Not that we are expert bloggers, but through this experience we have established some criteria or factors on what is "blog able." Often it involves our mishaps or adventures getting lost, the interesting food we got (all that was at least sampled), and Japanese practices we have yet to understand. Today it is train conductor pointing practices - done in unison like synchronized swimmers. They point up and down the track, to the timetable, in the air and up and...

Oh Koyasan was beautiful and cold, freezing cold. We applied what we learned from camping and put our clothes to wear in the bedding to warm them up. Last night when we went to dinner, we came back to the room and the table with a heating element had been moved and two futon beds had been set up. We put our pjs under the bed to warm and then nodded off. The bathroom was down the hall and during the night one of our friends had a slipper faux pas with the bath...

We arrived in Koyasan, a very peaceful place in Japan. As with our travels, the journey included trains, trains, trains, trains, cable car and bus. We studied in advance, but you never know how it will go - our own Great American Race. It took about three hours, in part due to us getting on a local (not rapid) train. We saw a train destined for Osaka that included a car that described "women only." We asked no questions and just entered as we watched a coupl...

Morning update - American breakfast was fabulous! We left clean plates!

Today was a day where we didn't get lost...as much. In part, we benefited from a hotel mixup where we didn't have to change hotels and could stay another day in the ryokan. Because we have gotten quite lost in this neighborhood, it is easier to stay on track. It can be tiring staying focused and the names on streets or subway stations as we shared can be similar - Gojo, Kujo, Nijo... But today we walked down to the market, got coffee and picked up a few thing...