Greg & Laura in Kyoto

Later that day we all arrived in Kyoto.  Our first order of business was to find some ramen...... this was a great success!

Our full day in Kyoto was quite different from our time in Hiroshima.  Joe and I had visited Kyoto in December with my parents, and took a full day sight-seeing tour.  We sent Laura & Greg on this tour and Joe and I went to Nara (they really old capital of Japan).  But that post will come later!

We met up with Laura & Greg at the end of their tour at Kiyomizu-dera temple and then walked to Pontocho for dinner.

As it turns out, Kiyomizu-dera is just as beautiful in the fall as it is in the spring!

On the way to dinner, we walked through Matsubara dori, a charming street filled with shops, restaurants and a cozy feeling in Japan.

Our second day in Kyoto was a half day, as we needed to get to Tokyo.  We had one last morning excursion in Kyoto - a walk on the Philosopher's Path and a tour of Ginkaku-ji temple.  Joe had walked the Philosopher's Path last December by himself; my father and I joined him for a part of it.  It was really wonderful to walk the entire path.

At the end of the path was Ginkaku-ji.  A lovely temple surrounded by even lovelier gardens.

A beautiful, but unusual rock garden.

While waiting for Joe, Laura & Greg to finish the tour route, I was befriended by a group of Japanese junior high students.  Their teacher tried to explain that they wanted to practice their English with me.  They got out their notebooks and each took a turn asking me questions about where I was from, did I like Japan, what foods I liked and where we were going.  It was fun!

Greg & Laura in Hiroshima

Our next stop with Laura & Greg was Hiroshima.  This of course, was a repeat for Joe and I - but a very happy repeat!!!  Hiroshima was just as beautiful in spring as it was in the fall.  We had forgotten the many shades of green that exist.  (Okinawa has one color of green - jungle!)  We only had about 24 hours in Hiroshima, so we sent Laura & Greg to the Memorial & Museum, while we went to eat Hiroshima-yaki and then sake and sashimi from the Seto Inland Sea.

The next day we went to Miyajima Island.  This brought back many wonderful memories and Joe and I wandered around.  The large torii gate at Itsukushima (shinto) shrine had undergone some damage in a storm, so it was covered.

In the early morning, the tide was low, so were were able to walk out to the shrine.  

We then sent Greg & Laura off on their own, to hike Mt. Misen and enjoy Miyajima.

Joe and I returned to one of our favorite parks......

....and enjoyed some of Miyajima's food!  This was a steamed bun with conger eel.

My favorite was the deep-fried Momiji-manju!  

Joe and I met Laura & Greg as they were going through Itsukushima shrine.

After that, we headed back to Hiroshima to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto!

Laura & Greg in Okinawa

So I'm taking a break from packing (yes, there's always more packing!) to write about our most recent visitors (and yes, peer out the patio window on this stunning day!)  Joe's sister Laura and her new husband Greg came to visit us.  We spent the first part of their vacation in Okinawa, then traveled to mainland Japan.

We visited Peace Prayer Park on a national holiday - Children's Day.  The park was decorated with flying koinobori (fish flags).  It was beautiful and unique!

We were blessed with beautiful weather while Greg & Laura were in Okinawa.  Normally May is rainy season - rainy & grey every day.  Joe took them snorkeling at one of his favorite places on Miyagi Island.

Since I'm not such a fan of snorkeling, I had a great day to read on the beach!

No trip to Okinawa is complete without a stop at Pineapple Park!

We made friends with a sweet Okinawan lady at the Ryukyu Village (Ocean Expo Park).  She thought Greg was very young and cute!

At the Tropical Dream Center (Ocean Expo Park), they finally put a camera stand at this photo op!

And finally, the Churaumi Aquarium!  We had a fantastic time in Okinawa!

Our next stop was Hiroshima!

Moving!

Well, it's that time.  I can't believe we are at the end of our three year tour in Okinawa.  On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, we packed up our household goods shipment and said goodbye to 95% of our things.

As Colonel Henry Blake once said in M*A*S*H, "I mean, I'm speaking to you from deep inside a real big empty"


That's where we are right now.

Of course, the most "exciting" thing we had to move was the baby grand piano.  Piano movers came to pack it up and get it into the shipping crates.

Packing it inside......

....packing it for shipping outside!

Now it's time to get the piano crate into the big crate!

Itoman Charity Recital

The recital mentioned in the last post was a great success!  Joe, myself and friend Julie performed in Itoman, Okinawa.  It was a great challenge to prepare for a recital again, but even more fun to perform!  I am so glad that we had this opportunity to share our musical talents here.