Well, here is our last blog entry from Japan. We dont many pictures as we have packed the camera. We left our hotel and are now in another hostel but still in Asakusa, Tokyo. We went shopping for all the souvineers and trinkets today. I broke down bought a PSP from the Sony store in Akihabara, tax free and taking as much advantage of the Yen to Dollar as I could. We then came back and passed out in our room. It's weird because we are eager to go back home but at the same time we wish we could stay. [View Full Entry]

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Our last day in Nikko was interesting. We awoke at 6:45 to get to the yoga lesson put on by the monk and eat breakfast at 8. The yoga lesson was interesting. We did a few things that I have done before and a few I had never seen, nothing too exciting just a bunch of stretching. Then near the end we did some kind of meditation thing, and the monk did a few oooommmmmmmm’s and said a prayer. It was a little awkward but relaxing none the less. After that we showered, had breakfast, and went off to see the [View Full Entry]

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The train ride from Tokyo to Nikko was around 2 hours and involved 2 different trains so we arrived around 2:30 or 3 and started walking to our lodge. The place we are staying is run by 2 Buddhist monks, even though we only saw one, were sure the other was around somewhere. A soon as we stepped off the train things were different, the weather was actually very nice. Nikko is about 1500 ft. above sea level so the humidity was only in the 70% range and the temp was about 75 F. A very welcome change from the miserable [View Full Entry]

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So the thing about being on vacation for an extended period of time like this is that the days tend to run together and you lose track of what day it is! I believe that our last entry was made yesterday while we were still in Shinjuku (a district of Tokyo). We are in Asakusa again today, leaving for Nikko. Backtrack to a few days ago...we parted ways with my family once my dad and brother arrived here in Japan. Before going to the airport to pick them up we stopped at a little manjoo shop (manjoo is like a little [View Full Entry]

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So after we left Kyoto we headed back to Yachimata for a night at my grandma's. The next day we were headed to an onsen/kabuki theatre/dinner club kind of place. It was my grandma's choice so I should've known that it was going to be like a time machine trip back to the 1970's. There was a crazy lounge singer kind of guy there and since we were the only foreigners in the whole place (probably the only foreigners in decades) so he came over and asked us where we were from and then he shook hands with my grandma and [View Full Entry]

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Hi! It's been a couple days since we have had a chance to update since internet has been hard to come by. The following will cover the days leading up to going back to my grandma's in Yachimata. I believe we left off at our first day in Kyoto - we took a short train ride to Nara, a neighboring city known for it's ancient temples and deer park. Robert says that the deer there are very small compared to those in Wisconsin although they are the same whitetail deer. Even though they aren't very big, there's something a bit unsettling [View Full Entry]

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We are finally on our own, alive and doing well. Were in a dorm room at some hostel in Shinjuku. We will have a full entry with details from the last few days shortly. [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone! We've finally found some internet here in Kyoto. Just wanted to let you know that we made it down Mt/ Fuji safely after climbing up to the summit yesterday morning. We have plenty of pictures which well post tonight once were in the hostel....and we also have a surprise for everyone, but youll just have to wait for the pictures!! Amanda, Robert & Mommy [View Full Entry]

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So the past 48 hours have been quite an adventure. To sum it up: No sleep, freezing wind, blindly climbing through clouds, rock climbing, still no sleep, the best moment of my life, then harsh sun, volcanic ash, slippery rocks, missing the last shinkansen to our next planned destination, trying our luck in Kyoto, realizing all the hostels and hotels are booked, coming to terms with sleeping in the train station, and then finally finding a vacant hotel room and a hot shower and SLEEP! Climbing Mt. Fuji was a really cool experience, although it got a lot colder than we [View Full Entry]

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So as we are coming to the end of the third day of our trip we are finally getting used to the time difference but have yet to get used to all of the WALKING! It's especially strenuous because it's about 85 degrees with almost 100% humidity in the air so your skin feels moist and sticky all of the time. This morning we went to the Tskuji fish market; although a little later than before so we missed the fish auction (we arrived around 7:30 am). My mom was in heaven! She was talking to every fish monger in sight [View Full Entry]

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