I checked out of my ryoukan this morning feeling a little sad to be leaving Kyoto. I have really enjoyed the city. My next and final destination for my trip was Osaka. Continue reading →

I am writing this on the Shinkansen between Nagoya and Kyoto. I had my last breakfast with my host family this morning. We were all a bit sad that my visit was over. Continue reading →

One of the tropes that comes up regularly in anime involves the hapless protagonist wandering into the wrong (usually the women’s) bath. Low brow hilarity ensues. Continue reading →

When I tried to book a room in Kyoto I was surprised to find that it was completely booked on the weekends except for rooms that cost more than $400 a night. Continue reading →

“I woke last night to the sound of thunder”. I’m sure that Bob Seger wasn’t in Kyoto when he wrote Night Moves but it is a perfect description for that weather last night that woke me. Continue reading →

I had a better look through Kyoto station when I returned from my visit to Kinkakuji Temple. Continue reading →

It had just started to rain as I walked up to the Kinkakuji temple complex. After nearly perfect sunny weather for the last 6 weeks this week looks like it will be overcast and rainy. Continue reading →

My classmate Julie and I decided to get together for dinner one night at an okonomiyaki restaurant that we has seen. I let my host family know that I would be out and met Julie at the local Aeon shopping mall where she was buying a extra suitcase to haul back her purchases. Continue reading →

One of the things that Okazaki is famous for is a locally produced miso paste, hatchou miso. Hatchou miso is dark brown in colour has been made in the same way for hundreds of years. It was a diet staple of local soldiers in the past and is supplied to the emperor today.  Continue reading →

I arrived at the Okazaki JR Station at 9 AM on a Sunday to meet some of my classmates and go to the Nagoya Matsuri. Continue reading →