Too Much Karaoke!:)

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Waaaay too many pictures taken the past few days. Three castles and a trip to Inari to ramble around the sacred mountain there. Lucky enough to snag some standing room only tickets to see the Dance of the Cherry Blossoms performed by Maiko (geishas in training) and then spent the rest of an afternoon walking along the Philosophers Path with all its greenery.

The last night of the tour we headed for drinks at the Westin and then off to dinner followed by karaoke. Now here in Japan, karaoke is done in private - as in, you rent a room to accomodate your crew by the hour. They charge per person but drinks are unlimited....and it seems the whole objective is to make goood use of that unlimited bit within your purchased time. Note to self: Cameras DO NOT belong on a karaoke excursion. None of the karaoke photos will be posted here...far too incriminating, for myself and everyone who was there😊. It seems that at some point I discovered the art of the "self portrait" as well. Ahem.

I am now in a very simple little ryokan not too far from where we were staying as a group. I plan on being here and kicking back until the 26th when I head on to Mount Koya. The small group trip was a blast and a good way to see lots in a relatively short time, get a better feel for the train and transport systems, and have someone along who speaks the language and can explain lots of cultural things that you wouldn't otherwise appreciate. Looking forward to the time on my own now as well though.

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