Adventure on the (Over) Seas

I have been lucky enough the past little while to enjoy the company of my favorite person in the whole world, some of you might be thinking that I get to hang out with myself everyday but my ma is here!!! I am super estatic to be able to show her a little bit of Japan. She came with my boy Payner. So I was able to show them around my place for a couple of days while they got over the Jet Lag then we were off to Kyoto for the long weekend before I had to split and make my way back to the Hama for work. It was an adventure of the grandest sort.
There are plenty of photos posted today but first I will give you a run down of their time here. They arrived on a Friday and the following day there was a bazaar at one of the Kindergartens that I work at. This was one of the highlights of my time in Japan the kids were all doing crafts and stuff. It was nice to walk around and get some love from the kids and not have to worry about actually teaching them anything. Afterwards we went to an old village with Kae. She brought her car which made for a more comfortable drive. It took almost three hours to get there but it was a cool experience. I really enjoyed spending the day with everyone.
The following day there was a Karate demonstration where we broke boards and bats. I didn't break a bat but Hiroshi did and it made me even more scared to enter the ring with him. Afterwards we went for lunch with some students of mine and just relaxed. The meal was fantastic. A traditional meal with about 5 courses. So delicious!
On Monday the two of them were off to a cooking class. I was at work but I managed to pick them up and drop them off easily enough. They also visited the aquarium.
In the morning of my birthday my mom finally gave me the present that she had been saving for me on her bedside table. Talk about torture... I could see the box just sitting there but I was not allowed to touch it! Inside was the nicest watch I have ever seen in my life!!! I still can not believe it is mine, I look at my wrist and its a nice view...
My girlfriend organized a party for me that night at Cafe Del Mar, a good friend of hers owns the place so she opened it up on her day off. It was good fun to hang out with some buddies. The karate crew came out and I had a great time. Had a couple of pops which were nice.
The following day they were out the door to Kyoto. I was taking the overnight bus but I realized late in the day that my plans were shattering to pieces all around me... I always book the bus to Tokyo on a Friday when I finish at 6... I booked my regular bus at 6:37, sadly I do not finish work on Wednesday until 6:50. So I put my kneepads on and went to beg my boss to let me leave early. Luckily she agreed otherwise it would have been very expensive to get to Kyoto for me. I made it down there but forgot my map to the hostel...
We spent the weekend in Kyoto which was very beautiful! I was really impressed with the temples and shrines. The trees were amazing! All the colours were awesome. It reminded me of Canada quite a bit which was nice for me.
We took a day trip to Kobe where at long last after many years of dreaming about it I sampled Kobe BEEF! This is where the title of the post comes in, there is a Japanese saying "You don't need teeth, to enjoy Kobe Beef". Its true this meat was so tender and amazing! I even tried RAW beef and it was amazing as well. The whole experience was just incredible. The restaurant we went to was real posh as well. An overall awesome experience.
The real trouble started when I caught the bus back to Tokyo. I was on the overnight bus but just couldn't get comfortable. So I tossed and turned all night. When I got on my bus to Iwaki I realized I had lost my keys. After a big fiasco where my girlfriend called the bus company and asked about my keys and they told her they were not there, I started to freak out a little. I mailed my boss and she was definately more than a little angry! It was looking to be a real expensive experience... There are no more spare keys for the car. So a tow truck was arranged to get the car to the dealership and the wheels were in motion to get the problem fixed. That was when I get the call that my keys were found. My girlfriend had called the wrong bus station and they searched the wrong bus for my keys... I was elated!!! My boss was still and is still angry with me...
Here are the photos...

This was taken outside the silver temple. There is a famous road that philosophers used to walk down thinking. There wasn't much on my mind but I tried to look thoughtful... It was a cool place to walk knowing some of the wisest Japanese people have strolled down there with thoughts that I am sure have changed the way of life and culture for Japan.


I was alone on Sunday because my ma and Payne took off to Hiroshima. Luckily I was not alone for long. These lovely ladies stopped me to take my photo and I ended up hanging out with them for the afternoon and evening until my late night bus. It was strange how happy they were to get in a photo with me...


Better reserve a spot at the front of the line for these guys... Watch your step!!!


This is the silver temple through some trees. The temple itself was not overly impressive but the scenery around it was so beautiful. The temple is not silver due to a fire a long while ago. The gardens and tree colours were amazing!

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We were bored one night so we decided to get a Geisha. How we ended up with such a beautiful woman I have no idea. She was actually a rookie and spilt our tea. We were very forgiving because I think it was the first time she had entertained as a Geisha.


The streets of Kyoto were really cool because there were views like this in a lot of places. I really enjoyed the city. It was cool enough for me to contemplate a move!


The streets are sooo narrow. In some places it was just rediculously crowded. At least Japanese people are very polite so there was not much pushing or rudeness. This is a huge advantage of Japan. Anywhere else it might have been a little too crazy and hectic. Even in the biggest crowds it seems like there is still some personal space for people.


A Pagoda in Kyoto. We were on a mission this morning but I had to stop and take these photos.

The trees surrounding the silver temple. I actually expected a lot more Japanese Maple trees. I envisioned tons of reds in the hills when I thought of Kyoto but there was still lots of green.

This is outside one of the palaces. It was not even really ever used. The roads are nice and wide though which makes me think a lot of festivals are held here.


This was the name of a restuarant. While this is not overly shocking the location is... It was in Kobe's China Town... I wonder why it wasn't busy...


Kobe's sister town is Seattle so there are tons of little (or big) gifts from Seattle all over the city. This is one of them.


One satisfied customer... The steak was SOOOO good. If it didn't cost an arm and a leg I would eat it three times a day. The cows are fed aged beer and massaged regularly. If they weren't butchered for meals you could argue that they have a better life than most humans!


This man left me feeling extremely insufficient...


This was another gift from Seattle I think. It was a really cool clock in the middle of the city right beside the city hall.



This is what $140 buys you in Japan...


Wheres the beef? I am not sure but look to the middle for the meat head!


Running out of ideas that sounds witty...