Kansai, Part 2

So after Kyoto, we headed down to Osaka to meet Shige0- my Japanese friend who worked with me for a summer in Yellowstone almost 6 years ago. He met us at the train station and took us to Osaka port where his friend let us borrow a motorboat for the day. Shigeo showed us the city from the rivers that ran through it.
Yes, that is blue sky in the picture. It may have been the only sunny day of our trip. It was a little strange at first to see what seemed like road construction crews- only they had divers and flagboats. I guess I'm not used to seeing a whole industry centered on the marine side of things, growing up in the deserts of Utah. Anyway, thanks to Shigeo, we got to see Osaka from a point of view we never would have otherwise.
Later, we went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant, walked to his house, and watched videos of his trip to North Korea until we fell asleep. The next morning, he took us to his Aikido class where he is a black belt. Some of the other students were taking "exams" to move up in levels and it was really interesting to watch. I decided if I ever try a martial art, this one looks pretty interesting.
After Aikido, we left Shigeo and found a coffeeshop where we sat until we decided what to do next. We had several options, since we hadn't really made any plans past that point, but ended up going somewhere we never really considered before that morning- Wakayama.
And I will write more on that tomorrow, after I dress up in a kimono (at the request of one of my English students) for the Sakura Matsuri (cherry-blossom festival) in our city.

High Speed Car Chases! Karaoke! Rain!

Bryan and I just finished our week-long adventures in the Kansai region of Japan. It was a nice trip- except it rained on us 75% of the time. I guess it's that season.
We left last Saturday for Kyoto, where we had reservations for two nights. The first night was uneventful- we ended up walking around the downtown area and spent a lot of time in a huge shopping arcade, just to stay out of the rain. But we found a photo-sticker booth (called "Puri-kura", short for "print club") and that occupied a bit of our time. We ate some good Japanese food at a tiny restaurant, then went to sleep.
The next day, we decided to walk along the "Path of Philosophy" leading to Ginkaku-ji- a temple with some nice gardens.There were some nice flowers along the way, although we were about a week too early for the cherry blossoms that the path is famous for.
We walked around more of the city, found a good, cheap lunch, then walked to Kiyomizu-dera, a temple I have been to 4 times now, but still love. After walking who-knows-how-many miles more, we sat down for a good dinner, then found my favorite Taiko arcade game!! I don't know exactly how long we played this game, but I had 3 blisters, and my hands hurt for the next two days. Apparently, I hold the sticks too tight. On our walk home, we were on one of the busiest streets in Kyoto, when we heard sirens and I witnessed my first high-speed car chase. The cars weren't actually going that fast, but traffic was stopped and they were swerving between lanes. It was pretty exciting.
I am leaving for Takayama now, so I will write more about the trip soon.

Bored

I really have nothing exciting to write about, so I'm just writing for the sake of letting people know I'm still alive. What have I been doing lately... One of my friends started a book club and we had our 2nd meeting last night. We are reading Japanese literature, which has been providing some interesting insight into Japanese culture.
Other than that, work is still going well. The school year is almost over, so this will be the last time I see some of my students and teachers, but it's been a good year. I finally talked to my boss and told him I will be leaving in September. I'm a little sad, but I have 5 1/2 more months to experience Japan. Bryan is getting here this week and it's starting to warm up, so travelling will resume.