july 7

I woke up at 630a and then an alarm in another capsule wouldn’t stop going off. So I got up and checked out by 7am. And now I’m on the kehin tohok bound for yokohama. So it took way to long to get to yokohama. Tehn I get ther and call kara. She may or may not be able to picke me fup form the station. Skyelar has a dentist appointment. Great. So it take 30 mintues to get there from yokohama. I called and its like 9am. Kara picked my up and we went back to the base and I had to get my pass. It took a while. She said on the way that autumn could stay home alone now because whe took a class. She called her on the way saying that she should come downstairs and meet us because she and skye had to leave. And I was like I can’t believe you are making me walk. She said if she misses an appointment they call the CO and Robert and it reflects badly on Robert. Uuumm..ok…

Then we went upstairs and I emptied my bag. I grabbed some water an sent out. I left the apt around 10am? It took me 30 minutes to walk to the station and then I caught the train. I know which train I’m supposed to take now; if I go to Tokyo I take tokaido and it’s best if I’m on rapid. I got to ueno and met Brandon and went to this really cool store. 5-6 floors of cute shopps action figures. Cool things. I might go back and get this hanging wall scroll and this gooba change purse and this cool Zelda peg thing. We left and started walking to the zoo and we got there and it was closed. Great. So we walked down ameyoko an dit wasn’t a whole lot of anything just clothes out of boxes, shoes, and food. We got some pineapple on a stick and walked around. Found some other streets and went to asakusa. I bought my zori and purse. I think the purse is wrong but oh well.

now we left and went back to the university. we saw taka and he have us a schedule that yoshi had made for us. They only got as far as Kyoto. They were buys with work to do. Funny. They had us changing trains all over the place. Weird meeting spots. So I found a website that put destination and time and told you routes to take in English! Very nice. So we figured that we should start early. The shinkansen that left for 703. which meant that I had to be at Tokyo station at 645.

It was hard getting a hold of toon. chinatsu called naoko for me and naoko went to toon’s room and asked if she could meet me at the dorm at 830. so I left school at 8am to catch the asakusa to sengakuji. So I ate my dinner of rice balls on the way and met her. I loaded up my bag and repacked. It was really havey. And toon offered to help me carry my bags to the station. That was very nie of her. Chinatsu told us that fukui sensei drove her to yokohama to go sightseeing and that nakashima isn’t really that helpful. She has to go to the hospital and it take 2 hours to get there, 2hr practice, and 2 hrs back on the train. That sucks. So we made it to the station and I said goodbye. The askusa line goes all the way to yokohama. Cool. But I went down the wrong track. The train was ridiculously packed. good lord. So I put my shit on the train. Standing the whole time. we got to yokohama and I had to fight to get thru. And dragged my bags the whole way to the sotetsu line. Then I dragged myself off the train and called kara to ask her to pick me up. I was really tired so I had to drag my things to the elevator and waited for her. Both girls came with her and we rode home. I unloaded my crap. I gave skyelar her spidey hand and autumnh her hello kitty strap. They put them in their ds. I gave kara the plain yatsuhashi and she liked it a lot. I got the girls to try the anko yatsuhashi and they didn’t like it. I don’t hink kara did either. I really like anko. Very delicious I unloaded my camera pictures and charged my phone. kara has wireless but it wouldn’t work. I did my laundry and took a shower. It was nearly 2a before I went to bed.

july 6

We woke up at 745a and I start getting ready. we meet mika at 9am and check out and leave our bags. The night before we found pepsi drinks with starwars bears as the prize. We bought a bunch for akiyoshi sensei. We gave the drinks to the hotel staff because we didn’t want them. We left for sumiyoshi taisha. The oldest shrine in japan. It is the headquarters for 2300 shrines across japan. I I like the huge giant trees. The are really old and they have rope tied around them.. they reminded me of inuyasha.

We left for lunch at the aquarium and had donbori – rice bowl. I had pork and ramen seto. It’s a bit wearing when we have to go where b picks because he can’t eat pork or beef. Whatever. Then we went to the aquarium kaiyukan. It was really cool. My favorite was the jellyfish and baby penguins. There were two whale sharks and gigantic sting rays. It was cool. We left at 3p to watch the IMAX show. We wanted to see the dinosaurs, but for some reason it wasn’t playing. We watched the 3D aquarium instead. It was still cool. Narrated by Johnny depp and kate winslet.

Yesterday I bought an electronic jisho (dictionary) it was a bit expensive but I want to keep studying japanese. I think It will be a great resource. Now I can buy manga too! Sweet!

I fell asleep toward the end of the show. I couldn’t help it. Then we went to the gift shop. Cute stuff. Then we left for a jr office to reserve shinkansen back to Tokyo. We went and had some ice cream at hep 5 there are so many people every where and it was so humid. We went back to the ryokan and got our bags and we met mika back at the station. Then we went to shin Osaka. We gave mika a billiken and a kaiyukan coin. She said goodbye before we went thru the gate. She was so nice to us. We also did a purikura. On the train and time for sleep.

We got back to Tokyo and I went to akihabara and tried called the capsule for directions. It was frustrating. I went out showa-dori exit and took a left. He said 5 minutes, but I think it was more like 10. eventually I found it. Then I went to the 9^th floor and dropped off my bags. The capsule doesn’t really have a lock. The door to the capsules does. I got a locker for my stuff, but my bag is too big and needed to be in front of my capsule. The man at the desk explained the rules that the top floors were for girls and that shower and computer were on the 10^th. Inside the capsule was a tv with about 10 channels and a radio and alarm. Then sleep.

july 5

So we woke up and met mika in the lobby and were off to Osaka castle. Midway there I realized I left my camera. Oh my gosh! I had to run back to get it and it was hard in flip flops. It was less awkward in person. Good! we gave her the yatsuhashi and she gave us some paper crnes. Then we went to Osaka castle. It was impressive. Very cool. The history of it, we went thru and made a coin and stamp. Then we went outside and had some takoyaki. Then we went to eat a futsubu to eat okonomiyaki. Our menu was limited as usually because b can’t eat beef or pork. So we had shrimp and squid okonomiyaki and omlet soba. Then we left and had sweets. I got blueberry chop ice.

Then we went to den den town. We found a gachipon and the gundum store. I was amazed at the amount of nudie stores there were. You might see nujey girls or nudey manga store. If mika wasn’t there I would’ve taken a picture. I didn’t want to offend her. Then we came upon shin sekai and the tsutenhaku tower. we didn’t go up because we were going to umeda sky building later. And then we found biliken. I was looking for the gold statue and we found a brown one. We took our pictures by it. It’s supposed to be good luck to rub it’s feet. We were going to leave when I noticed the blowfish from the picture and we walked to the end of the street and there he was. We took our picture with it and then left for the umeda sky building. We ate dinner at a pasta restaurant of smoked chicken.

Then we left for umeda. It was really cool at night. Up 140 meters. It has a sky garden and it was cool. Mika showed us pictures of her trip to italy with saori and other girls. Also of her homestay in England. We stayed to long and the figt shop was cloased. That was ok because they had coins and stamps. We left for home. We got back to the ryokan and I checked my email. And registered for the capsule hotel. We are getting home too late to go to kara’s since I haven’t been there yet.

july 4

Today is universal studios. We leave at about 945a. and ask for directions. They said we should have taken chuo line and switch switch switch. But we thought it would be better to take the jr line. We walk 15 minutes to morinomiya station. B whined that it was too long of a walk. He said tomorrow I’ll meet you there then he kept trying to say stuff about how long we walked. And I said “please don’t do that all day. I know it was a long walk. Not much I can do about it.” We rode the jr line all the way and switched at nikushika? For universal city. We get there and buy our tickets 5800yen. Wow! There is a whole mall before you go to usj. It was more than Disney land.

We went to spiderman first. We wanted to do the ones we wanted to do the most. It was cool. Then we waited in line 60min to ride back to the future. We were going to buy the fast pass but that was 2200 more yen. Then we went on the T2 ride. It was 3d and live. It was cool. Then we went for jaws and it was closed. But they had the jaws replica you could take your picture with but they took the picture. Then we went to the wizard of oz and everything was nearly closed except the gift shop and the merry go round. we went on the Jurassic park ride and you got wet at the end which was nice. We split up so I could ride the roller coaster and he could ride backdraft. It was so cool. You had to put your bags in a locker and rubber band your shoes if they were sandles. It was awesome. It dropped you straight down and had music blasting. Fun! Then we met up and they had some weird parade. Usj was not as fun as Disney.

We left and found a gachapon center and an Osaka store. Random food inside. We found a giant takoyaki and I took my picture with it. Takoyaki is octopus inside a breaded outside. Tasty. Then we went to tenjimsaibashisunji. The longest shopping st in japn. 2.6 km. I found some socks to wear with my zouri. I found some cute purses and I probably should’ve bought it. I know which fan I want. It’s going to be expensive for a fan and it’s in Kyoto. I tried on some zouri that were white with pink straps. I didn’t really like it. It does match the best though. We make it back homeafter a while we couldn’t figure out the ticket machine. Then we called mika or rather b did. He said it was really awkward. Funny! I check my email and chinatsu said that nakashima sense didn’t introduce toon to anyone in her lab and that no one will take care of her. She said that she cried and that really messed up. So matsuyama sensei and chinatsu cheered her up. That was of nice of them. Chinastsu made plans to go shopping with her. Time for sleep.

july 3

We woke up late and got to Kyoto imperial palace. We had to register for an English tour. It was so hot it took forever to get there. Then we got registered for the 10am tour and had to wait 30 min for it to start. We go on the tour and the lady is talking about the gates and how we actually had to walk thru the servants gate. They make roofs with cypress wood and bamboo nails. We finish around 11a and we headed to the station to get reserved for the shinkansen to Osaka. I’m ready to go. well b needs to eat. I bought more anpan so I don’t need anything. We go back to detour and he gets a sandwich and I get some iced coffee. We walk to find honnoji and of course it’s under construction. Honnoji is where nobunaga killed himself. And there’s a lame museum that he wants to go to. Great. 500yen down the drain. It was only room. Then we went down stairs and he got a postcard and poster.

Then we go to ippodo the green tea shop that akiyoshi recommended. We got koicha, the thickest kind of maccha. And we also got dango with mocchi. It was really bitter for me. We had a hard time ordering because we didn’t know what each one was. The waitress tried to explain that once we were finished we could add water to drink the rest. I interpreted it as once you were done you could get more green tea. She came out with a note on an index card to tell us. It was funny and she was really nice to us. When she came back to add water to the remaining I asked for sato (sugar) and she said nai! No supposed to use sugar in green tea.

So we left and went to nijojo castle. That was cool. It was walking through the house and the garden. They have nightingale floors that creak when you walk. It was their security system. The gift shop sucked but we found those special coins to imprint your name. then we headed for nishi honganji. It’s supposed to be a treasure house. We got there and we sea a geisha and a man get out of a cab and taking pictures. I run across the street and take her picture. Then we figured out that they went to the toei movie land and got dressed up. We get to the temple and it’s closing. Great. We went to the gift shop and got this mini picture cards and some plain yatsuhashi. It was good.

Well damn. No time to see the Buddha. I will be coming back to Kyoto. Then we went back to the station and stopped by the Kyoto tower gift shop and picked up some yatsuhashi for mika and got a tawawa souvenir . Brandon wanted a little Kyoto tower. we go back to the ryokan to get our things and wait for the bus. It was jammed packed. there was no way we would make it. We squeezed ourselves on the next one and got to the station. We get there at 615. but we do not think we will make it.

We go to the ticket office and find out the next one won’t get there until 730p. we wanted to check in before 8p because that is when the desk closes. So we decide to take the rapid jr service and it took 23 min. we get out and go to the taxies. And no one knows how to get to our ryokan. 4-5 taxis turned us down. Then this one guy tells us he can take us but he was kind of arguing with the security officer. We don’t know what is going on. But he lets us in. we ride in silence and he was talking to himself for a while. We were almost there when he stopped the cab and pulled over and went into a conveni. He was lost. He came back and knew wher to go. great! Shorly we were at the weekly mansion in otomae Osaka. It’s more like a hotel. We had our own bathroom. Cool. Pretty nice. We drop off everything and go to find a Japanese restaurant the staff recommended. I got some fish and miso soup. yum. And rice of course. We walked around and went to the convenie and came back and showered. I catalogued some pictures and went to sleep. When we got to Osaka Brandon realized that the Kyoto tower was really a pagoda. Whoops!

july 2

So we woke up this morning at 445am because the people in the room next to us woke up. We heard their alarm. So we went to kiyomizudera early. It opens at 6am and we got there about 7am. Brandon goes to take a shower and he says he take 30 minutes. What?? That is too long. I don’t have time for that. Maybe I can buy some stamps. It’s now 20 til 6. found another outlet, sweet. Kiyomizudera was really nice and peaceful. We got there so early that no one was there. We took all the pics we wanted. Also the view from the top of kiyomizudera was really awesome. But we were so early that the gift shop was not open. No biggie. We went back down the hill and went to nanzenji. When we entered the gate there was a big building and we saw school kids hanging out up there. Then we noticed that they were waving at us. And we waved back. they were very excited. It was sanmon. We got to the top and me tomes girls at the stairs. They said helloo and were really excited when branond said konnitchiwa. Brandon is sanmon hoshi. Se we rested at the top and then went to nanzenji. They had a small rock garden and rooms with screen. Tiger, crange. It was nice. Brandon bought some souvenirs.

Next was ginkakuji (silver pavilion). Well it sucked. It was under construction and it was really wasn’t silver. So we took some picks of lame construction and walked around the garden. Then I bought a postcard and we left. Next was kinkakuji. That was crowded. We were taking pics of it when some korean people ( I think) were like “hello we are trying to take pictures.” My bad. We we got out of the way and we took pics of each other. We walked around and I bought a little kinkakuji. We left and went to ryoanji. It was a rock garden. It was ok. Bought a post card of a dragon that was on some screen doors and of the rock garden. Then we went to find tazoin temple. It sucked. A lame garden that took way too long to get to. So we missed the eigamura toei movie land.

We went back to the mall and got dinner. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast. I ate my protein bars and then at lunch I ate anpan. Yum. Then we went to Kyoto tower. it has a cute mascot tawawa in the shape of Kyoto tower. while we went up there we saw a really cool statue that was huge. There was a huge grave yard behind it. I really want to find it. B kept saying “if we have time.” “Well I really want to go.” “we already have a plan and we can’t change it.” “well I’d rather bump something to go.” “well if there’s time.” FUCK! This is my trip too. I want to go dammit. It really pisses me off. So we walk around a bit and go back to the ryokan. I ask nao where to find it. Sleep.

july 1

I woke up at 630am and rushed around to get ready. I made it out the door and gave ban san my present and was out. The train was really empty at that time. I met Brandon at the jr ticket line and then we went to the rail pass office to exchange our pass. Then we reserved a seat on the 803 hikari to Kyoto and were off. It was pretty comfortable. We need to visit some where else besides Kyoto and Osaka to maximize our trip. We should have finished Tokyo before we left. Honestly. Then we could have exchanged the pass latter and I could still have it when I went to kara’s. oh well only 30 minutes to go. I should sleep.

We got off the train and it leaves quickly. When it says a brief stop they mean it. We get down to the exit and there are shops everywhere I do believe my money will be spent in Kyoto. We find the tourist info and the lady didn’t really look up the tryokan. She estimated where it was nd said what bus to get on. Then we got the buss pass. We know that you can buy 2 day pass for 2000yen and a day for 1200 yen. We asked for the bus around Kyoto and the lady said Kyoto, Osaka, nara 3 days 5000 en. But we may not go to nara so we opted for 3 days around Kyoto, only 500 yen per day.

So the busss are hella confusing. Taka kept saying, “you should buy a guidebook in English.” That really wouldn’t have helped. We got a bus map and she said get off at gojokaza? We the sign doesn’t post what the next stop is and sometimes in English. So you have to listen and pay attention. This is hard. So we got off at the wrong stop. Start walking. I’ve been cranky because I’ve got 35 lbs on me and brandon’s only wheeling around a little suitcase. We finally get there and it is the gojo guesthouse not the annex. She tells us where it is. She said it is confusing so if we can’t find it we can call and they will pick us up. Right before we found it was asked a construction guard where it was. It was really close. Then we get to the area of the annex and some lady said it was around the corner. So we do and find nothing. We ask a delivery man and he didn’t know. then we hear a man hell “here, here” and saw him hanging out of the window. We were really close. It took us an hour and a half to get there.

So we leave and set off. We took the wrong bus (brandon’s idea) and rode around for a while. It finally went to the buss station. Se we got off and decided to eat lunch. We found cheap sandwiches and iced coffee. Great! Then we figured out the bus system and went to sanjusangendo. It was really cool. 10001 statues of Buddha in gold. 1000 were little and 1 big one. Very cool. They also had two main statues guarding at either end. Thunder and wind. We bought omiyage (souvenirs) a mini folder, folder, and postcards. Then we found the yasakusa shrine. Small. Many vendors. Then next to it was chon-in temple. It has the biggest bell. It had many stairs and the complex was huge. But we didn’t find the bell. And it closed at 4pm. No gift shop. So we left and headed for heian jingo shrine. It was really cool. It was also huge and the street vendors were closing when we got there. They had miko and a garden. We walked about ans saw an older white guy and a young asian woman. I think someone found themselves a sugar daddy. Then was a cool bridge and floating stones that we walked across. Then we bought plaques that you are supposed to buy to hang on this board. I got a big gate.

Then we walked back to the bus stop and went back to the station for dinner. I was so thirsty. I got omrice and Brandon got seafood rice. He also got a macha parfait. I wasn’t really hungry for dessert. We walked around the floor and it was huge. Then we went up and found where we came in at. It was nother huge mall. 11 floors. Crazy! Brandon needed to buy a towel because he didn’t bring one and I found a cute hand towel with a whale on it. J then we went to bic camera. We found the fire (coffee ad) guy’s cd. His name is jero and he sounds like inka. Slow ballads. I didn’t like it. Brandon bought it. I was trying to find cool anime music that I liked but to no avail. We found ds stuff and saw a cool calligraphy game with a stylis that looked like a calligraphy pen. Brandon said that I could play the Japanese games on my ds. Cool. So I will remember. 3400 yen. I liked it. It helped you write kanji, but I wouldn’t be able to know what it sai.d I still need a jisho. Crap. He said I should go to donki in akihabara. I still can later. I want to fina a donki strap. Brandon needs one. Then we caught the bus home. I went to the bathroom and saw a big cockroach. It didn’t try to get away so I killed it. I asked nao (the ryokan guy)what to do with it. He was kinda shocked I found one. I showered. It was the first time in a month that I got to shower on my own. It felt lovely. And standing up. Then I checked email and evaluated matsuyama sensei. Then bed. We have a better game plan for day 2.