Today I went to see a day of the Sumo Spring Grand Tournament. It was day 2 of the 15 day event. I turned up to the arena at about 10am, when the junior divisions were starting out their matches. I happened to be at the ticket office at the same time as this guy from New York, and a couple from Brisbane. Matt was great, he spoke some Japanese an...

Hey everyone, I'm here, at last! I arrived on Wednesday, and have been busy getting settled in. I'm staying with two other girls and it's great. They're really friendly and hospitable, showing me around the area, and giving me a hand with bits and pieces. It's quite hot over here at the moment, but it should cool down in the weeks to come. Can't...

Osaka was more of a place we passed through but we did have time to catch up with Joe, a buddy from Australia teaching English over here. His full name is Joe Dunne, which actually means 'joke' in Japanese so that provided a few smiles when ever he told his name to a Japanese person! We stayed with Yoshiko's cousin Yukari and her young and livel...

After leaving Yumi`s, I spent two nights in Nagoya, a city that doesn`t feature on many people`s itineraries. I`d been led to believe that it was a pretty non-descript place, but I had a really nice time there, no doubt aided by the glorious weather and the fact that I had a huge twin room to myself...I spent a lot of time relaxing in the bath a...

We arrived in Ikeda City, Osaka prefecture on Sunday afternoon. Some members of the Board of Education and community came to receive us. That evening my friend Takae Izumi and her friend Naomi took us to the Hankyo Department store in Osaka City. They took us first to a HUGE electronics store because my digital camera had died. I ended up buying...

My travel blog thing that you are reading at this very moment goes by the loose title of 'My third year in Osaka, Japan' Today marks the second anniversary of my first day in Japan. Time really does fly when you are having fun... Lots of great memories and hopefully many more to come. I'll keep you posted! The mildly ironic thing is that I have ...

Though I'd never want to permanently call Japan home, I've been here 1.5 years and I think its always a bit difficult to leave place so familiar. As always, the best thing about a place is the people you meet and the friends you make. They're what make the place special and memorable. When I think of Japan, I'll remember the sights and temples a...