laura and i arrived at kyoto station at about 3pm and met up with mindy who had arrived a few hours earlier (she's an early bird like me but didn't have the difficult task of trying to wake laura up after a night out on the sauce!) we found the lovely little hostel where we were staying and were really chuffed with our bargainous private room! futons on the floor, free internet and free breakfast all for only 15 pounds a night each. we set off for gion and walked down some beautiful, traditional streets trying to find somewhere to eat. [View Full Entry]

---

---

my last week in saga flew by as quickly as i thought it would! i ventured to huis ten bosch (a dutch theme park!) on monday... it was rather bizarre to be walking next to tulips and windmills but it was a beautiful place and the weather was perfect so it made for a lovely day out! there was an american magician performing as well so we went to watch his magic show and were stumped by how he made an elephant disappear! everyone kept telling me 'yeah i know how he does it - he uses mirrors' but nobody has [View Full Entry]

---

---

yes, that's right! on thursday, laura and i set off for ureshino - a famous onsen and hot spring town not too far from saga. we were really dreading it to be honest and found it amusing that stripping off naked and sitting in a hot bath with strangers is considered to be relaxing amongst the japanese! we felt anything but relaxed! after chatting to some ladies in the information centre, we decided that we would visit a 'rotenburo' - an outdoor bath. because the temperature of the baths can be as high as 90 degrees, i wanted to try somewhere [View Full Entry]

---

---

My last few days at school were really easy… I only had 1 class on both Monday and Tuesday! Wednesday was my last day of classes and it was really sad to say goodbye to everyone after such a wonderful time here. Some of the students made me cards with really funny words written inside like “keep your way!” and “thank you for smile”… I love it! On Monday evening Gareth, James, Laura and I went for food at a really lovely Korean restaurant. I don’t think I’ve ever tried Korean food before and I couldn’t believe how hot and spicy [View Full Entry]

---

---

last friday, i watched a very emotional and moving graduation ceremony for the san nensei (third grade) students... and i'm sure it would have been even more so had i actually understood what had been said! i suppose it wasn't necessary to understand the language though - the beautiful songs, the tears (from the teachers and students) and the very japanese, formal proceedings made for captivating viewing! what we consider to be 'formal' events in the west seem disorganised and chaotic when compared to similar events in japan.... they really do take planning to a whole new level here! gradua [View Full Entry]

---

---

last week absolutely flew by... we celebrated dan's birthday on tuesday with a meal courtesy of our kind japanese friends. yoshimi is so friendly and every week the table has to be extended as she invites more and more people! we keep telling her that if she carries on like that, we'll have to spread out into different rooms and won't even be able to chat! the meal was delicious, complete with a cake that said "Happy Birthday" in chocolate... well, actually it said "Happy BRIthday" - we did well not to say anything until dan announced that there was a [View Full Entry]

---

---

yesterday, i witnessed one of the strangest weather experiences i've ever seen! i walked out of my apartment in the morning and the sky was really dark and heavy... it's difficult to explain! and it was throwing it down with rain but it didn't feel like normal rain! some of the teachers at school explained to me that every year they experience "yellow rain" - a mix of sand and toxic dust from China's Gobi Desert! the dry weather and seasonal winds bring the dust over korea and japan, which i guess only heighens tension between the countries! school children in [View Full Entry]

---

---

sorry it's been a while since i last 'blogged' (?!) i've had a fairly quiet few weeks with a few rather loud karaoke and dancing sessions dotted in between at the weekends! the weather is slowly starting to get warmer... i went out without my coat this weekend and the sunshine was really strong with a beautiful blue sky, but today it's absolutely throwing it down with rain so it's feeling a lot colder than it actually is. there's less than a month to go before it'll be warm enough for the cherry blossom to appear and i am SO excited [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yes, every single week there is at least one festival happening somewhere in Japan! This weekend it was off to Okayama on the shinkansen (bullet train) to watch the Hadaka Matsuri (English translation: NAKED FESTIVAL!) I was keen to get there early on Saturday to get my sightseeing fill. Laura “I don’t do mornings!” Lewis decided to join me later on so I arrived in Okayama around lunchtime and after a drink and sandwich set off for Okayama castle and the famous Korakuen Garden (translated: Garden of Pleasure After) and is listed as one of the top 3 gardens in the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Last Sunday, Laura and I took the train to Nagasaki for the Chinese New Year lantern festival… The train ride was pretty horrid as we couldn’t get seats - the entire train was packed! So it was an hour and 20 minutes of swaying about and squashing up against many people! We had the most delicious pizza for lunch… well, there was absolutely no way that we’d have been able to get a reservation at a Chinese restaurant - the queues for them were all the way down the street! Then, we visited the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb memorial [View Full Entry]

---

---