New Miyako Hotel Fukuchiyama

... to wash my hair tonight. I even thought I'd brave the different spas. There was a green tinged bath, and I tried to ask the Japanese women whether it was seaweed flavour or midori, but no one understood me. It didn't taste like either. I tried another spa, just dipping my hand in, and it was freezing. I figured out you were suppose to just splash yourself a bit to be envigourated after taking a sauna. I felt a bit like Goldilocks, because there ...

... fixing the ringer for Japan's largest bell. There was a man straddling the ringer making it look rather phallic. the monk ringing the bell. Chonin-ji, being the last ones out of temple grounds and the guard allowing me to use the facilities. The monks at the top of Sanmon Gate Then we walked back through Pontocho alley, took our last baths and a nap. We forced ourselves to get up to have dinner and see Goin and Pontocho alley at night.

... stand abreast. The narrow street literally vibrates with activity, from the shoppers, couriers and vendors -- many of whom call out to the passer-bys or smile the ubiquitous 'ohayo gozaimasu'. Everywhere you look, there are picked vegetables, fresh vegetables, delicately-carved and presented vegetables, fresh seafood of a bewildering spectrum, candies, dessert specialties, tamago (egg cake), fishcakes and other fresh-cooked ...

... They worked as carpenters and builders, building palaces, gates, and temples in the capital. Great numbers of Hida's artisans landed up building the greatest and most famous temples in the capital. The artisans returned to Hida and used these skills to build Hida's ancient temples. The technique of Hida's artisans lives on even now in this area in traditional arts and crafts. The town still preserves the feeling of a castle town. It has one of the most beautiful ...

... have any Allied Prisoner of War (POW) camps; the natural topography of the area would intensify the effects of the atomic bomb and it wouldn't cause as massive civilian devastation as a bomb dropped in Tokyo or Kyoto would. In order to record how powerful the bomb was, planes were told to stop bombing Hiroshima in prior months. And to make sure things went smoothly and according to plan, pilots had been practising how to drop the dummy ...

... tempura pumpkin being my favorite dish), drinking and even some live music...a terrific way to spend an evening in the countryside. I think that my favorite part of the evening was the conversation...most of which I did not actually understand, although some of which I was able to participate in, in the most unexpected of ways. Sitting across the table from me was a guy from Scotland (who spoke English and Japanese) and a woman from Peru (who spoke Spanish and ...

... language. The play that I went to see was called, 'Kagamiyama Kokyo no Nishikie', which in short was about an evil chief lady in waiting who spends her time bullying the other ladies in waiting, causing one of them to commit suicide as an act of revenge. This somewhat simple plot line took about two hours to be performed due to the slowness of the speech and movement. I was prepared for this though. As I intermittently surveyed the ...

... low and behold, my very own chummy Perthian! I now feel infinitely less isolated and dirty and am starting to really like this town they call Kyoto. It has a different feel to Tokyo, more laidback, more artsy, more Melbourne to Tokyos Sydney. Catch my drift? Excuse the blatant lack of brilliance apparent in this painfully dull entry but I shall make it up in the future with a massive dosage of the leetness that is me. Fully. Danny

... ellos embarcaron rumbo a Thailandia, donde tramitarán nuevamente la Visa para India, donde piensan quedarse al menos otros 6 meses; y nosotros alegremente emprendimos el último trayecto (esta vez en tran) para llegar a Kioto. El último tirón fue largo y tedioso, y yo me quedaba dormida de a ratos, pero en compańia de Be todo fue mucho más relajado, y me surgieron fuerzas suficientes para llegar, literalmente, hasta el fin del mundo (que era ...

8.15 had breakfast and a shower. 8.30 down to lobby and met group. Bought all day bus ticket (Ľ500) and took bus (spoke to old Japanese man on bus and told him in Japanese that although Mr. Oka is German, his Japanese is quite good. The man believed me! Ha ha) to nearby first temple (sanju sangendo)ŕ 100 golden statues. Walked to second temple (kiyomizu)ŕ Spoke to Geisha girls on video camera ...