http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Amanda-and-Robert/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Amanda and Robert en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:19:28 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:19:28 +0000 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 i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Asakusa/blog-306369.html Our last day in Nikko was interesting. We awoke at 645 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 oooommmmmmmmrsquos and said a prayer. It http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tochigi/Nikko/blog-306145.html The train ride from Tokyo to Nikko was around 2 hours and involved 2 different trains so we arrived around 230 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 s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tochigi/Nikko/blog-305020.html 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 arriv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-304550.html 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 onsenkabuki theatredinner 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 t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Chiba/blog-304164.html 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 compar http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-304154.html 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. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-303997.html 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 th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shizuoka/Mt-Fuji/blog-302261.html Hi everyoneWe039ve 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 picturesAmanda Robert Mommy http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-302076.html 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 mis http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-300986.html We left about 9 am this morning and were dropped off at the local train station. We took a local train to chiba changed trains and finally on to Tokyo central station. I asked Amandarsquos mom when the last time she was in Tokyo and she said it was something like 27 years ago Once we got there we turned in our rail pass vouchers and decided to just stash our stuff in a coin locker and start wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Akasaka/blog-300769.html We're hereSo here goes our first entry...we've finally got internet in our hostel in Asakusa so I'm going to have backtrack to yesterday and our time in Yachimatamachi. The plane ride was actually not that bad. Aside from the crazy crackling lady behind us and her husband who sounded like he was trying to cough up a lung...eww. since we were flying Korean Airlines we got to try some interes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Chiba/blog-300424.html After two years we're finally going back again to JapanOlder wiser and with less stuff this time around we're planning on conquering Fujisan as well as visiting some roads less traveled in Yachimata and possibly Kujukuri. We'll be there from July 14th to 31st...more to come as the travel date approaches http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shizuoka/Mt-Fuji/blog-269789.html Well were all packed up this morning just using the computers here at the hostel one last time they charge 10 per person after check out. Then were going to do some last minute shopping and head for the airport afternoon.Some of our closing thoughtsJapan is very clean for the most part though there are some dirty places just like any densly populated countryI like riding the subway and tra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-65907.html It's been raining all day the drizzly miserable warm kind of rain. This morning we went to the Ghibli Museum where Totoro lives. Sadly they didn't allow photographs inside...it was sooo cool We got to see a short film and seet all these neat sketches and figurines. The entire building was built like a fantasy kid's house with little doors here and there and winding staircases and mini http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-65780.html This morning we had sushi for breakfast...yummy We also tried some horse sushi...interesting. Kind of like really raw oily beef. Chewy too. Then we headed to a street near Asakusa that is lined with kitchen tools and restaurant supplies. They even had the fake food you see in the store windows Those can get really really expensive but it looks absolutely real A fake bowl of ramen is a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-65777.html Hello again live from Tokyo.We left Shizuoka early this morning. It has been raining for most of the day with some pretty darn blustery winds too. My umbrella I brought with me couldn't hack it and broke within 5 minutes of stepping our of our hotel. We managed to get a pair of good sturdy umbrellas though for only 200 yen a pieceTaking full advantage of our Rail Passwe got back on the bul http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Akasaka/blog-65349.html We got up and out of bed at about 10 and went to Kyoto Station. We found the Vie De France bakery and loaded up on bread. Everyone else was getting one or two pieces we got like 5. We would run across peach buns and then they would bring out some chocolate thing and I would have to have one while they were warm. Needless to say we looked like pigs but whatever. We have been walking an average of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-65345.html We awoke this morning and got the hell out of Osaka. The old Manjiu man wasnrsquot up yet so we left with empty bellies and sad hearts. We plan to return someday and visit him again if he havenrsquot smoked and drank himself to death. We took the train to Kyoto and dropped our stuff off at the Ryokan we were staying at. From Their we went to Nara to visit this big Buddha and some see some sigh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-65342.html Well this morning had to be one of the most depressing times of our trip. We visited the Hiroshima ABomb dome and peace memorial. One of the more sobering places was the childrenrsquos peace monument. There were lots of school children around a statue of Sadako who was a little girl who died from poisoning from the bomb and folded over 1000 cranes out of medicine wrappers. It is believed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hiroshima/blog-65334.html