Lots to see! Some new pictures are up. Click here for my newest set of pics from this autumn. For the new pic themselves, start in the middle and work your way up. Included in this set:

1. Kat's visit (Arashiyama, Kyoto, Tojinbo)
2. Spring & Nancy's visit (Ryoanji, Uji, Byodoin, Fushimi Inari) NEW! start here
3. Kaoru & Toshiyuki kino (Shirakawa, a village with old-fashioned thatched roof houses.) NEW! start here

Byodoin was one of my top "must see" places. I finally made it there. ^^

Could someone help me translate this? I don't even know what language it is:

"Hai naku wla man lamang descreption"

If you need a link for context: here

Yesterday, I was turned into something of a celebrity.

My friend Kosi invited me out yesterday, telling me he had a friend who wanted to meet me. "She doesn't speak English well, but she really want to meet you." I hadn't seen him in a while, and I figured it'd be fun to meet someone new. His last friend who "wanted to meet me" was nice besides...

I stepped out to meet them in the parking lot this afternoon and greeted him with a "'sashiburi" (ohisashiburi in this area's dialect). The girl about flipped. "Usotsuki!" ("Liar!") she yelled at Kosi. Seems he'd told her I don't speak Japanese--which I don't, just a few catch phrases and useful/slangish vocabulary.

Seems that Fumi's dream has been to meet and hang out with a foreigner, probably specifically an English speaker so she could practice her very rusty skills.

The three of us, in Fumi's car, drove to the north end of Lake Biwa to Maibara and passed into the next prefecture east, Gifu. We drove through the famous Sekigahara town and made our way to Yourou Park which I pointed out on the road sign since it didn't seem like we had any other destination.

The sun had already dropped behind the mountain we were on by the time we parked and found the falls. It was a pleasant, if short, jaunt through the woods.

All the while, in the car, on the walk, during sushi train dinner, it was evident Fumi viewed me as some sort of celebrity. She tried an English sentence here and there, but most of the time she giggled all embarrassed. It was cute. She was nice. It was a nice time.

At the end of the night as the dropped me off at my apartment, Fumi pulled out a piece of note paper with farewell and thank you messages scribbled all over it, and she read it to me. ^.^ That was the cutest thing ever!

Here's the first in a series of pics from the USJ (that's Universal Studios Japan) trip on Thursday.

And an additional photo taken at the rest stop on the way home, 'cause the literal message cracked me up.



I think they meant that the rest room is "...fully automatic.", 'cause it was empty when I entered, I swear.


And here's the souvenir I bought: Pink Panther. I knew he'd go well with the other guys. ^^



Why are big heads SOOO cute?! XD

I went to a local festival Saturday night. It was really cute. Unfortunately, just when I got in the mood to try dancing myself, and was actually starting to learn, the music stopped. :( XD

(I apologize for any rotated photos; since Flash isn't working on my computer, the option to rotate on Flickr isn't working! "This is frustrating! I'm getting really frustrated!")



(I hope this video works. Again, no Flash=I can't check the video... :GRRR)

Yesterday, I went to the Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka.

Lately, I've been feeling bummed and crappy. Nothing seems to amuse me (except V6), but when I went here, I swear I turned into a little girl again.

Fascinating! I loved seeing the animals. Kaiyukan is an 8-story facility with multiple levels of tanks. It's entire facility is themed after the "Ring of Fire", with each section a different region. In the middle, the big, blue Pacific Ocean, I took a video of my favorite "critter" and friends ^^:



There he is! The whale shark! I was fascinated by whale sharks before, but now, after having seen one, I adore him!



...as can be proven by the number of souvenirs I bought. @_o (I bought more, but these are all the whale shark themed things. :)

:D Geehee!



He's so cute! Sorry, So! The butterfly you gave me started to break off a few months back, and I had to remove it as my cell phone strap. It's oke, I still have it, but it's not safe to keep it on my phone. I miss having it there all the time!

Here they come, my photos from a trip to Himeji Castle last week. This picture is of my traveling companions, Helene, Franco, and Kate. There are many more pictures to see, just give them a click. ;D

Below is a panorama of the middle floor to show you the expanse and beauty of the structure.

I went to Arashiyama yesterday. It was a surprise visit, actually. A friend called, bored, and I came up with the idea to go out. See next entry for the reason why...

Last Thursday, I went to Horyuji and Nara. Please check out what I saw. It was a gorgeous day!! It was also interesting when two girls came up to me and said, "Excuse me. Can we ask you a few questions."

Their English was quite clear. Seems they had a sort of project to speak to the foreigners visiting this historic place. They asked for my name, where I was from, and then asked me to write my name in their workbook. XD XD So cute! Later on, I saw some older school kids taking their pictures with other foreigners. Phew! I avoided that. ;)




A video too, so you can see the children being pulled through the nostril like Kleenax. ;)