Japan has been wonderful so far. The weather is nice and warm! Laura still needed a light sweater but it was warm compared to what we're use to in Newfoundland; a nice 25-28 degrees. OH YEAH! :D It was raining for most of yesterday but it was warm and we had umbrellas (they actually work over here!) so it didn't stop us.

We caught the bus from Laura's dorm to Nijo Castle area. First we went to a revolving sushi restaurant. We got a table and the sushi went around on a conveyor belt. You took the plates you wanted as they passed and each plate was 100yen. So tasty! I couldn't eat as much as I wanted as my stomach was a little grumpy with the jet lag but we each go our fill for 500yen each!

We then walked down the road until we reached Nijo Castle. It was lovely! We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the inside but it was still nice. It was the Shogun's summer home when he wasn't at his home in Edo (now Tokyo). The floors made sounds like hummingbirds when you walked over them because they didn't want anyone sneaking around. The gardens outside were really nice too!

After that we walked to the Manga Museum. That was really cool! It had a collection of so many manga and it had different displays and bits of history about different genres and people like Osama Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy and considered the father of manga). They also had an art exhibition which was ok. A lot of the pics were really odd; there was a small gallery of war themed artworks and a larger one about global warming so you can see where some of these would be bizzare. But overall it was a good visit.

Then we headed downtown for shopping! I love shopping. We browsed around for 2-3 hours and a got a great haul! For 2000yen ($20) for 5 single cds (2-4 songs per cd), 2 art books, 3 small doujinshi (fan comics), 1 manga and a pair of black sneaker flats with skulls on them. Am I a bargain shopper or what? :D

We then went and had some supper before going home! Yummy yummy udon! I couldn't eat it all because I had some Taiyaki earlier (Bun in the shape of a fish with anko [bean paste] inside) and then a bit later Takoyaki (ball of batter with octopus inside with sauce on the top). So much yummy food. I love eating. I've also been drowning myself in green tea as it's provided for free with every meal. I definitely will have to get some to bring home with me as it's much more expensive to get at home.

The plans for today are to go to two temples in the area as it's not raining today. I will be posting more info about those after I do them. We're probably doing some more shopping too. But the main shopping day will be tomorrow (Saturday) when we go and meet Izu (Ashley) in Osaka City. Apparently it's the 2nd biggest place for shopping next to Tokyo. So I'm saving monies for there! Speaking of monies I still have lots left so that's good! More to spend in Osaka! And then on Sunday we'll be going to Ise to meet up with Rinko and get the tour of there~

I think that's enough of an update for now! Love to all!
~Jen / Netara