Sorry for being "off the air" for a couple of weeks. For those who didn't know, I was showing a group of 10 New Zealanders some parts of Japan that normal "tourists" can't access - as well as a few that were teeming with tourists! The things we did are too numerous to write about here, but all in all I think we had a pretty good 10 days - it was fun for me to show them around and as always I was reminded of the kindness of all the people here in Japan. We had some wonderful host families who looked after them for 4 nights and then there were so many other great people who helped to make the trip possible. If anyone is reading this blog that helped out - thank you!
Temples, shrines, schools, scarecrows, Buddhas, food, food and more food, trains, buses, ferries, museums, rice harvesting, Samurai houses, steps, steps and more steps, meditation, hospitals, green tea, stone carvings, Japanese lunch boxes, hot springs, atomic bomb memorials, floating shrines, futons, early mornings, gardens, geisha, revolving sushi, a bit of "Grandad time" and much much more. We even managed to meet Prince Charles and Camilla! That's right, I managed to convince him to come to Nara at exactly the same time we were visiting and even though we didn't get to shake their hands we did get a wave - pity my picture is out of focus!
All in all a fun 10 days then back to work today.... I'm looking forward to the long weekend this weekend!
As one of the travellers from New Zealand I would love to tell all readers that we had an amazing 2 weeks. The homestay experience was a fantastic way of getting a feel for how a Japanese family functions. I must admit sleeping on a futon for many nights was not a highlight, but it was forgotten as each day we discovered other wonderful cultural things.The people of Japan were very kind and helpful. Thanks to Jo and her family for making this wonderful experience possible. If you get the chance, GO. cheers, Pam.
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