly I actually did some sightseeing this time). Kizuna is a student organization which focuses on interaction between Japanese students and the foreign students. They also organize a gathering with some drinks and cookies on every Thursday. Afraid that it would ...

So Saturday I woke up early, caught the 7:30 train to Nagoya and got there at around 8ish. Met up with Emily and Roxy at around 8:30ish and we took the Kintetsu line to Ise. Took 2 hours! Most of it was sleeping. We got there and went through the bazaar, I ended up buying this fish cheese thing, because I needed something to sustain my ...

... ti chiede scusa per averti fermato ed eventualmente fatto la multa, non poteva essere da meno anche dentro al circuito di Suzuka . Non ho notato nessuno che sia riuscito anche per sbaglio a buttare un pezzo di carta per terra. Se avessi potuto sia per la non conoscienza della lingua che per questioni di tempo avrei avvisato uno per uno gli appasionati di motociclismo dentro al circuito di non ...

... people, but we stubbornly stuck it out under our umbrellas and hooded jackets. Fortunately it only lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes, allowing us to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the evening. It was a good thing that it did, because it was our last opportunity to see most people for a few months (or even longer, in the case of some). Now we have about a week to get things organized around Mayu's parents' house and prepare for the trip. Today was spent ...

After an action packed day of Temple sightseeing to the max in Nara, I headed south west to a tiny fishing village near Ise, which is known solely for its shrine. My hostel looked out over a foggy bay, which I predict harbours a Japanese Loch Ness-esque creature. I went to the Ise Shrine, which was very simple and minimalist, but what really stood out was the amazing woodlands it was in. They ...

... then you do a pee test. But it isn't like in the states-all sterile and stuff. They'll give you a little paper cup, you go to the regular toilet and pee, then walk down the hallway again with your pee cup. I thought that was kinda akward. Then you do the chest xray. There's also an EKG. I think that was it. Don't worry, Shima should go over everything with you. I just wanted to give you a heads up from a girls perspective because it isn't quite the same as at home. It isn ...

... the collective consciousness of the Japanese nation. As Florence was for Italy during the Renaissance, Nara symbolizes the birth of the modern written language of the country. It was in Nara that the court ladies, who were banned from studying Chinese like their male counterparts, invented the Hiragana and Katakana writing system that the nation uses today. Taking a short 40 minute train ride from Osaka Namba-Nankai Station, I traveled back into time as the modern ...