KYOTO IN CAPS LOCK

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OKAY, ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE MY LAST CONFESSION- INTERNET TIME SEEMS TO COST HEAPS MORE WHEN YOU HAVE TO SAVE UP YOUR 100 YEN AND KEEP SLOTTING THEM INTO THE COMPUTER EVERY 15MINS!

ALSO, IM NOT SHOUTING, THE KEYBOARD HAS SOMEHOW BECOME STUCK ON CAPS LOCK AND I CANT WORK OUT HOW TO FIX IT. THE JAPANESE KEYBOARD IS A BIT DIFFERENT FROM ONES AT HOME AND SOMETIMES DOES CRAZY THINGS. (BY THE WAY, IM ALSO USING THIS FEATURE AS AN EXCUSE FOR ANY SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION ERRORS, RIGHT?)

BEEN UP TO QUITE A BIT SINCE WE LAST ONE-WAY CHATTED, HERE'S MY LATEST NEWS:

MONDAY
TOOK A DAY TRIP OUT TO THE FUJI GOKU AREA (SMACK BANG IN FRONT OF MOUNT FUJI) AND IN THE LITTLE TRAIN UP THE MOUNTAIN MET A FAMILY FROM MELBOURNE.

MOUNT FUJI ITSELF WAS BREAKTAKING, TOP WAS SNOW COVERED AND IT WAS A GREAT DAY. WENT FOR A STROLL THROUGH THE TOWN TRYING TO FIND THE CABLE CAR, AND ENDED UP LOST SOMEWHERE ON THE EXPRESSWAY. HE HE, IT HAD TO HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER.

TUESDAY
MY LAST DAY IN TOKYO, WENT SHOPPING IN SHINJUKO AND THEN WENT BACK TO THE ENGLISH BOOKSTORE IN SHIBUYA TO STOCK UP. I HAD FINISHED BEN ELTON'S 'STARK' WHICH FILLED ME WITH A VERY UNTIMELY SENSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: I HAVE TO THROW OUT EVERYTHING HERE, AND THERE IS SO MUCH UNNECESSARY PACKAGING. I AM STILL AMAZED THAT THE PLACE IS SO CLEAN, I CAN NEVER SEEM TO FIND A RUBBISH BIN, AND THE HOUSES DONT HAVE WHEELIE BINS.

ON TUESDAY NIGHT I ALSO FOUND OUT THAT THE BACKPACKERS PLACE I HAD BOOKED IN KYOTO HAD STUFFED UP AND I COULDNT GET A PLACE THERE. DECIDED TO SEE WHAT I COULD FIND ONCE I ARRIVED THE NEXT DAY.

WEDNESDAY
MOVING DAY, CHECKED OUT OF THE KIMI RYOKAN AND MADE MY WAY TO THE STATION. BOOKED A WINDOW SEAT ON THE SHINKANSEN. THE TRAIN WAS SUPPRISINGLY SPACIOUS FOR AN ECONOMY CLASS AND HAD HUGE WINDOWS. UNFORTUNATLY THE VIEW WAS NOT THAT GREAT, JUST LOTS OF SETTLEMENT THE WHOLE WAY. A BIT SURPRISING, AND I WAS HAPPY I HAD TAKEN THE TRIP TO MOUNT FUJI, WHICH HAD SOME BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.

ARRIVING IN KYOTO, TREKKED AROUND LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO STAY. ENDED UP IN A TINY CHEAP RYOKAN BY A CANAL, AND IN A ODDLY FURNISHED 'WESTERN ROOM'. THIS EVENTUATED AFTER A FRUSTRATING CONVERSATION WITH THE OWNER IN MY INVISABLE JAPANESE OVER WHETHER I WANTED JAPANESE OR WESTERN STYLE. THE ONLY THING WHICH STOPPED ME SAYING, 'HAI,HAI TATAMI O KUDASAI!' WAS MY MUSCLE'S MEMORY OF A WEEK SPENT ON THE FLOOR!

ANYWAY, WHILE I WAS THERE GOT TO ENJOY SOME JAPANESE TELEVISION!
THE PROGRAM I SAW SEEMED TO BE CALLED SOMETHING LIKE 'VERY FAT AMERICANS WHO EAT ALL THE TIME BUT THEN SAW THE LIGHT AND WERE INSTANTLY THIN, WHAT A MIRACLE.' WHICH CONSISTED OF RE-ENACTMENTS BY OTHER VERY FAT AMERICANS AND THEN A REVEAL AT THE END. MY FAVOURITE BIT WAS THE MOUNTAINS OF FOOD ALL THE PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE LYING ABOUT THE HOUSE, WHICH THEY AT FIRST CONSTANTLY PLOUGHED INTO AND THEN ATTEMPED TO RESIST. COME ON! WHO HAS A PLACE STACKED HIGH WITH DONUTS SITTING NEXT TO THEM AT THE COMPUTER, WHICH THEY MUST RELUCTANTLY PUSH AWAY?!!

THURSDAY
IM RUNNING OUT OF TIME, POOP.
THURSDAY I CHECKED INTO THE YOUTH HOSTEL AND HAD MY FIRST DIP IN A COMMUNAL BATH, WHICH WAS MUCH LESS EMBARRASSING THAN I WAS EXPECTING. FIRST YOU HAVE TO WASH REALLY WELL AND THEN YOU GET INTO THE BATH WHICH WAS REALLY HOT AND RELAXING. BATH WHICH WAS REALLY HOT AND RELAXING. MUST HAVE GONE TO MY HEAD, BECAUSE WHEN I GOT OUT I ALMOST TO MY HEAD, BECAUSE WHEN I GOT OUT I ALMOST FELL OVER (THIS IM SURE IS A VERY UNAPPEALING THING TO DO IN THE NUDE)

FRIDAY
WAS WOKEN BY LOUD JAPANESE ANNOUNCEMENT AT 6;40, WENT BACK TO SLEEP AND THEN HEADED OUT AT A BACK TO SLEEP AND THEN HEADED OUT AT A MORE SANE HOUR. HIRED A BICYCLE FOR THE DAY AND RODE OUT TO THE GOLDEN PAVILION KINKAKUJI AND, CANT REMEMBER THE NAME- THE FAMOUS TEMPLE THAT HAS THE ZEN ROCK GARDEN. THAT WAS PRETTY COOL- YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO USE YOUR MEDITATION TO IMAGINE WHAT THEY REPRESENT. I DONT KNOW WHAT IT MEANS IF YOU SEE A DEAD SHEEP, A HUNCHED UP MAN, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, A TREE STUMP AND A TACO.

TODAY
WENT TO THE FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE, WHICH IS THE TO THE FUSHIMI-INARI SHRINE, WHICH IS THE ONE WITH LONG PATHWAYS OF ORANGE TORII GATES- REALLY COOL. ALSO THEY WERE LOTS OF MINI SHRINES ORANGE TORII GATES- REALLY COOL. ALSO THEY WERE LOTS OF MINI SHRINES AROUND THAT LOOKED LIKE CUBBY HOUSES. MET AN ENGLISH GUY WHO IS HERE STUDYING THE KYOTO FILM INDUSTRY (AND CAN READ KANJI) WHO SAID THAT THESE ARE PUT UP BY INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES AND THEY HAVE THEIR ADDRESSES WRITTEN ON THE SIDE; THE ONE I WAS LOOKING AT WAS OWNED BY THE OSAKA HANKERCHEIF FACTORY!

THERE WERE A COUPLE OF STRAY KITTENS BOUNCING AROUND THE SHRINES AND DOING THE UNIVERSAL CAT 'DONT TOUCH ME... BUT IM JUST GOING TO ROLL ECSTATICLY ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF YOU FOR A WHILE' THING.

TONIGHT I HAD A REALLY NICE DINNER- SET MENU WHICH INCLUDED MISO SOUP, JAPANESE PICKLE THINGS, VEGETABLE TEMPURA AND RICE. ALSO HAD WARM SAKI WHICH WAS YUMMY.

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