Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka

... a few Avril Lavigne classics and did pretty damn well! It turned into quite a big night and we slowly formed a big group of boat friends including Jon, Richard, an American called Mike, an english guy called Alekz and an english couple, Russel and Nicky.<br><br>The next day was pretty hideous for me - my hangover slowly turned into seasickness and it just got worse the later it got. boooooo. What did lift my spirits though was later that night when we finally reached ...

... inhottava pieni kala (olisiko sardiini?) meinasi alkaa minulla tökkimään, huh! Mahtava yllätys oli vielä, että ystavämme Emi, jota ei oltu nähty vuosikausiin tärähti yhtäkkiä paikalle ja oli tosi kiva vaihdella kuulumisia pitkästä aikaa! Tässä selvisi nyt myös, että Naoki on menossa naimisiin ensi syksynä ja minut ja Katja tullaan virallisesti kutsumaan juhliin, wau! Kyllä tässä nyt on sellainen tilanne, että melkein pitää alkaa jo lippuja ...

... So, after looking through tickets online we came across a deal so temptingly cheap that before we could protest my dad had booked both my mother and myself for a flight to Kansai Int. Airport. Thus the mother, daughter travelling duo was born and we set out to pack 4 months worth of my clothes within the weight restraint of 20 kg per person ...

... European trading port in China and acted as a diversion from the traditional land routes of the Silk Road. For half a century, Portugal controlled the monopoly on much of east Asian trade and the old buildings reflect this peak, grand churches and forts. British growth in Hong Kong signaled the demise of Macau. Struggling to compete, gambling was introduced to boost revenues. However the associated social problems meant that when Portugal tried to hand the struggling colony ...

When I first arrived in Japan, I didn't realize just how big it is. Sure, it looks sort of big on a map, but its still dwarfed by its over sized neighbors, China and Russia. Japan may be smaller than those guys, but really, its a TARDIS. There are so many cities here that go unnoticed by travelers, because they are seen as boring small-towns. Boring? Small? Half of these places are bustling, buzzing and each have a unique atmosphere of their own and I am amazed and glad that we ...

... out of for who knows wh*t re*son, which involved folks sitting *round * gi*nt m*n m*de pool to c*tch koi with * rod; the weight of which would determine the *mount of mool*h you r*ke in th*t night. This, combined with the f*ct th*t every other corner w*s serving Os*k*'s delicious speci*lty dish, Octopus Dumplings, m*de for *n over*ll gre*t visit.<br><br>The following d*y w*s b*ck to temple-town, with * visit to the 'sm*ll' town of N*r*, which is home to * number of f*scin*ting n ...

... 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 ...

... as well as an entire arsenal of baseball-ish snack foods ranging from hot dogs to beer and wedges which can be carried into the theater on a little table or tray that clips into your cup holder. I thought it was amazing. Almost as amazing as the Sega Central top floor of the complex, which is essentially a gamer and gamblers paradise featuring everything from track races to lottery - only entirely electronic - in which hundreds of Japanese nerds sit around at little ...

Again, I can't be bothered with photos tonight. You'll see them tomorrow, when I can type properly (damn sake)! :D We didn't want to pay for a train ride to Kyoto, so we spent today waiting for Matt and I's JR passes to arrive. We were relaxing, watching TV, reflecting, and generally being noisy when we got 'kicked out' (in the most polite way!) of the hotel rooms so they could clean! We decided to take a short trip to Osaka-jo ...

This experience came to me through another school sponsored program. This one did not involve any ancient temples or shrines, just a typical government issue elementary school. Before 9am on a Saturday morning I joined a small group of Gaijin at Hirakata station. From there we took a 25 minute bus ride to Tsuda station where four cars waited to whisk us off like VIPs. Upon arrival at Kitamoto elementary, we headed straight to the playing field where nearly one hundred children ...