Sorry there haven't been any new pictures. The places we stay at have wi-fi but no PC computers to hook my camera up to. Trust me, there are a lot waiting to be uploaded! So for now, you'll have to put up with my words. Staying with the Yamazaki family was again a fun and wonderful experience. The okonomiyaki we made, and even takoyaki (they have a cute little takoyaki griddle-thing) were all delicious! The futons were super-soft, and it was tough to say goodbye...

Hooray! We are safe and sound here in Tajimi with the wonderful Hiroko Yamazaki and her family. Tonight we will be making homemade okonomiyaki for dinner! Funny story of the day: We took the JR line to Tajimi and today is Sport's Day, a holiday, here in Japan. Also at the station they were celebrating an arts festival. And who should I see right outside the JR exit in a booth of his own? Iku-san! Iku-san is the talented ceramics artist that I have met when going...

We walked around 26 blocks of this city. There were 3 businesses open, 2 of which were different 7-11 locations. Everyone told us that this city was super exciting and it was awesome forever. We were misled. Never come here. There is nothing but pain and boredom.

Holy carp, my legs are killing me! We did a lot of walking/hiking today. We couldn't sleep very well, so we got up at 5 again. The bed here at Khaosan Kyoto is awful. It is a box spring box with a thin comforter over top of it and a starchy sheet to cover yourself with, which we don't need since our room is either freezing cold with 99% humidity, or warm, but tolerable, with the window open. We did learn that we like walking around earlier in the day, anyway, sin...

Yes, two blog updates in one day! We got done with our sightseeing pretty early today, but we got to visit Kinkakuji, the golden pavilion, and Nijo Castle! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I'm pretty tired but I'm fighting to not go to bed at 6pm. Hence this blog entry. So, we figured out the bus system, which isn't that bad, thanks especially to helpful guides and maps from the Khaosan Kyoto hostel. We easily navigated through bus to Kinkakuji and Ni...