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Published: December 29th 2008
I think I'm turning Japanese, at least I hope so. =) Ahhh, gotta love the 80's songs.
Japan, my friend, I'd visit you again in a minute! After Osaka, we headed to this darling little town in the mountains called Koya-san. And by 'in the mountains' I mean C-O-L-D. And by C-O-L-D I mean snowing! Seriously. After living in Hawaii for 5 years, my blood is seriously thin & I was cold everywhere in Japan (and San Diego!) but especially in Koya-san. Karen's toes almost fell off from frostbite, except for that she didn't actually have frostbite. So they're still attached & healthy.
We checked out a super cool cemetery in a beautiful forest. It was perhaps my favorite part of Japan. That night we stayed in this cool temple and got to experience a Japanese-style room. Tatami mats, 4 seat cushion/pads & a low table. They brought us a beautiful (some might say delicious...not me though) meal with like 20 different bowls of different vegetables and starches. Work of art!
We also met a nice American lady & her son & 'when in Rome' -- immediately got naked with her in a hot tub. =) Just thought I'd spice this
mashing seeds for katsu
meals are not only pretty but fun too!blog up a bit. The naked hot tub part is true but it was just another onsen experience -- just relaxing & chatting about life & our hopes & dreams. We also got to participate in a buddhist meditation and fire ceremony in the morning -- so cool. Figuratively & literally (it snowed that night).
After checking out more temples, we headed to Kyoto to....check out more temples!
We stayed in this 'business hotel' which in English means 'extremely small bathroom'. Like an RV bathroom. In Kyoto we also checked out a castle, Imperial palace grounds, shopping, saw geishas, did a walking tour, ate katsu (twice!) and sushi (twice!). We also did a little more karaoke-ing. Yeehaa!
One more thing I love about Japan -- the toilets! I think I may have mentioned that they have warmed toilet seats and they are heaven when one's butt is chilly. They also have toilets where you sit down & it automatically starts making a peeing sound. This was awesome! Especially when you're in a small space and everyone can hear you peeing--this eliminates any pee anxiety & provides a nice noise to help you start peeing -- brilliant! Also there are bidet
Japanese high school boys
we got interviewed many times! functions on the toilet seat where you can adjust how much or little you want your butt sprayed with water -- also awesome! Somewhat surprising yet fun! Who knew going to the bathroom could be such an adventure?
Overall, Japan was a beautiful country with friendly people, clean & efficient public transportation, castles, temples & the cities even smell good. Yes, I have accepted a job for the Japanese Tourism Board and I'm being paid to write all these nice things..... =).
I'll be writing one last blog as my trip to Japan was my final stop on my World Tour. Stay tuned.
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