As promised... more pictures

Home again, home again jiggity jog....

So I am home. I am struggling with the effects of jet lag, but nothing a nap for a week couldn't cure!. If only I didn't have to work tomorrow, so it should be interesting. We spent most of the last few days with Greg and Yumiko. We had a BBQ in the front of their apartment building. We went shopping for souvenirs aka "hitting the 100 yen store". The dollar store is not just an American thing. My suitcase looked like the 100 yen store exploded in it!! But it was fun to find different kinds of treasures to bring home to everyone.

My kids were so happy to see me. I was happy to see them after traveling for over 24 hours to get home. I have more pictures and I need to get them posted. I will work on it this week. Ed is still there and has a lot of them. He will be back on Tuesday. I have been looking at his Facebook page hoping that he would post more because he went to Mt. Fuji!!!!

Well, the vacation is over. Back to the real world!!

Kyoto!!!!

So Ed and I went to Kyoto yesterday. It was a quick day trip which doesn't really happen around here because things are close together, but it takes alot of time to actually get anywhere. But we managed to take one of the first trains of the day and came back on the last train of the day.

It is my favorite time of year in Kyoto, Gion Matsuri. It was great to be back and enjoy the sights and sounds. I decided that we needed to make the most of the day and the weather was stifling so we mostly took cabs from location to location. I know that Yumiko would have had a heart attack if she knew, but I wanted Ed to see as much as possible. We had a grand time. We were able to go to Sanjusangendo, Nijo-jo, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera(my personal favorite), and ended at San-jo dori just in time to see people enjoying the festival in splendid yukatas.

It was incredible to be back in a city I love. To feel the energy of it all and take in the history. This year is the 1000 year anniversary of The Tale of Genji, which takes place in Kyoto. Having had the experience of reading this novel, twice, it is always lovely to see the actual places that the story was intended to take place.

It was great to have time with Eddie. I miss hanging with him. It was fun to share with him all the places that I love in Japan. We had a blast walking around San-jo dori looking in shops and looking at prices comparing them to the states. And because it was the festival, many shops were handing out fans for the occasion. We went on a hunt to find the best fan. I think it was a tie- McDonald's and a beer company. It was great. I think Ed was about to mug someone for their fan because we couldn't find any. It was great!

Kyoto has such a different feel from Tokyo. The Japanese have a rivalry about where the actual capitol is and should be. Kyoto had a long history of being the capitol city so the culture is rich. I am so fortunate to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to visit a place that I love. It has been hard to be away from my family, but it has been spectacular.