Photos of Japan!

Here it is! An album of some of my photos of Japan! I hope you enjoy the photos. I sure had a blast over there. :) I took over 100 shots, but just selected some of my favorites to put up on the net. Click HERE to take a look!

The 3 places with long names were temples we saw in Kyoto. Beautiful!

Sanjusangendo - I couldn't take a picture inside but this is the place with 1001 Buddha statues. Incredible!

Kiyomizudera - Awesome temple with a big Buddha, protector statues to ward off evil spirits, and a bell to ring in reverence of the dead. I lit a candle for mom.

Ginkakuji - Amazing nature and some incredible architecture! Also, this place has some "VIP moss" as they call it, that holds a lot of the soil together and provides nutrients. This place also had an amazing view since it was up high. You can see Kyoto Tower in the distance from the upper path.

The inside restaurant shot includes our friend Mie and her boyfriend Yashka in a place we ate at in Osaka. The neon sign place was one of the streets I took a photo of outside the Osaka restaurant. Too bad I think I deleted the night-time shot of a better one. Oh well.

The Udon shop is in the train station where Mamotaro's statue is located. See the write-up on Mamotaro in my previous post for an explanation.

The man and woman outside the family style restaurant in front of the bonsai tree are Nattsu's parents. They're awesome!

Oh, and the shot of the mountains out the plane window is over Alaska near Mt. McKinley.

All in all, I had an awesome time! From eating raw sea snail and vinegar cooked octopus, to realizing how enormous their major cities are, I was blown away. I hope to go back. :)

I'm BACK!

I made it safely back from Japan, alive and well. I'll post details and pictures soon. Stay tuned!

Arrival in JAPAN !!!

The line in Atlanta to check in and to check baggage was horrible! We spent an hour and a half just in line to check baggage! We made it in time for the plane though, just barely.

The flight to Chicago went well. The layover wasn't that bad (3.5 hours). The flight from Chicago to Osaka, Japan was a bizarre experience to say the least. 14 Hours on a plane, 3 meals, and many stretches, a few chapters, 2 movies, and a few new friends later, we arrived.
It took an hour limo bus ride to get from the airport (that's built on a manmade island composed of trash) to the hotel. A shower and a late supper of $45 noodles later, and I crashed for the night. Now it is 4:30 am, and I'm wide awake. I'm to get up and get to the train station by 9 am to meet my friend to join me on a ride to and a tour of Kyoto, the old capitol of Japan. I'm looking forward to it.

I paid $300 a night for my two night stay in the hotel here but I have a nice room on the 22nd floor, where when I look out the window, I see city lights and buildings as far as I can see. If you're familiar with Atlanta's downtown, imagine that as far as you can see, travelling on a highway at 50mph for an hour, on both sides of the raised highway. I've been through Manhattan when I was younger, and even that doesn't compare to the size of this city.

As for the look of it all, of course I can't read any of the signs, but they sure look spectacular all lit up at night. The view is absolutely stunning. I'll update again if I have more internet access. I may not until I get back, but I'll just have to cross my fingers and see.

Until my return, regards from JAPAN !!!:)