Recent Culture Hotel Okayama

... museum designed by Tadao Ando, with a waterfall garden.

On the way back to the train, I stopped at Uniqlo and bought some bright purple socks on sale for 190 yen, and then went to a second-hand store called 2nd Street where I found some souvenir towels for 50 yen and 80 yen. There is a lot of gift-giving in Japan, and I suspect that much of the merchandise that makes its way to 2nd Street has a gift history. Then I took ...

... I have my hat off to them. Dropped my **** off at Takamatsu before heading to Marugame which apparnetly makes 90% of the fans (uchiwa) for Japan. They also has a castle which I visited and doesn't really inspire much. Even the view, though expansive, is of cranes in the harbor and the sprawl of humanity approaching Takamatsu. The other main sight there is the fan museum which has demonstrations of how they're made. I was ...

... a bunch of other religious complexes on the island, and they are set in nice locales farther up the mountain, but much of the island is mountainous and forested, which drives tourists upwards via cablecar. But I balked at spending $20 for a couple of cable car rides and decided to hike up to the peak of Mt. Misen (which I promised myself I wouldn't do, as my legs were still recovering from Aso). Well, an hour and at least 1750 steps later (it was so harrowing, turning corners ...

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 ...

... in a small black lacquer box, then we had sashimi, then fish in a soup with vegetables, then prawn and vegetable tempura, then rice with octopus and vegetables and to finish off strawberries in jelly. What a feast, both of us were stuffed afterwards. We both took baths after dinner, and on our return found that in our absence our beds had been made. In the morning, we had a breakfast that was every bit as big as the dinner but ...

... 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.

... vase will will give to Yoku tonight when we go to Hiroshima. The Omiyagai bag is filling up with gifts given to us--good thing we brought the bags! Well, I will have to sign off as the group is waiting for me. (Oh we went to the factory that makes this dried bean --sweet and tastes a bit like dates) alk to you soon amelia

... efficient at their work, the food is scrumptious, the streets are meticulously clean and the TOILET SEATS ARE HEATED! There are some things that I will have to grow to like (the $88 bunches of grapes and the $198 mangoes?! I am pretty sure I did that conversion right) and the unfamiliar language of course that is unbelievably confusing ( 3 different ways of writing!). Well that is all for now...stay tuned...

... a day at the beach, but the train prices would have been pretty high. In the end we opted for somewhere closer to home in Kobe. Maiko Beach is located in Tarumi about an hour or so from Bentencho. It's not the biggest beach but it is pretty clean and the view was pretty good. There is a suspension bridge that links Tarumi with Tokushima, which looked pretty good in the summer haze. Even though Japan doesn't have the widest selection of beaches, going to the beach is a ...

... salmon and squid sushi. This was not my best meal. At home, I've been having rice balls, miso soup and egg rolls for breakfast, whereas at dinner, so far I've had home cooked tempura, Japanese beef with noodles, and Japanese style flavored hamburger. If my sister is reading this, I can safely tell her that the food here is better than in Poland. It's unfortunate that I'll be leaving the Sugimoto family in a few days, as they're going ...