Sansaido Hotel Kobe

... twenty four hours were a complete write-off. We just sat in our depressing box room feeling a bit sick and washing our clothes in the sink because it was too expensive to do it in the hotel! Oh dear....<br><br>Osaka is a bit of a nothing city to be honest with not very many sights but it was a pretty good introduction to Japan. It was also nice to spend some time getting to know Japanese people who are sooooooo different from the Chinese and, indeed, any other nation ...

... at Steak Ron, delicious Sakuyaki at Hariju and more helpings of takoyaki/okonomuyaki/yakisoba.<br><br>S teak Ron<br>1-10-2 Sonezaki Shinchi, Kita-ku | Umeda, Osaka<br><br>Hariju<br>1-9-26 Nishishinsaibashi Chuo-ku Osaka<br><br>Takontetsu (Pizza Ball House)<br>1-9-20 Maru Bldg Umeda 1 Chome <br>

... connecting icons from the 16th century with current day icons of the internet, at least that was the gist of it as a far as I understood. She was an "earthy" type, into Burning Man and such. We talked about Rainbow gatherings and WWOOFing (working on a farm for board and food), and other hippy-type stuff:)<br><br>Toshi was way cool. We got along right off. Having lived in Germany, he spoke English with a German accent which kinda distinguished him. He ...

... de la zona. Acabamos comiendo pastel y tomando cafe en un centro comercial cercano (con Chanel al lado). <br> Las senoras de Kobe pagaron por todo. Nos dejaron alucinadas. <br> Cuando nos despedimos, Nicola y yo nos fuimos a ver el muelle de Kobe, que tiene varios edificios emblematicos y volvimos a Osaka a eso de las nueve de la tarde. <br> Por la noche, salimos de fiesta a Wax 69 y Kamasutra, a ...

... bag and pulls out some form of sugar in a box. I watch him nonchalantly pop one in his mouth amidst all of us sardines packed into the back row. At this point I'm thinking mean thoughts, 'yeah, you just eat that sugar, you lazy little...' and at that moment he turns to me and offers me a piece of candy. I am dumbfounded. Not only do people never offer up their seats, but they never EVER share food with strangers. I could not believe my luck. I took the candy, not because I ...

... one wins. Heehee. The shrine's ceiling was covered with beautiful pictures of nature: the cranes for longevity, and a lot of natural landscapes. There was a central shrine/altar type thing, but no Buddha, which is how I knew it was a Shinto shrine, no real images. So I threw in a couple coins, formed a wish in my head, then clapped twice and pulled the rope. The lady that had gone right before me saw me being a tourist and smiled at me. Then, we headed out to Mt ...

... proceeded to congregate downstairs to go to Nagatosan's place. The hike to Nagatosan's was well worth it. Like always we ended up waiting a time for our food. Aside from the large portion of chicken and fried rice I ordered he gave us little hamburger patties (quite common in Japan), ebi (fried shrimp), egg, and goma (red bean paste balls). To top things off he gave us a fruity jello like dessert and a green tea/milk blend drink. Even ...

... and is settling into a wonderful neighborhood near the water and the mountains. It was so good to be there and to spend time with a friend. Sally has written a description of our visit at her blog: www.sallysensei.blogspot.com and she included photos! Whew, I'm going to ride her coattails right here and now. We'll write other entries for the sight-seeing we did, but this should get you started.

... First, what role do wives play in this scenario? And second, women are now attending university by the droves in Japan; wouldn't their presence and conversation be far more interesting and wide-ranging than that generated by the rather narrow education bestowed upon a geisha? But, on the other hand, part of a geisha's training might include the fine art of lavishing adoration and praise on her clients, boosting their ego and heightening their sense of self-importance. And that, as far as ...

... planning and practice drills and called it a day. I was a little disappointed because I was all set to email everyone tonight after work, but when I got to the internet café it had already closed. Guess I'll leave early tomorrow and do it before work. Lastly, I talked with Brady and Liz, the couple from Boston, and tentatively made plans to go see a temple and maybe check out this semi-national park just north of Osaka...hopefully it will be good weather.