Hey kids! Ok so here goes... I have a novel typed up on my laptop but it doesn't look like I'll be able to upload that anytime soon. The good news is that I just arrived in Kyoto and my hotel has two computers with an internet connection here available for public use so I'll at least be able to check e-mail and such while I'm here (and I'll be here for the next three days or so). (Warning, this hasn't been spell-checked since these computers here have a 30-minute time limit on them, heh).

I just read my last post and I apparently made it sound like something wasn't good, but that's hardly the case! The most challanging parts of my trip so far have been finding my hotel initially in Nagoya and then getting around Ise. Not challanging in a bad way, though. Challanging in a very GOOD way because most (not all) people didn't speak English. Especially in Ise - they had no choice to speak to me in anything other than Japanese since that's all they spoke. Those who do speak a little English answer me in English even when I speak to them in Japanese. Well, mostly...

I've found so far that even though in the majority of situations when I need to communicate with people I'm prepared to ask the question but not necessarily prepared to comprehend the answer they're going to give me. I tend to understand a few words here and there, but the problem is that I know enough Japanese to be considered dangerous. I give them the impression that I speak well, but my vocabulary and knowledge of gramattical structures is limited. This puts me in quite the predicament. However, I've done well so far so I can't be doing all that bad.

Here are some highlights from the past few days:

Arriving In Nagoya (Friday evening): First, I had to find the bus to take me from the airport to Nagoya Station. Finding it wasn't too bad, but when I was the only person on the bus I wondered if it was really going where the bus driver told me it was going. Well, it did bring me to Nagoya Station and from there I just had to figure out the subway system which only took a little while. Used the subway to go a couple stops and arrived at my stop: Sakae Station. The directions to my hotel said to take Exit #1 - no big deal, right? Well let's put this in perspective. There are *16* exits from this subway station alone. And those were the only directions I had. Luckily, after wandering around for a little while I finally broke down and asked someone for help - a cool looking Japanese kid who must've been in his late teens or early twenties. Not only did he call the hotel to get directions on his cell phone, but then he walked me there. How about that!? So of course I had to give him a gift for doing that... very cool.

Saturday in Nagoya - Spent the day seeing various places in Nagoya. Found out the hard way that the American Center in the International Building was closed on the weekends, but luckily there was an information desk in the same building that was open where I checked e-mail, made the previous post and got some help for getting around in Japan. Went up in the Panarama House to get a view of Nagoya city from 245 meters up, and then went to the Atsuta shrine before wandering around the underground mall near my hotel and then meeting up with friends for dinner. I really need to give some thanks to my previous employer, Donald Tyler, who put me in touch with his Japanese business contact in Nagoya. Toshihiro and his wife Kumi met me at my hotel and took me out to dinner at this Japanese place called Yama-chan (written in Kanji and using one of the 2 dozen characters I recognize; Ayako-sensei & So-sensei would be so proud of me!). We had a great meal and a great conversation, half in Japanese and half in English since both Kumi and Toshi spoke English very well. Easily the highlight of my trip so far - we had a great time! And after dinner we hit one of the video arcade places where we tried one of the high-tech photo booths and I got to play the Taiko drum game (yes, I'll have pictures soon enough).

Sunday, Nagoya & Ise - So I checked out of my hotel and took the subway back to Nagoya Station and then rode the JR train to Ise and took the easy way out and grabbed a taxi to my hotel. Ise is a smaller, much more rural area than Nagoya (which is the 4th largest city in Japan). Checked into the Ryokan (Japanese Inn) I was staying at and there was no chance of anyone speaking any English here, heh. So for my language skills, that was excellent. However when it came time for me to get around, my only option was to use the bus. And that.. was not so easy. However with some help from everyone and what little language skills I have, I successfully made it to the Geku shrine, then to the shops in Naiku (very cool). Bussed back to my ryokan (I even had to transfer busses... that was not easy). Had a little time before dinner and then was served an authentic Japanese meal which included some of the tenderest beef and freshest sashimi I've ever eaten. Fantastic! The sake with dinner knocked me out though...

Monday, Traveling to Kyoto - Which brings me to today... traveling to Kyoto and getting to my hotel here was cake. Took the bus in Ise back to Ise-shi Station, rode the train back to Nagoya, and then took the Shinkansen to Kyoto (45 minutes - this wasn't even the fastest of the Shinkansen trains and it was still moving). Took the subway to where my hotel was and easily found my hotel, which is pretty much where I am now. Already though I've seen more foreigners here in Kyoto in the first 5 minutes I was at Kyoto Station than I did for the past few days. It hasn't bothered me in the least though because I'm making an effort to speak the language and most people have been very kind and helpful. I'm glad that I'll be here in Kyoto for a few days, though. It's definitely tiring with all of the traveling from place to place. But I'm seeing a lot and I'm learning even more - just how to get around as well as language and cultural things.

All I can say is that it feels great to be here and be having this experience... =)