Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so I took a break from packing to go and buy a bento and chill by the river to eat. It was beautiful and sunny, and while it was warm, it was a lot cooler than it's been. As I was sitting there, this old man walked by, pushing a bike with a box strapped to the back, propped open, music quietly playing from inside. ( Read more... )

WOOOOOO ( Read more... )

Off on a two-week trek around East Japan, including, but not restricted to, the Kansai area, and Hiroshima. Hopefully going to fit in Nagoya and the Expo at the end, if I can. Catch ya on the flipside (ie, in the general vicinity of August 17. Word.)

Pardon this brief, off-topic post, but:

I'm absolutely burning with national pride right now.

We're number. . . well. . . uh. . . four! But still! We're number four!

(Edit: The "royal approval" comes from the Governor General, who is a figurehead who represents the Queen, who is another figurehead. The bill is passed.)

Okay. Whoo. I've made the mistake of waiting a bit too long to continue writing this, so some of the details have gone a little hazy in my mind. I'm hoping that it'll all come back to me as I try to recall it.

( stations 8 - 10 )

( Continued Fuji-san Adventures: The Guy at the 8th-station Hut )

( Fuji-san, stations 5 to 8 )

Okay. I'm going to start this entry, and then I may come back and edit it. It's 1:50 am and I can't sleep, due to having drunk two cups of o-cha at about 12:30 after having dinner with a family friend (green tea is traditionally drunk at the end of dinner in Japan. It also has killer amounts of caffeine. Bah ( Read more... )

Coming. . . hopefully tomorrow ( Read more... )

( Hiding this because it's LONG )