Okayama Kouraku Hotel

... gauze material, nothing fazes them, and they don't even need a flat surface to perfectly fold a garment.

NOW A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER!

When I checked out of the Toyoko Inn this morning, they presented me with my Toyoko Inn Club Membership Card. I look very happy in the photo on the card! I was speculating what it would be like to rent out my house and use the proceeds to move into the Toyoko Inn and never have to do any cooking again!

... all the other temples buried at the Kukai shrine so really you can actually be at all the other temples here. Suckers! Forked over 500 yen to wander through pitch black in the basement of the main shrine. The walls are plaster and painted over with mandalas that you're supposed to skim with your fingertips. Thankfully, no strange images appeared in the dark and the changes of direction left me totally lost. If this is ...

... some forest and over some streams and got to site with some deer at the top of mountain looking over the misty bay.

Bypassing Hiroshima, now I'm in Okayama, another big city filled with business men now on the prowl for alcohol and diversion. Had a dinner of convenience store goods because I'm lazy and tired, and tomorrow is another long day starting with a quick tour of the local 'amazing' garden and then the rest of the day in Shikoku.

Tomorrow: Kochi

-mike

Dopo qualche giorno a Kyoto si riparte , il riposino ci voleva perche` e` propio una bella citta` con tanti posti da visitare. Il viaggio di oggi e` stato qualcosa di tremendo sono passato attraverso Nara la vecchia capitale del Giappone , Osaka , Kobe , Okayama fino a fermarni a Kurashiki che ...

... made of wood and paper. We were seated at the table in the centre of our room and served with Japanese tea and a squishy red bean filled sweet, which are very popular in Japan. We were told that dinner was at 6.30 and asked whether we wanted sake for dinner. We have tried sake before, Daniella did not really like it, but Jon thought it was not bad. You can try it hot or cold, we drank it cold. Jon went down to use the communal bath ...

... around the town, which is absolutely full of pottery shops. Daniella watched the man make some pots, then it was her turn to produce a mug for tea and plate. She liked them so much she paid to have them fired, then send back to the UK. After this we headed back to the station and took a train to Okayama where we changed for another train to Kurashiki, where we had booked a stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn.

he computer is working much better. we spent the night up on Ushirioyama (Ushirio Mountain) in a cottage (really a cabin) and had a wonderful dinner with the family. It was absoultely wonderful; fresh fish, beef, lotus root, and other things I am not sure of but good. we all slept in one room (well almost--Kazu and Patty ...

... for dinner with hiroko and her sister Rikako (who also came to stay with us), and her husband. It was great to see them again and meet her husband. The yakitori was fantastic and everyone was very friendly. Photos of most of the above are in this album with a concious effort to include food shots! Speaking of food...check out the "australian meet pie" we found at an australian import shop! Another brief entry due to the time!

... the rocks and were pleasantly surprised when the bartender used ice cubes the size of baseballs for our glasses, which looked really cool and classy. After the drink we went to get dinner at a restaurant located under a JR line that shook every three minutes. We used the point method again as the only words they understood were beer and sake. We had dishes of beef, sushi, and chicken all of which were great. I'm posting this now because it's taking too long. I'll continue tomorrow.

It's been far too many days since I've blogged, as the longer I leave it, the more stuff happens, and the more daunting the thought of organising a blog becomes. Today I sit down with a plan, give up on chronology, and fit the events of the last few days into categories. Host Family: I've been very very lucky with my placement. It seems that all the things that could go wrong with a host family have gone right. The house is large (not huge ...