Akasaka Capsule Hotel.

the tv in the capsule i stayed in

Korea Prepare Yourself, We Are On The Way~ Abunaiyo~

At Nest booking our tickets to Korea

click and Soeul here we come!! Get READY It's gonna be WILD!

Dad and I at the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto

The goldenpavillion in Kyoto

this year is the year of the rooster

me praying at ttemple

kiyomizu temple

two maikos

Lelia, Katie, and I wait for dad who is busy taking pictures

two geishas talking in Kyoto

The zen garden at Ryoan-ji Temple possesses what is considered the most famous of the Buddhist Zen gardens. There are fifteen rocks arranged in a rectangle of raked white gravel. Although originally created in the fifteenth century, its current form may date back only to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. It is a UESCO world heritage site, and at my request my first stop in Kyoto.

a maiko is a young woman who is in training to be a geisha. she is seen here, (a geisha wears less makeup)

to get to kyomizu temple, we walked past a large cemetery

three maikos in Kyoto

the golden pavilion

After the ceremony we all hung out together for a fun chat. The Sensei will go to Hawaii soon to teach the tea ceremony there. Her assistant will also fly to Washington DC for only three days to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. She got a kick out of the fact that she will most likely have to be escorted by a guy down the aisle at the end of the wedding

The tea ceremony room typically has a nook with a flower arrangement and a hanging of calligraphy.

Opting not to sit in the uncomfortable position that is required of tea ceremony, Lelia takes her sweets. You eat your sweets, and then drink the tea.

Peaking in

YamamotoSan fills me in on what to see in Kyoto. We all met up at Chieko's coffeehouse for our last night in town.

Chieko put her omiyage of KY on her fridge in the shop.

Cooling down with some treats after our hot bath in the snow.

Men to the left, Women to the right.. While our masterpieces dried, we went to a beautiful onsen set up in the mountains. We bathed in the hot spring water while looking out over the valleys and mountains with feet of snow surrounding us. It is a beautiful place. Even Dad participated! (you bathe nude in an onsen)

The glimpse of the view from the onsen.

First you dip the screen into the water.

Then you use your long forgotten kindergarten skills to decorate your paper.

I give GotoSan a grin as I begin on my clock.

This is an explanation as to how the washi is made.

I made a mosaic of Mount Myoko and Amori Lake with a beautiful lotus.

Gambaremasu! I work really hard on my Nihongo skills translating what we are to do while we make washi. Dad and Lelia made postcards and small clocks, I made a clock, and Katie made a sheet of paper.

The strips of birch trees hanging outside to dry out, this wood will be used to make the paper.

GotoSan and I took DL&K yo Kappa Sushi. Kappa Sushi is 100 yen sushi. That is a buck a plate people. See how it piles up!

A snapshot of the conveor belt and the menu at Kappa Sushi. Each plate is 100 yen... that is about a dollar.

GotoSan and I at Kappa Sushi. In front of me is a cup of ocha, or japanese tea, an omlette sushi- one of my favorites it is sweetened scrambled egg on rice with seaweed.

Here I am turning the stone prayer wheel. GotoSan told me what it meant... but I forgot...

After lighting the incense you throw it in the large burner. You pull the smoke of the incense towards you to fill your head with intelligence and cleanse your body of impurities.

You can see my pink rubber boots here. Zenkoji Temple is one of the temples that people still take pilgrimages too. Many people come to touch the key of enlightenment, to rub the Binzuru to heal their bodies of aches and pains, and this temple was one of the first temples that allowed for female visitors.

Before entering the temple we lit incense...

Zenkoji Temple in Nagano-shi. Goto-San picked us all up and we went to Nagano for the day. We visited Zenkoji temple where I touched the key to paradise and enlightenment. I think the enlightenment part is just being able to find it in the dark tunnel that goes under the temple. The temple was built over 1400 years ago and hold what is believed to be the first statue of Buddha to be brought to Japan.

The statues outside of Zenkoji Temple..

YamamotoSan and Chieko sing us a song.

In Japan, karaoke is most commonly done in the privacy of your own little room. Chieko and Kieko (aka Ms. GotoSan) brought us a spread of yakitori, rice, tea, and miso soup for our karaoke fun!

Listening to Kieko sing an enka duet with her husband. Enka is a traditional japanese folk song. "Almost all enka songs are love songs."

Teaching Lelia the art of Okinomiyaki, okinomiyaki is a food you typically cook on your table in front of yourself. It is a cabbage and whatever you choose pancake thing.

first you stir it all up and then you grill it up and get ready for the flip

And it snows all the time...picking up dad at Arai station in my car. If you look inside it you can see my amori hangin in the window. Amori are prayer cards that you get at the temple and carry with you. Each amori has a special meaning: health, happiness, success in business, marriage, etc. These are for safe travels.