Off to an adventure

So, after a short week of lots of studying (geesh, I never knew I could possibly do this much Japanese in a day), we're going to have a 4-day weekend break. Now, in my realistic thinking, I don't know how I could possibly not go somewhere. The chance to go to Japan and see these sights are few and far between, so I decided that I'd go with Phil and Robyn somewhere.

After lots of deliberation, we decided on Kyoto. It is one of Japan's old capitals that was kept from war raids during WWII due to all of it's national treasures and heritage. I went there the first time I went to Japan, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. For larger cities, it's the closest which means that it costs the least.

Here are our plans:
Thursday-
3:15 pm class lets out for the weekend
6 pm board bus at Kanazawa Station
10 pm arrive at Kyoto Station
walk to ryokan (Japanese style inn) for the night.

Friday-
10 am walking tour from Hajime Hirooka, also known as Johnny Hillwalker - he takes people around Kyoto for ￥2000, and he shows us gardens, temples, and shrines.
3 pm tour ends around Kiyomizu-dera, a famous temple in Kyoto, that I visited the last time I came
After shopping and such, we'll head to Gion, a geisha district, to see a view of the old Japan.
We're spending the night at Gojo guest house (essentially a youth hostel)

Saturday-
Seeing Nijo-jo castle and the area around that
We're spending the night at Kyoto Cheapest Inn (It sells a tatami mat size bed for about $10 a night)

Sunday-
Seeing Kinkaku-ji (the golden temple - saw it last time - magnificent) and Northern Kyoto
Heading back to the station early to stay at a ryokan. They have a puppy! Yay! And they offer a traditional Japanese dinner for around $30 and a traditional Japanese breakfast for $10. It's a little expensive, but it is a sample of Japanese traditional life that I have always wanted to experience.

Monday -
Spending the area around the station, and getting on the bus around 2 pm to head back to Kanazawa.

I'm really excited about this trip. I have planned many trips around Japan for classes, and it's exciting because I'm actually doing this one. For one, it's a real step of independence because I'm going out into a foreign country with very little support besides two other American students who have about the same knowledge of Japanese as I. Also, we are spending every night at a different place, which means we will be literally living out of our backpacks. It'll be like backpacking in a city! It's going to end up costing quite a bit even though we are staying the night at some of the cheapest hostels possible, but I think it sounds like a good adventure. I'd be worried if I was on my own, but since I have Phil and Robyn with me, I'm not so worried.

So, I'd better get back to studying for tomorrow, but after that, I'll be gone for a bit, so I'll leave time for everyone to catch up reading, since apparently I write too much . . .

Sayonara!
I miss you all!
Mom, you're awesome!