Japan photos

Well, the bulk upload and basic tagging is done. Lots of photos this year - thanks to buying a bigger memory card for the camera. I went photo crazy! I'm going to create a best of album, but for now, if you dare, the bulk one is there.
Lots of photos of every town - and lots of monkey pics!

Japan again

I'm just back from another great two-weeks in Japan. This is the third year in a row now that we've gone there for my birthday.
This is a great time to go to Japan as it is cherry blossom season. Sadly, this year, thanks to George Bush I'm sure, the cherry blossoms were early - the earliest ever recorded! - so we really only got the full on experience up in the mountains around Nagano. We were lucky enough to be there right at 'hanami' time (cherry blossom viewing).
It was a big trip - lots of traveling. Started in Osaka, on to Hiroshima, Miyajima, Okayama, Kurashiki, Kyoto, Nagano, Yudanaka (snow monkeys!), and then to Tokyo.
I absolutely love Japan. From the people to the landscape to the food I find the place amazing. Especially the people! They are incredibly friendly and inviting. I noticed a big difference this year. I'd taken the time to learn some rudimentary Japanese and that really helped. People were always polite (of course) and genuinely interested in what we thought of their country.
The plan is still to move there. We are trying to find the best place, really. Something that gives us a taste of the incredible urban life of the big cities but also has some of the traditional side left.

Pics are being uploaded to my fotki