Last days in Kamakura--ETHAN

On Saturday, August 12th we went back to Kamakura from Kyoto.We took our last bullet train from Kyoto to Shinagawa,Tokyo.  Then we took the JR Yokosuka line to Kamakura. We went back to the Gokurakuji house in Kamakura. We relaxed and we used the monorail but there were too many spiders on the monorail so everyone except V walked down.

When we got back to the house mom and I took a bath. I love the bath because of the jets and it gets SO warm! I also LOVE the toilets. When I sit down the toilet seat warmer is turned on so it's SO warm also! I  used the bidet and it felt SO weird! It's going to take a lot to get used to not having a fancy toilet in San Diego.

After my mom and I got out of the bath the kids played a few games of crazy eights. After that we had dinner and we had tonkastsu with cabbage. Of course, I ate quickly because it was SO good.


On Sunday August 13th we went to Daibutsu, another giant Buddha. It is second largest in Japan. It is SO cool! It was a one minute walk. We payed 20 yen and we went UNDER the BUDDHA! It was SO cool! I felt the inside of it and they said it took 10 years to make it! Then we walked through Kamakura and we got lunch. I got udon.

After that we went to the beach. The water is SO warm here compared to San Diego! At this time of the year the water can get up to 80 degrees! Then mom's friend from Saturday school came here. Her name is Hiroko and her husband's name is Nobu. She has a two year old daughter named Hana.We got shaved ice. I got lemon flavor. Then we walked back. For dinner we had cold noodles especially made for summer. We got fireworks and we used all of them. My favorite type is the torch. It changes color!

Going To KYOTO--ETHAN

On Wednesday August 9th  we went from Hiroshima to Kyoto by the Bullet Train🚄. We are staying at Yuji's house and we are with Yuji's cousin, Mitsuko. He has a giant condo and we all love it. Mitsuko picked us up at the train station and then we took the bus for an hour to the house. We chilled for two hours and then we took the bus to the shopping place.We saw a lot of  good stores but my favorite one was full of seal stuff. LITERALLY everything is seal. I got something for my friend Alex, who loves seals. I got him a charm and myself a seal keychain. I got three seals stacked on top of each other. For dinner we had Ramen and you got your own stall which I didn't like it cuz you can't talk to any one. We took the bus home and I took a bath. I didn't like it because it was to hot. If there was less water maybe I would like it.

On Thursday we took the bus to Fushimi Inari Shrine. There are over 10,000 gates and they are over 1300 years old. We hiked all the way to the top of the mountain and back! We didn't get a good view though. It was super hot and we earned a reward so we got shaved ice. Izzy, V, and Cia all got lemon  but I got Hawaiian. We took the bus to  Iternationl Manga museum and Manga is anime. There I got a sketch book. For  dinner we had Chao Chao Gyoza. It was SOOOO good. When we got out it was raining, and Cia and I made a dance.

On Friday it is our 3rd and last day/night in Kyoto.  We went to Iwatayama monkey mountain. There were so many monkeys! We got bags of bananas and peanuts to feed the monkeys. There is a fence and monkeys climb on it and they grab the food out of your hand and eat. A baby monkey ate out of my hand! When we were walking down the mountain it poured and Cia and I did our rain dance. Next we went to the bamboo grove. It is SO cool! There is SO much bamboo. After that we took a bus to old town and  we took a quick walk through there. We went to the Nishiki market and it was SO cool there is SO much awesome stuff there. I got some candy. For dinner we had ramen AGAIN and it was SO good. I got a calpis slushee from 7 eleven for the third night in a row and it was SO good!

Tomorrow we are going to Kamakura again.

Miyajima island 🌴--ETHAN

Today we went to Miyajima island 🌴. We took a farie to the island. I wish we could have taken a longer ride but it was only 10 minutes each way. Mom said she and I could go to Catalina which is like a 2 hour ride. My dad gets sea sick when he goes on a boat. When we were on the boat it was high tide and there is a Shinto gate called tori-i. It looked like it was floating because it was covered with water at one part. When we got there there were a lot of deer roaming around the island but not as many as deer park. We walked around the shrine and I got my fortune (omikuji) which is to be honest. I also got a special charm from the shrine and it is to help me find a good life partner which is going to be a deer. Then we took the rop way to the top of the mountain. Good thing we didn't have to walk that cause it was super hot again!

For dinner we had KAITENZUSHI conveyor belt sushi. they made random stuff and put it on the  conveyor belt and you could grab it or you could order. I loved all of it and I ate 7 plates.

Floating Shrine in Miyajima -- by Izzy

The Floating Shrine in Miyajima! By Izzy

8-8-17

Today we, the Vegas, and Rumi and Souri went to Miyajima island. We took the streetcar to the ferry landing and took the ferry to Miyajima island. The boat ride was fun and we sat on the third level. I looked at the water and the ride was only 10 minutes and we were going pretty fast. When we got to the island, we walked to the Itsukushima shrine. We saw the Tori-i (Shinto shrine gate) in the water and it looks like it was floating on the water. When the tide is high, the shrine and Tori-i look like they are floating on the water. We went into the shrine and walked around. I got a good luck charm for academic studies and my fortune. You put 100 yen in a box and then choose a drawer that has your fortune in it. I chose number 3 drawer and my fortune said to be calm and to put others before yourself. We got ice cream and there were lots of deer on the island. We walked to the Ropeway station and took the ropeway to the top of the mountain.

We also went to a cat forest and owl forest store and I got the suitcase for my little cat that is in the picture below. That is the cat I got at the Country Cat store.

We took the boat back to Hiroshima and had sushi at a conveyer belt sushi place. There are different plates that you stack up and the different plates have different prices. I loved the salmon and tuna sushi.

Going to Hiroshima -- by Izzy

Going To Hiroshima!! By Izzy

8-7-17

Today we woke up, and Matsumoto-san and Madoka-san made us a Japanese style breakfast with fish, rice, and miso soup. It rained a lot and Typhoon 5 was passing. We took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima, and Rumi's friend Haruna met us at the train station and helped us around Hiroshima.

We went to our Air BnB to drop our stuff off and then we walked around the peace park. We saw Sadako's statue and cranes that were made for her. There were so many cranes of all different colors. It made me happy to see that so many people folded cranes for her. We also went to the Hiroshima museum to learn about the bombing of Hiroshima. I was sad to see the damage from the bomb and the injuries that people got from the burns. It was sad but I learned a lot!

We met up with Rumi and Souri when we were shopping and had okonomiyaki for dinner. I also found another cat store called Country Cat. I got a cat bag and a small cat plushie. 

Here are some pictures from today:

This is the cat store.

The deer park and Todaiji statue -- ETHAN

The Deer Park  And The Todaiji Statue 

--ETHAN

Yesterday we went to the deer park. I was so excited we could go because I imagined that it would look cool and it was cool. We bought food for the deer at a little stand. They were like crackers for deer. They look crunchy. The deer looked like they were hot because it was over 90 degrees and 86 percent humidity. They hid under a tree for shade. Then we got tickets to see the Todaiji (giant Buddha) statue. It was GIGANTIC! I can't believe that they could make that over one thousand years ago!

We stayed in a kominka that is 250 years old which means it was made in the 1760s!  There is a statue in the yard made out of giant stone!

Nara: Deer Park and Daibutsu!!--Izzy

Going to Nara: The Deer Park and Daibutsu Statue By Izzy

8-6-17

Today we went to Nara. We took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nara and Yuji's friend Matsumoto-san and his daughter Madoka-san picked us up at the train station. We parked and walked to see a temple and to go to the Shika Kōen (deer park). We bought some packs of deer crackers to feed to the deer. We also walked to see the Daibutsu, which is a giant statue of Buddha. I got a few gifts for my friends, and then we walked to the Isuien Garden. We saw some polywogs in the water and stopped at a cafe to get something to drink. All of the kids got ice cream and I also tried the green tea ice cream. The ice cream was delicious! 

We walked around and then walked to get dinner. We were walking and I saw some cat sculptures. There was a little shop and it was open so I immediately went in. I was so excited when I saw that everything inside was cat themed!!!😻 I ended up getting a little cat, a keychain, and a pin a which will be a present for a friend. I was in HEAVEN in that store!!! I love cats sooooooooooo much!!! The man that owns the shop gave me a free cat chopstick rest because I got a few things! That was a very awesome store!

Today was a very hot day- we all were very sweaty!!! We stayed at Yuji's house in Nara and it was very beautiful. I slept in the room a famous shogun slept in over 200 years ago!! The house is 250 years old!!