Where we`ve been...

KayoSan
-stayed in a temple, with amazing meals, prayers in the morning, tatami mat room, and tiny perfect garden
-saw the fabulous parade for Kobo Dashi`s birthday
-spent lots of time in Okuno-in cemetery, crying among the cedar trees
-Met Joh (pronounced yo) late at night, who took us out to dinner, gave a room to sleep in when we couldn`t find the fabled campsite, fed us breakfast, and drove us to the train station in the morning!!!!

Beppu
-went to two hospitals, saw two doctors, many nurses, and was helped out by on of the hostel staff the whole time (who droves us all around, waited with us, and translated everywhere for us)
-went way up into the mountains behind Beppu and spend a few hours in a hidden wild onsen, in a big stream in the forest...fabulous. Followed by sushi dinner with everyone, of course.
-visited the Beppu Sex Museum...very interesting!!

Miyjima
-wandered around in the dark looking for a place to camp, set up the tent in the dark, and had a surprisingly good sleep at a very strange inclined angle
-was followed by a very cute small fox-like thing (that Scott and Justin saw when they were in Japan)
-woke up to a mother deer right outside our tent, who then ate her breakfast of berries while we packed up

Hiroshima
-saw the Atomic Dome, the Peace Memorial, and the museum. Very impactful. Nuclear war BAD!!!
-was asked by many school children, in halting English, what I thought of the memorial and how it made me feel

Kyoto
-went to a crazy busy temple, high on the hill
-wandered around in the old part of town, through little streets crowded with old wooden buildings.
-saw Geishas (again)
-hung out in Gion district, didn`t see Geisha here though, but ate a fabulous meal
-went to an amazing flea market (enormous!!!)
-spent the day with Peter`s friend Akari, who showed us the sights
-and visited the bamboo forest

There is much more, but I will spruce it up later, when I have more time....