Kyoto! I don't know why but I have Kyoto in my head as the mid-way point in my travel. It probably is. Or close to it anyway. Makes me kinda sad knowing I've only got 3 weeks left! But the time I've had so far has been awesome. I got to my hostel around 2, after walking the 2.5km or so from the station. So I was knackered, but luckily Kyoto Museum was just down the road! One of the two buildings of the museum was closed off, but I was told they had moved the e...

Osaka castle! Sunny day yet again! So time to check out that castle. You walk through the gardens before reaching the castle. The cherry blossoms are coming along nicely! I didn't see the castle first. Instead I saw the massive moat wall. I had to walk around the moat for a bit before I was able to see part of the castle but as soon as I was on the bridge to go into the central garden you could see most of the castle. It wasn't until I was much closer until I ...

Japanese Cooking Class! I made food! And it was good! We made Udon noodles, which was surprisingly easy! I think I'll be making those at home! We also made Okonomiyaki, which is the regional dish. Mainly egg, some veg and sauce on top. We did the street version. So you can do the restaurant version where you also have udon noodles with it and can add toppings like beef or cheese or squid. We made a chicken skewer which you marinade in sake and other things but ...

So arrived fairly latish to Kyoto . Didn't really have much energy but managed to convince myself to find the Floating Garden skyscraper building. And I did! Although I didn't realise there was an underground passage so I went alllll the way around the big block instead of just going under it. But never mind! The view was incredible. It looked more like a poster than real life. It was a wonderfully clear night so you could see right across the city. You could s...

Meeting up with someone actually worked! Me and a friend made during my stay in Nagasaki managed to meet up in Hiroshima and head to Miyajima Island - where there is the floating red gate. And it was sunny! Getting there was pretty easy and the ferry was fine, if a little cold. As soon as we got there we were greeting my a deer trying to get into our pockets. I had heard there were deer but I didn't realise they would just be hanging around all over the place. ...