Konnichiwa!

Hello, and good afternoon!

Though I normally try to keep this blog quilting related, today I'll take you on a tour of Japan, our travel destination last week.

I had always wanted to visit Japan, and with hubby finding a great round trip airfare out of LAX, we decided to go. Though it was Golden Week, when everyone there is on vacation, we had a great time. And, yes, we would go back! 

So, the picture above is the closest we got to dressing in kimono, though one can rent kimono for around $35/day, like these tourists did.

Of course, these aren't the expensive embroidered kimono that geiko and maiko wear, but they're pretty just the same. These ladies were in Gion, the geisha district of Kyoto and home to a geisha school, where it's very popular to wear kimono.

To get to Kyoto, we used the Japan Rail pass - their rail system is the world's envy. With that pass, we easily visited several cities to see the sights. On the western side of Kyoto, there's beautiful scenery such as the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest,

lovely Japanese maples in a nearby World Heritage Garden,

and the Katsura River. 

Back in town, we visited Nijo Castle, with it's ornate gate,

and after all that sight-seeing, we collapsed in our hotel-apartment. Check out this multi-function toilet/bidet/sink. Seems that all bases are covered, though this one didn't have a music function. Those were in the train stations!

One day, we took a side trip to Osaka, taking advantage of the Free Walking Tour. Our guide pointed out Ichiran, supposedly a good place for ramen. We went back later for lunch, where we sat at a 'partitioned' counter, with no view, and only hand views of the server. Felt a bit impersonal and lonely, eating with little walls between us, our neighbors, and the staff. Strange, but the ramen was good! 

Heading back to Tokyo, we stopped at Lake Ashi, with Mt Fuji in the background. The pirate ship goes around the lake, but we didn't partake, as I was a bit green from the winding bus ride down to the lake.

Once in Tokyo, we drove Mari-Car go-karts around the city,

which I found to be stressful, as it was scary to make it through the intersections on the lights. You have to have an International driver's license for this, and I probably should have gotten a ticket for running a red light. Going 35 mph 1 foot above the ground in busy Tokyo didn't give me much of a tour of the city!

But we walked around later, visiting the lake at Ueno Park,

the outside of Tokyo Station,

and eating sushi. My favorite was kinmedai or red snapper.

The last day, we got out of town to a beautiful mountain town called Nikko. There's the famous Shinkyo Bridge,

temples and shrines in the park, azaleas that grow like weeds,

and beautiful paths.

A perfect ending to a quick tour of Japan! So why would I go back? Because the people were very polite, places and people were clean and orderly, and even though we spoke no Japanese, we were able to communicate. And can't beat that train system!

Though my internal clock is still somewhere over the Pacific, I hope to be back to normal soon. Just need to get rid of a nasty chest cold first. Then let the quilting resume!

Have a great weekend!