I headed to Kyoto for a long weekend (skipping class already) while the Gion Matsuri was on. It's considered one of Japan's biggest festivals and involves preparing 32 huge floats to parade around the city. This festival started 1000 years ago while a plague swept through Japan. The floats were thought to enter the spirit world during their course around the city, which allowed the people ...
The Emperor of Japan and the imperial family live at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, however the public is still able to visit the palace gardens. They are so vast and beautiful (Mike you'd be impressed), and give you a real sense of old Tokyo whilst being in the midst of new Tokyo (see photos below). After our tour of the gardens our class decide to do a tour of the izakayas ...
Tokyo is crazy! Cartoon and anime characters feature in most advertisements instead of regular actors, you can get anime characters on your credit cards and you can use your train card to buy groceries and drinks at touch screen vending machines. Everybody dresses so conservatively, yet there is soft porn advertisements everywhere for anybody to see. All the men wear white business shirts, ...
Finally after a cancelled flight, an unexpected 24 hour stopover in somewhere south of the Gold Coast and a 12 hour flight I have made it to Japan. Bring it on. This is my host family, the Fujimoto family: Father - Hiroyuki Mother - Kumiko 14 year old daughter - Ayaka 8 year old twin boys - Taiga and Ginga This is my room. It's nice and large by Tokyo standards, has its own air ...
