Osaka Kyoto Adventure - Day 3 (Aug 2)

Hearty breakfast to start off the day ...and we were off!
Visited a couple places in the morning...including a really long stint at the Botannical garden where Angel went crazy taking pics of every plant! Andwhen the people there found out one of us was from Southern African, and another from South America, they got REALLY excited and we got a private guided tour and were taken to a VIP display away from the public one where we saw even more species of plants- some I recognised from back home ya but some of them I was like huh? They were VERY kind to us- they took so much of their tym out to show us around and they made us fel really special like we were some visiting ambassadors or something! Twas bril!


Then ofcourse, as any tourist to JP will tell you, no trip to Kyoto is complete without visiting Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Temple.




Very beautiful and the gardens are out o this world! Very serene (and at the time of our visit, it being summer, very lush, green- very relaxing indeed.

Late in the afternoon we also spent some tym chilling in one of the most refersing rivers I have ever been in. (Outside temperatures were averaging 35/36celsius an humidity is WAY high!). Spent some tym just soaking in the magnificence of God and reflecting on my life- where I am, where I have come from, where we are going etc - very nyc;)


Then we hit the road again - back home to Osaka.

Osaka Kyoto Adventures - Day 2 (Aug 1)

After a hearty breafast from Okaasan, like good children we brushed our teeth. Genki meters way high! The headed on back to the road- day 2 was KYOTO DAY! (abt an hr to an hr and a half away by car).

First stops in Kyoto were Gion and Kiyomizu-dera...










where we bumped into some long lost IUJ students (of all things!) and got to pose with a not so happy looking maiko (geisha apprentice)- man it must have been hitting at least 35celsius out there. Even I wouldnt have looked so happy if I had to walk around that heat in that (very beautiful outfit though)!


While I sensibly shopped for little omiyage's (souvenirs) Kyoko went crazy in this pickle shop- can u belive they have SO MANY varieties of pickles they have special little shops for them all round! (ya- maybe I still have a way to go in understanding the Japanese;)

Spent the night in a traditional Japanese Ryokan - lotsa good food and great company!

Osaka Kyoto Adventures! Day 1 (Jul 31)

Akio invited Angel and myself to his home town- Osaka, about a ten hour drive from here. Nyt before I hardly slept- actually I didnt sleep- not so much coz of excitement or anything so noble...I HAD to finsih my thesis draft and submit to the office so they could run a plagiarim check, without which I could not get my professor's approval singature. EVentually submitted rnd 4:30 am and we were scheduled to leave at 8:30am!

So early morning with harldy any sleep on my part- off we were to meet the Kado family! Beginning of the trip - the genki (energetic, healthy) meters were very high!

But as could be expected, a few hours into the long trip- my late nyt forrays got the better of me;) Rest assured I tried to be fair to Akio who opted to drive the whole way there and back (crazy guy)

Long trip- may stopvers- ah the views were breathtaking! ...and finally that evening we got to Akio's house.

Where Okaasan (mom) treated us to one of Oosaka's specialties and one of my absolute fav Jap foods- OKONOMIYAKE! Ooh man - that stuff REALLY goes down and the way Okaasan made it...out of this world!

Got to meet Akio's family at last. It wasnt difficlut to see why Akio is the way he is- his family is one of the most love filled families I have ever met- crazy at tyms, but absolutey SUPERB! They made us feel ryt at home from the very first moment.