... this just in!

...we interrupt this story to inform you that I have FINALLY secured a job! I had my first class today. This is a part time job so I will still need something to supplement it, but it's a start! I am teaching English at an evening cram school, which is great because it frees up my mornings for field service. So half the battle is over. Yay!

... and now back to our story in progress...

Asakusa

Next stop.. Asakusa.

Asakusa is home to such sights as the Asahi Beer tower, Nakamise Market, Sensoji temple, and for a limited time Krista and Katy. If there was one thing that stood out about Asakusa, it would be the staring. Even though the areas we went were teaming with tourists (albeit mainly Asian), Krista and I felt the presence of many unabashed eyes fixed on us, and a few cameras. I had gotten used to the occasional staring, giggling, pointing and random "hello's" (or even the odd person shouting 'American!' at me) but when you're accompanied by a big-eyed, platinum blonde American- the incidences become much more frequent.

We did see some very cool parts of the city & even a dragon dance. And our last hour was spent talking to an elderly 4 ft. tall Japanese man who had many opinions about American-Japanese relations & communication. Despite the cold weather he stood in the park in shorts and t-shirt, feet wrapped in paper & stuffed into sandals, and spoke with us for about half an hour.

These were our last 2 nights spent in Japan, onward now to Taipei!

The somber wait for the train that will take us away from Japan...

The river, Asahi building, & Tokyo tower..

Mt.Fuji & Kamakura

After our trip to Kyoto we took a train back towards Tokyo & met up with one of the girls I met the week before, Yumi. She took Krista and I to their Sunday meeting. It was really nice to be around witnesses again, very refreshing. Krista and I both commented in Japanese (with the help of Yumi) and got to meet all the wonderful friends. They were all so sweet and welcoming. I was definitely able to see my Japanese lessons at work at the meeting. Even though I was only able to follow very basic points during the talk, I was able to follow along in the WT just fine and got quite a bit out of the meeting still. (Thank you Rina for equipping me with theocratic vocab!!)

After meeting we met up with a group of Yumi's friends & siblings from the area & headed for Mt. Fuji... equipped with instant ramen, coffee, tea, lots of big coats, and a big portable stove. After a long winding drive up the mountain we arrived in the dark to go star gazing. The wind was so intense that I thought it was going to rip the doors off the car. And it was SOOO cold. We were all bundled up and getting blasted by freezing wind but we were having a great time. (as can be seen in the pictures below) We made a fire in the stove, cooked up noodles and coffee and watched the stars zip by above us.

The next day the Noguchi's took Krista and I to Kamakura, which is a nearby surfer town. I really liked it there. It had a very laid back feel, and there were plenty waves in the area to surf. We went to a bamboo forest where we got to experience a tea ceremony. It was soooo yummy! After tea we drove around Kamakura, went to the beach, and had coffee at the fanciest Denny's I have ever seen. (Even their crummy family restaurants are better than ours)

After a fun filled day Yumi, Ai, and Miku took Krista and I to a Japanese hotspring. Which proved to be more than we ever bargained for in more ways than one. The springs are pumped into a 5 story building that is basically a giant spa. It cost about $9 US is all. You get issued a brown Japanese UPS worker outfit which you wear in the saunas. These aren't your ordinary saunas... there are several different rooms, each at a different temperature and each containing beds of varying stones. So you go into the rooms, each has it's unique ambiance, and lay on a bed of polished stones and sweat like you never knew you could. After about an hour of hopping from room to room you feel like you've just had a full body massage. It was sooo relaxing. Then we went to the hot springs pools. Which are separated by gender... because they are totally al naturale. This took a little getting used to, but then you realize that it isn't as much like having a nightmare where you can't find your clothes, but actually you would stand out more if you WERE wearing a suit. (Although, this was one of the few occasions I was glad my eye sight is so bad) After soaking and getting totally relaxed, reality smacked us around a bit as we realized we needed to cross Tokyo to get to our next hostel in Asakusa, and as usual we were running behind and had limited directions... to be continued!

Intense mountain air!

the girls doing their best homeless impression

(hot springs not pictured.. for obvious reasons)

Kyoto

Oh dear. You see what happens when you allow too much time to lapse between blog posts is.. all these stories and photos and experiences and days start to pile up to amass one giant ominous heap of information. And then when you finally do have a moment to sit down and post something it's a bit like dumping 3 or 4 giant jig-saw puzzles into one pile and then having to sort them all out and arrange them to make sense. So for simplicity sake, I will post one blog for each location.. picking up where I left off... Kyoto.

After our very long, wet, and exhausting journey to Kyoto, we got a good nights rest in our new hostel and awoke the next day to explore. The weather turned out to be much better than we had anticipated (meaning it wasn't pouring and thundering). So we wandered. We walked through some very old parts of the city, some buildings have been there for a hundred or more years, some for a few hundred. It was very much like going back in time at points. Kyoto was much more quiet and peaceful than Tokyo which was a welcomed change for a few days. We saw ancient temples, Maiko in full costume, rickshaw drivers, cobblestone paths leading through old neighborhoods, forests, gardens, and more. The great thing about Kyoto is that there is history and beauty around every turn. And if you don't stop to look up a small side road once in a while you might miss something hidden and spectacular. We even got to see the area that inspired the town in Spirited away. It was to say the least a fascinating and beautiful diversion. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking...