Just for fun I figured some of you may want to know what sorts of things I do in my free time out here. So now (before my trip to Osaka tomorrow... By bus... 10 hours... for 4,000en... We'll see if I survive) I thought I would take this belated opportunity to tell you about some of the things that occupy my time. (Also, sorry about the totally unrelated photo of the sunset. I took that picture a couple days ago while walking home early from work one day. Pretty, isn't it?) ADVENTURING (TAKING WALKS) But you know that already. ;) The next trip I'm planning (other than Osaka this week!!) is Nikko, so I'll let you know how that one goes. My only beef with taking walks lately is that I got some nasty sunburn, and so I've been trying to be more careful with that. I'd include pictures, but then again, I'd really rather not. KARAOKE I love karaoke. Nothing like getting a bunch of friends together to sing their hearts out while drinking free water and eati

Kamakura I've noticed that the Kanagawa prefecture holds some of my favorite places in Japan so far. It's close to the ocean, so the atmosphere is fantastic and it usually smells pretty nice, too... Unless you're on a crowded train on your way to Kamakura. Then it doesn't smell that good. :D So yes, it was very crowded! But like Danielles do, I took a walk off the beaten paths, while also getting a lot of temple/shrine seeing along the way. First I stopped by Kenchoji, one of Japan's five big Zen temples started by the Hojo clan. This temple was absolutely beautiful - one of my favorites yet. What really stood out for me was getting near the end of the temple to the Hansobo. The forest mountains and pathways were all lined up with trees, and the steps to get to the top were very steep, proving to be quite the trek. But the view and peacefulness made it all worth it. Then it was back down and through Kenchoji to my next temple, Tsu