Japan: Friday, Feb. 4 - Monday, Feb. 8

I can't believe that we have done so much in 3 1/2 days. First off, Scott surprised me at the airport. I can't remember being so excited to see someone. He looked so handsome dressed up in his sport coat and tie! The train station was located right outside of the airport and we hopped on a train to Osaka. When we got into Osaka we had to change from a train to the subway. We were quite a scene dragging our suitcases through the station with tons of people rushing around all sides of us. There have been several occasions where we have looked lost and someone has been kind enough to stop and help. We finally got to our stop and realized that the subway station was directly under our hotel which was quite convient. That night we went to the Dotombori area of Osaka which is the entertainment district with tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. I can't even explain the amount of color that you see when you look down a street in this area...neon, hanging lights, giant moving crabs over restaurants, flashing signs. We wandered around for an hour looking for a restaurant and found an outdoor noodle bar that had a huge dragon on the top. The tables were on raised platforms that were covered in tatami mats so you either hung your legs off the side or took off your shoes and crossed your legs. To order, you went up to an ATM looking machine and picked out what you wanted and paid. The two options were "soup with noodles" or "soup with noodles and more pork." The people working there realized that we had no idea what we were doing and were very helpful. The soup was absolutely wonderful and hit the spot on a cold evening. It was also neat to be outside and watch the interesting crowd go by. This is the area of extremes. Most of the guys looked like they were trying to be Japanese rock stars. The girls wore super high boots and short skirts.

On Saturday we headed off to Osaka Castle. We first visited the Museam of Osaka History which had very little in English but had wonderful models of villages and towns during different time periods. As we were on our way to Osaka Castle we saw this long building with lots of noise coming from it. Scott said that it was either a show or a massacre going on. Sure enough there were at least 200 kids of all ages practicing kindo (sword fighting). They wore full face masks, pants to their ankles that were so full that they seemed like skirts, and swung wooden swords. At first they were practicing and warming up and then the matches began. The was quite a sight to see. We were trying to figure out the rules when we saw a man that looked like he spoke English. We went over to talk to him and asked him where he was from. He had been teaching English in Korea for several years but said he grew up in America. When we probed more we found out that he grew up in Sandy Springs, and went to high school at Walton, just around the corner from our house. What a small world!

The Osaka Castle was amazing to see with the huge walls that formed a moat and the intricate carvings covered in gold. One of the neatest things to see at the castle museum were huge screens that had been painted to represent battles that had taken place. Rather than written discriptions, rulers had commissioned artist to paint what had gone on. There would be 500 or so soldiers with individual faces, weapons, flags, horses, etc. in fine detail.

After the castle we went back, took a quick nap, and then headed off to dinner. We went back to the same area and ate at a okonomiyaki restaurant. They fixed the food back in the kitchen and then brought it out to us where we had a table with a heated griddle build into the table that kept the food warm. One dish was noodles with shrimp, octopus, squid, pork and veggies. The other was pancake shaped and made of egg, flour, milk, and cabbage and covered in a sauce and pork shavings. They were both delicious! We have loved everything that we have eaten so far. We originally thought we would go out that night but after a full day of walking we were exausted. Also, we saw the line of people in line for a club and realized that we are getting old. They were mostly in their early to mid 20's and dressed in clothes that I haven't owned in years.

The next day we got up and headed to a church called "OIC" (Osaka International Church). On the way there a man and woman walked by us in the subway and said good morning. It took us a moment to registered that they had spoken to us in English. He ended up being from Nigeria and she was from Kenya. They were both here teaching English. After we had gotten onto the subway and were about to get off at our stop, he came back up to us and asked where we were going. It ended up that they were going to the same church that we were going to. God is so cool to provide us with someone who could lead us directly to where we were going, sit with us, and make us feel right at home. The church was made of up people from all over the world including a good many Japanese. It was amazing to worship along side people so different from us, but yet so alike in our faith. It was also interesting that we knew most of the songs. After church they had light refreshments upstairs. We met a man visiting from Holland and a woman that lived in Osaka who was so gracious. We have already become friends on Facebook with her.

After church we headed off to the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses located north of Osaka. When we got of at the station, we picked up two to-go meals. The Japanese to-go meals are 100 times more heathy than any of our to-go choices. We had rice, chicken and veggies, and what they call pickles. The pickles can be many different types of food that are pickled, but they have all been really good, though different from our pickles. We took our to-go meals and walked toward the museum. We came to a park where we sat down, ate, and watched families play together and children ride bikes around a large fountain. To get to the museam we had to walk across a huge park (half the size of Central Park). The park was absolutely gorgeous. One section had cherry blossom trees that were starting to blossom, one had a garden on a hillside, and others had playing fields. The farmhouse museam had about 13 houses that were moved from all over Japan from different time periods. Many of them had thatched roofs, huge beams, and indoor fires with no chimneys. The designs were so different from anything that we have built. After an amazing visit to the park we headed back to our hotel to grab our bags and head for Kyoto.

We made it to Kyoto and had a 10-15 min walk to our hotel, Capsule Ryokan. The hotel room is a 10 meter square space with a raised platform that is covered in tatami mats. On top of the mats you place the thick futons that are quite comfortable. The room also includes what we have been calling a "disco shower" becuase it lights up with blue LEDs, has 4 side jets, a normal handset, and a rain shower from the top. The whole space is very small but is very clean and very high tech. When you open the door to the tiny room with the toilet, the lid automatically opens and the seat is heated. We were so tired when we got the the hotel that we had to drag ourselves out to dinner down the street where we had okonomiyaki again. At dinner we met a couple from Australia who were a lot of fun to talk with. That seems to be one really cool but unexpected part of our trip...we have learned so much about other cultures and countries outside of Japan.

Today (Monday) we headed out around 9am for Suzuka Circuit (a race track that Formula 1 competes at). I thought that the day was going to be just for Scott but I couldn't have enjoyed it any more. First we ended up getting off at the wrong train station and had to pay around $30 dollars (2,550 yen) for a taxi instead of being able to walk to the track. After getting there the taxi driver dropped us off in front of an amusement park which ended up not being the correct entrance to the track. After walking through the amusement park, we could get to the stands of the track but not the pits. We had to walk through a tunnel under the track that was meant for cars and then jump a short gate to get to the pits. Let's just say that this was breaking all of my rule following tendencies. Scott, being the friendly guy that he is, instantly started asking if people spoke English in order to see if they would let him ride along. He finally was able to meet the organizer who motioned him into a friends car after only talking to him for 30 seconds. Eventually we got to meet a handful of people and he was able to ride along in a Skyline R34 GTR and an Evo 6 during the warmup laps. At the very end I was able to ride along in an Evo 2 with a very good driver. During the day there we also met a guy who was a spectator that we ended up becoming friends with. He was so friendly and worked really hard to answer all of our questions and talk to us as much as possible. After we told him our story of jumping the gate, which he found quite funny, he offered to drive us to a larger train station that was close to his house. His wife was at the track with him so we got to take a 1 1/2 car ride with them both. She spoke English quite well so we had a great time learning more about each other. We all agreed that we would not forget this day!