Tangono Futsuno Ie Kyotango

... for a tv show? or the internet? and we just couldn't resist, and gave the guy a group hug. The girl was finding it a bit harder to get free hugs, as the guys in Japan are not so comfortable with hugging the opposite sex. click on the 'Free hugs' photo, and it will enlarge so you can see the girl with her free hugs sign. We all got a bit silly after a while of drinking sake and ...

... and Sifnos.

I told Michael that I'm going to try and pack really lightly on this trip. I'm going to buy a backpack that is small enough to bring into the cabin as a carry-on. Wonder if I can fit all my stuff in it and live out of it for 40 days? I dunno, but I'm gonna try!! Of course we will bring an empty folded-up bag for things that we buy during the trip too though!!

... Wednesday - Went via Shinkansen {bullet train} to Kyoto traveling at almost 250kmp!! Very smooth and as with all Japanesse transport bang on time! The route was quite picturesque passing by a snow capped Mount Fuji. Unfortunatley in order to get a cheap ticket on the train we had to travel during the day so we did not end up with much time in Kyoto as we were only there for one night. Kyoto was ...

... not get there until middday on Fri because we have to stay over night in Singapore airport tomorrow. Im really not looking forward to this. We havnt sorted any accommoddation out for Fri night yet so are just hoping to find something when we arrive. Fingers crossed! Will let you know! Bex- could you email me Jacs email address coz im not sure she is receiving my emails? Mum and Dad- could you email me Carols email address to check Ive got it right? Missing everyone already-lots of love xxxx

... elemental religious and cultural practice than I'm used to. We were ravenous by the time we got back to Kyoto to pick up Tak's car, and we ate some Japanese curry at a fast food restaurant. Oh-oh. Now we're sleepy and full. It was 2 am by the time we got back, with me so deliriously tired that I could barely talk to Tak and him so tired he couldn't concentrate enough to understand English... The next morning we awoke to another element... rainy day in Kyoto. Good thing this ...

... found it funny the JETs from England and New Zealand have been told they're not really speaking English. "Can you say that with an American accent?" their teachers will ask. Haha! Some try and some just say no. "I would need some lessons before I could do that," one guy said. Tonight Zach and I have our first English club meeting with a group of random older women from our town (it's being passed on from our predeccesors). I ...

So Kyoto was good fun. It was great to see the Sugimotos again, and unlike Tokyo, the day went by without any "oh ****" moments. We saw prettyful shrines: We saw a ninja tv show being filmed: And we saw a museum of Japanese sente superheroes: I can now ...

... street, and they kindly pointed out the way to us. So we walked a bit more and finally i could see the Budget Inn sign from where i was so i thanked the man and shook his hand. Thats the difference between Kyotoites and Tokyoites....people in Kyoto well at least 80 per-cent of them are happy to help out a confused gaijin (foreigner) whereas people in Tokyo are on the move so much that they don't really bother helping. So i checked into Budget Inn and the guy at the front desk ...

Arriving back from Thailand with still a few days of vacation, I headed up to Amanohashidate with Hajemi, Nick, and Yuko. It was a beautiful time of the year and we did some spearfishing, drinking, karaoke, and just hung out together and had some fun!

... we were, sitting outside in the rain looking over the Sea of Japan, while soaking in a nice steaming natural hot spring! Very relaxing. Lastly, this week also included the re-opening of a local yakiniku (Korean beef) restaurant, which had an incredible special of Y90 drinks! (sorry, that's like 75 cent drinks) Need less to say, Noriko, Nick and I were there on opening night tallying up 37 drinks between the three of us! Ahh, meat and cheap drinks...lovin' Japan right now!