Hello World....I'm back for a long overdue update on our Japanese adventure....
So March came....which in Japan means spring is around the corner. I was fortunate to have a wonderful friend and student Kimiko whom will take me around the neighboring temples of Shiga Prefecture. We went a very famous temple by the name of Ishamayadera temple which means " Stone Mountain".
This temple was erected in 749 and was the site of a classic piece of Japanese literature by a famous Nobelist by the name of Murasaki.
This temple was created by strict orders from the emperor due to its location. The temple is surrounded by lush green landscape and of course the infamous Cherry Blossom trees.
The most interesting thing to me were the fishes in the pond came to you if you stuck your hand out. I know it doesn't take much to impress me. We followed our day with a wonderful herbal chinese lunch. This was very healthy and with the view of the river it was also relaxing.
A very popular holiday in March is the "Woman's Holiday". This holiday celebrates the women in our lives from wives to daughters. Usually a shrine of woman dolls are erected by the entrance of the home.
The boys were on the road to play Tokyo. I took this weekend to spend some quality time with my girl Mu. She took me on a road trip all over Japan. At one of the rest stop's I noticed a very familiar american food...."Corndogs". Don't judge me, it's been way to long. I must say I was little bothered that they put a face on it...I can't lie... I still punished that poor corn dog :)
Chris college friend Pawel came to visit Japan from Poland with his adorable girlfriend Gosha. (sorry if I butchered the spelling of her name)... I showed them around Kyoto and took them on a tour of Nijo Castle. The castle was amazing and there was plenty of historical sites within the castle walls. The gardens were amazing and the grounds are very preserved as well.
Chris has very limited days off during the week, but we were able to head over to the other side of Kyoto to see the beautiful city by the river and the Bamboo forrest.
So weird we ran into Lassie all the way in Japan. Okay! Okay!... it wasn't lassie but he was pretty cute anyways.
Geisha's crossing :)
On Pawel and Gosha's last day in Japan I decided to bust out my sushi making skills to teach the art of rolling sushi. They were both naturals. They were extremely prepared and traveled throughout this entire country to see all Japan has to offer. They were excellent guests and I can't wait to visit them in Poland.
The following weekend I traveled to Toyama (FYI: 5 Hour Drive) to watch the Lakestar's play. The team lost their first game on Saturday, yet they came back victorious on Sunday. Toyama had a very nice gymnasium ....in the middle on nowhere :(
So I'm sure your aware that I'm a US citizen and my trip to Japan required proper documentation to remain in the country for a long period of time. Since I was going to past my 90 day visa with extending my trip.... I had to do what most people do to stay longer in this country... I went to "KOREA"!!! I'm sure many of you would like to know all about this little one day solo adventure to Korea.... Let's just say I may not go back to that country for a looooooooong time. English is not a common language and being Mexi-rican is not quite a reconizable nationality on the streets of Korea. Long story short is I was able to extend my visa and return to my Avatar in Japan. Here are some pics of downtown Seoul, Korea.
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