kyoto.11:40pm

Must be off this computer soon. Free Internet access at the hotel but limited. The keyboard is a Japanese one and I keep hitting the wrong keys dammit.

I miss people already. very sad. trying NOT to miss people so much and just enjoy. however, kyoto is amazing! dave and I are having a lot of fun. we walked all over the city already. many temples and a samurai mansion with trap door and hidden staircases. very cool. we had a personal travel guide student with us today, hiroshi. maybe he will read my site: I gave him my site address. He was great!

Last night we stayed at a ryokan, which is a japanese traditional-style hotel with an onsen (public bath). The ryokan was very nice. The soak in the bath was very relaxing after a full day of walking. And very hot. We were all embarassed because we could not read the japanese that told us which bath was for women and which was for men. Potentially a very embarassing moment if we chose wrong and I ended up naked in the tub with old japanese men. Ew. Thankfully, a nice woman helped us out. I am surprised how few peope speak english. Oh well. We try to get by on Dave's limited English. After the bath, we had a traditional Japanese meal in our tatami room, seated on the floor. It was an amazing dinner. Everyone bows so much, I don't know what to do.

We changed hotels for tonight though. Cheaper. And tonight, Dave and I ate ice cream with chopsticks in front of the TV. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

My back is killing me. Seriously. But I will survive. Tomorrow we go back to Tokyo around 7pm.

More updates when I get back to Dave's.