I woke at 6 on Friday morning with a skull splitting headache and the taste of the damn inferno drink on my lips. All I wanted was sleep but it was impossible when I felt like this. I snuck around the house looking for the paracetomol l I new the girls kept in the bathroom but couldn't find it so I spent 30 minutes soaking my head under the shower and went back to bed still in pain. At 12 after a very uncomfortable few hours sleep i was woken up by Kiyo knocking on my door asking if I was ready to go….s*** we were going to Nara today. I prised my body out of bed feeling like death warmed up, with someone knocking on the inside of my head and got changed. I shambled downstairs and greeted the girls who were all up and looking spry and chatting loudly and went and brushed my teeth to get rid of whatever foul thing it was I was tasting.

Today we were going to Nara with Yarrick. He was already there doing one of his fake weddings and he had offered to show us around. Nearly the whole house was going on this trip and the train was at about 1. It was now about 12:15 and I had just woke up and realised I had no money for the train. I explained to the girls I would meet them at the station and hopped on my bike and peddled to the closest 7-11 to get money…it wasn't that close. I was pulling back into our street when I saw the girls on there way to the station and I quickly parked my bike at the house and ran after them. This didn't help the nausea or headache I still had. We made our way to the train and paid for our tickets which work out at about 3 pounds each way for a 40 minute trip. Unfortunately it was standing room only on the train and the rapid service didn't stop more that twice on the way which meant that we were standing for most of the trip. We arrived in Nara on time and went o meet Yarrick. He looked at me at laughed…Apparently I wasn't looking my chipper self. He suggested some food would do me good and we headed off for ramen.

I've had ramen before but only instant so this was the first time id had it properly, and it was awesome. It was a large bowl of chicken and vegetable soup full of ramen noodles and spring onions. It was delicious and I felt almost human again by the time id finished. Kiyo and Yarrick had a bowl too and 3 of the girls shared a bowl. It turns out I wasn't the only one feeling dodgy, they were just better at hiding it.

Fuelled and feeling better we started our tour and Yarrick led the way. We walked for some time along this long road which led alongside a park and a few museums. But the real site is the deer. In Nara deer are protected and allowed to roam freely. This means they are everywhere. They wander the parks and temples and even the streets and there are hundreds of them. They aren't afraid of people and thier inquisitive too. The first we saw was being feed by an old man who would bend a branch down for the deer to pick berries but soon there were many more. Several vendors sell biscuits for you to feed to them and this causes them to mill around you in groups. Kiyo was a little scared of them and at one point was using one of the girls as a shield against 3 or so deer trying to get to the biscuits she had regretfully bought. As we proceeded to the temple we constantly stopped to take photos or stroke the deer. The temple itself is preceded by the usual souvenir shops selling all manner of things that have nothing to do with the temple. And there were a large number of teenage students on some sort of excursion. We managed to catch the last bit of the tour at the main gate where Yarrik translated a teachers explanation of the huge wooden carved guards either side of the gate . The gate itself is made by huge single tree trunks and the leads on to the worlds largest wooden building which holds a giant Buddha. We didn't pay to see the Buddha as it was 500 yen and we had little time in Nara. Yarrick said their was a great view from the temple on he hill and that we should go there. We followed him taking pictures of the structures , nature and deer on the way.

After a little hike some stone steps open out to a cobbled street and a huge temple building. The view from the bottom of the temple was fantastic but nothing on the view from the top. The temple its self was all wood and full of shrines and old lamps. Very ornate and looked after by men in traditional robes. The view from the top was all of Nara spread out and on a day like today it was gorgeous. I sat up there looking at the view for a while and spent even longer exploring the temple. And taking photos of the architecture and ornate fittings that surrounded it. This was what I had come to see in Japan. It is the traditional Japan that i longed to see and this glimpse at it was amazing. I found the girls some time latter sitting down seemingly all templed out. It was 4 and Mel and I had a appointment to get to.

Today was my interview at the same place the girls work. We made it back to tsuruharai station and hopped on our bikes for a 20 minute cycle and a little walk. We got there with just 5 minutes to spare. I sat at a table and was introduced to Akikio. She was the English speaking voice to the manager as he spoke none. I found that strange as he ran a café for Japanese to learn and practise English. My job for tonight was a trial run. I would spend an hour sitting with Japanese people just shooting the breeze. The task was to keep them engaged and for them to feel at home. So I was sat with a older Japanese man and I introduced myself. As it was a slow night Mel sat too and another guy called Jeffery.

Within 20 minutes another Japanese man turned up and Jeff went to a different table with him. Conversation was relatively easy and this Japanese guy had a good level of English. Talk was generic and along the lines of where are you from and what do you do. As the night progressed the café filled and Mel and I had a full table and Jeff had his own people to deal with. conversation centred around Japanese food and was very interesting. I realised my hour wasn't ending and that I was here for the whole shift of 4 hours. The time went relatively quickly and luckily Mel was there when the conversation started to slow. In all though it was a good experience. I was told at the end of the night that I was liked by the customers and that I could start next week. This was good news. Although the pay wasn't great it was a job I could do with my eyes shut and it would pay for food and stretch my money a little further. At least until I found something better.

I was also told that I may do some private lessons for which I get paid a little more. Next Friday will be my first day and Sunday my second.
We cycled home. At night Osaka lights up and the trip back was nice. The air was warm and clear and it feels good to cycle rather than walk. Along the way we passed several musicians. Mel explained that in Japanese homes it is difficult to practice an instrument as the wooden walls allows the noise to travel and it upset s the neighbours. It seems that this street is where people come to practice. It is not busking and no one is trying to make money just musicians practising and jamming together. On one side there were the noises of strangled cats from the beginners and on the other side a jazz/blues sound emanated and filled the air.
We got home to Yarrick and the other girls eager to go out. It was now nearly 11 and it was 12 before we left the house. We all cycled into Namba again and this time managed to drag out the missing housemate Nick who we rarely saw. Nick met yarrick at the zero bar. Anna, jenni, kiyo and aika headed to a night club called Pure and mel monica and me went for ramen, which again was fantastic and is by far my favourite Japanese food. Though it has all grown on me since I got here. When we finished we went to zero to meet Yarrick and nick but quickly moved onto ciquecentro again where we were last night. Tonight however I was not drinking and I think I had 2 beers all night which was from 12 to 6 in the morning. The girls had headed home around 4 and yarrick nick and me had gone for a walk. In Japan it is legal to drink in public so we walked to a bridge in shinsubari and yarrick talked to passers by, practicing his Japanese and we all talked about random things until we decided to leave at 6. Just before we headed home we grabbed a McDonalds and then hopped on our bikes.