Lodge Mai Minamiuonuma

Route 41 is a road that goes along with Zinzu river. Autumn is the best season to come to Zinzu river as trees alongside of the river turns their colors.

When we went there it was a bit early for the best season. I really wanted to come back to see the autumn leaves, but I never had time to do so. Too bad.

There is a small dam on the way to ...

... always remain in my heart. Some memories are distant and some have faded, yet when I cast my mind back to that time its as clear as the rising sun. To see the next entry please follow the link to my brand new site: http://www.memoirsofjapan.com

... on shuffled Bob. It was at that point I went into shock, realising that I was actually standing within spitting distance (a good hefty spit) of the band I've idolised for years. Then they started. "The Tape" was their first song, then followed by one of my favourites, a very apt "Kyoto Song" and after that one of my absolute favourites "Fascnination Street" Then it went on as follows with some songs possibly missing. This is a list mixed ...

... through the chilly winter by coming down the mountain to bathe in the natural onsens (hot springs). What a sight to see! They were so tame, but Darcy and I tried to keep our distance. They are still wild monkeys after all. Shara wanted to take a baby monkey home with her.

... beer!" (gotta love the friendly Japanese). They even gave us a lift home to Toyama in their bus so we didnt have to take the long and inconvenient train ride!*Bonus! Cons: - I decided to copy Darcy and go off a jump, but I didnt land it and smacked my tail bone on the icy slope!!!! I thought I'd be okay once the pain subsided...but the pain didn't.... so I had to be carted down the mountain by the Japanese Ski patrol in a mummy ...

... we didn't look for a second the guard threw some food in the water and all of a sudden all the monkeys were in the water... Still, it gives some nice pictures. Although some of them have a funny way of posing for the camera... After about an hour or so we had had enough of monkey watching and we walked back to the bus stop, Charlie stayed behind a little longer, to integrate with the monkeys a bit ...

... a few more pictures while waiting for our departure at 8:30 AM. The design and atmosphere of the hotel is stunning. Before we got on the bus, many of us were taking pictures with the women in the kimonos. I wanted a picture too of the woman who was my room service attendant and the woman who was helping serve breakfast this morning, in addition to another woman who wore a different type of kimono, whom was referred to as "Mama." I guess she was one of the ...

... the tea ceremony. This is the kind of tea used for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. I drank about half of it and my mom had to help me finish it off. Afterwards, we were brought some more tea, but of the more common sort. A few minutes after, the attendant came back to help us put on our yukatas and hakamas. Yukata is a light thing kimono, often used in the summer. It's also good to use at a hot spring resort or hotel because it will dry quickly when you put it on after ...

... to the Tokyo Art Festa 2005, its an ar festival with artists from all over the world and within Japan. It was amazing, I`ll show you all my pictures cuz its too hard to explain what we saw. And it looks like we`ll be seeing you all soon enough... Marianne

... The amount of people were staggering, and also were the Japanese's thirst for queuing. Once the gates opened it was like the first day of the Januarys sales as everyone poured into the site manically, not exactly knowing where to direct themselves. They knew where they were but no-one exactly knew what to do, so they began to run; it was funny to watch. The many pavilions representing all the countries of the world; varied in quality. With the majority being ...