Busy Busy Busyness

It has been quite a while since I last posted in my blog. My mom came to visit me in Japan for the last two in a half weeks, she is currently on the way back to the U.S now. We have traveled to many places and did a lot of shopping! We visited Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, and many sightseeing areas around Miyazaki. So many places in so little time! I think I shall take the next few days to relax and recover from all the traveling. I acted as a translator for my mom while she was here, it was great practice for my Japanese. I could go into many details of the trips, but I will just post some pictures with descriptions~ I shall start from the beginning~

The first day we went to Kyoto. The shrine is called kinkakuji. I visited it in the fall last year, but it looks completely different in the spring.



After visiting a few temples and shrines, we went to the Kyoto botanical gardens. It is rather off the beaten path of tourists but it was great weather and we got to take a leisurely walk through the flowers. We also visited the large green house in the botanical garden. oooh pretty flowers~

We visited Kobe on the second day. I feel as though Kobe is much more fashionable then Osaka. We traveled up the Kobe ropeway (a gondola that travels to the top of a mountain) and walked down through the herb gardens. We also did a bit of shopping in the area~

After a few busy days in the Kansai area, we took the shinkansen and headed down to Fukuoka. There we met up with my friend Midori and went out to sushi. It was my mom's first time eating sushi so it was fun :)

In Fukuoka we also went to Dazaifu in Fukuoka. Much like Kyoto, it was almost like a different place in spring rather then winter. There were about three different high schools visiting the shrine, but luckly we were able to get in and visit the shrine before it was swarmed by students.

After a week of busy traveling with suit cases we finally arrived back in Miyazaki. But the busyness didn't end there. We continued to travel around the area visiting shrines and beaches in Miyazaki prefecture.

On Tuesday the 29th we headed down to Aoshima, on foot. It is a rather long hike taking about 2 hours we arrived at the beach. It was full of surfers and the waters where clear blue. We went seashell hunting and walked down the beach to Aoshima. The island is surrounded by the "Uni no sentaku" or "devil's washboard" in English. It is a natural rock formation that is found along the coast just south of Miyazaki city.


Thursday the 1st I had no classes so we visited Kagoshima. It was a bit rainy but we were able to visit some places that Anthony and I were unable to see so it was quite interesting. The volcano, Mt. Sakurajima, was surrounded in mist and clouds so it was quite pretty. (You can see it in the back ground of the picture)


We also visited Udo Shrine on Sunday, it was golden week so there were many many people there. I was able to land one of the little clay balls into pool of water on a rock below the shrine~ Each time I visit the shrine it is always calming and pleasant, I wish it was a bit easier to get to from Miyazaki city.


And here is Miyazaki Shrine~ It is interesting because you can always tell where shrines are because they tend to be little forests in the middle of a city.

Other then sightseeing we did a lot of shopping. And I do mean a lot of shopping. It is shop till you drop here in Japan :P especially during golden week. It's dog eat dog in Aeon shopping mall here in Miyazaki.

Now my mom is on her way back to Seattle and I am gonna get back on my routine of classes and homework and living in Japan. I have decided to keep a nature journal to help me get through these next few months. This year has gone by so fast. When I reflect upon it so much has happend and I have learned so much. I am hoping to make the best of the last few months here. And I miss cheese so much!