Today is the last weekday that I'm in Japan- and I finally visited the school where Mike teaches. We rode our bikes to Sakuradai middle school at the ungodly hour of 8:00...already I was a little nervous. We arrived a few minutes later than we should have, so I waited outside while Mike went into a teacher's meeting ( Read more... )

( Click here, Mom )

On Saturday, my grandmother and I left the ryokan to go back to Shibuya. We took a daytime walk through the Senso-ji shrine. It was especially interesting to see the incense well there- people crowd around and pull the smoke toward their faces. They breathe it in, and then wave it into their hair and over their backs, to ensure good health ( Read more... )

Hey everybody. My grandmother flew back in the states yesterday, and Mike and I rode the shinkansen back to Osaka. It feels good to do nothing again for a little while. I will be flying back to the US somewhere around Monday of next week; I miss everybody and I'm both looking forward and not looking forward to having my old life back. Well, not ( Read more... )

This might be the last time I post before I'm back in Kishiwada on Monday- tomorrow my grandmother and I will be switching to a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) and chances for internet are not good ( Read more... )

Yesterday I took the shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Tokyo to meet my grandmother. We are spending a week together in Tokyo, which I am so excited about! She lived here for four years in the early seventies (when my mom was in elementary school) and she has so many memories of it from that time. I am so impressed when she whips out the name ( Read more... )

I don't remember the name of the type of restaurant we went to last night, so actual "factual information" is going to have to wait until I can ask Mike about it. Which may very well be after I return from Tokyo (where I am staying with my grandmother for a week!) on Sunday ( Read more... )

is the third largest in the world! I went yesterday. It pains me not to be able to post the pictures I took of it right now. I have come to the personal resolution to write about the things that are going on now and to just post the pictures later. That way, I don't forget the interesting things ( Read more... )

More are coming when I can get the pictures off of my camera.

UPDATE: Lots more Okinawa pictures here now. Maybe I'll add to this when I get pictures from Mike's mom's camera.

( Okinawa pictures )

Hi everyone- sorry for not updating in a while. Mike and I arrived into Okinawa on Saturday and it's been very busy here. I'm posting from Mike's parents' computer, so no pictures yet, but there are some great ones that I will post when I get back to Kishiwada ( Read more... )