It's a bit nippy

It's getting cold out her, you know. But...in a good way so far. In fact the last couple of weeks have been really clear and really sunny and reakky rather cold. A bit of frost and you've got my perfect weather!

I spent last weeken in Nagasaki- a pretty infamous place if ever there was one. We soent our first day (of 3 ) taking in the peace park and the museum that gives plentiful informaion about the ins and outs of both the nuclear explosion of 1945 and the developments in nuclear warfare that have taken place post-war. It was thoroughly fascinating, and offered a wealth of information in really well set-out way. It was, I think, a little smaller than the museum I visited in Hiroshima 4 years back, but equally as interesting.

The peace park was playing host to, quite literally, a school trip. That is, it appeared that the entire schoiol had decided to visit on the same day, meaning that there were a fair few students running about the place. Also, I thought the statue in the peace park, designed to condone the concept of nuclear war was, despite its good intentions, nothing more than a large green monstrosity. That aside, the park was serene and calm and, perhaps most surprisingly for mid-Novermber, really warm (considerably more so than Gifu right now!)- which was to be expected, I suppose, since we were on Kyushu- a more southerly island.

The remaining 2 days were spent enjoying Nagasaki's multi-cultural sights. It was the first open port in Japan, so there are shrines from Chinese settlers, catholic churches and dutch gardens. It really is a very pleasant city- especially when viewed from the top of one of the surrounding mountains, frome which you can also see out to see.

Oh well- back to work.

Nikko...

So, last weekend I visited Nikko, near Tokyo. It really is a beautiful place- thoroughly recommended for a day (or 2 day) trip, if anyone finds themself over here. I don`t think I liked the place as much as Nara, but that is in no way an insult- iNIkko has plenty to offer.

On day one, we headed to the `temple and shrine zone.` Most touristy places in Japan have a famous religious building, relic or in this case carving to entice visitors to visit. The carving in Nikko is a version of the 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil` monkeys- which are in actuality pretty small, but significant none the less.

Far more impressive than the shremples is the setting. Nikko has trees and rivers a-plenty (including a very famous red bridge) as well as more far afield waterfalls and mountainous scenery that we visited on day2.

I was a little dissapointed with the famous Nikko waterfalls. I like to walk up close to my waterfalls and really feel the force, so to speak, but NIkko keeps sightseeing on an organised level, prviding a 3-storied viewing platform- which is ok, I guess. However, my favourite part of the trip was a hike through some woodland to Nikko lake. IT was really sunny, nice and cold with many autumn leaves on the floors (the colours in NIkko were amazing- from green to brown to red) - my ideal weather!

On both evenings we bypassed our quest for all things traditional Japanese and opted instead for traditional INdian. Cuisine, that is. THere was a less than impressive looking restaurant, with practically no atmosphere whatsoever, but it obviously stayed in business based on the quality of its curries.oth were really tasty!

Next weekend is a quiet one, but on the 21st I am off to Nagasaki (infamous for one reason, but wth many more sites to see). Until then...

1 down, 2 to go.

I have been here for 4 months now. That is to say I`ve been here 16 weeks, so I am effectively a third of the way through my Japanese year. I guess time really does fly when you`re having fun. And I am having fun- the last two weeks in particular ave been pretty awesome.

Nara was amazing. I think it`s my favourite weekend trip of my stay so far, and easily one of my favourite Japanese cities. It`s touristy, of course, but this basically means that the city is sparklingly clean, the restaurants are used to serving foreigners and everyone is really pleased to see you. It`s also got some lovely parkland, complete with temples and shrines a-plenty, sociable dear and a huge statue of Buddha. I had a great time. The hotel was cheap but cheerful, the food was good and the weather even better.

That was 2 weekends back. Last weekend was halloween time. I didn`t partake in too much festivity, but I did get to wear avampire capse to work for the week, and looked scarily like Dracula without puting in much effort. I aslo went to a halloween party on Saturday night, but in an observing role. I had work the next day, so I didn`t get too carried away and had an early night. Sunday was my night for partying- the local bar ad an `open mic night,` at which a friend and I played a 3o minute set, before contributing a few more songs way into the morning. This was followed by all-night karaoke, and after that, Monday pretty much dissapeared. All in all a good night though.

Next weekend sees me trek, once again, up north to Tokyo. Rachel and I are heading to Nikko, a famous national park and area of outstanding natural beauty, which I am really excited about.

More on that later.