umi.

For anyone who has as long in Japan to travel as I have, I would say you are missing out if you don’t head over to Okinawa. You can get ultra cheap flights with Jetstar and it’s only a couple of hours’ flight. In those two hours, you go from being in mountainous Honshu to what seems more like Fiji. The day after my last exam I ditched Gifu, hopped on a plane with my pal Jamesie and headed to the summer by the sea I had been longing for (see here). There was a little drama, with me going to the wrong airport (the airport system here makes no sense), but we got our flight, so really it was no big deal.

The first couple of days we stayed in Naha, revelling in our proximity to the beach by day and hanging out at bars at night. 

I won jenga. And darts. Seeing as there is not all that much to do in Naha itself, we took a trip out to the American Village.

Assumedly due to the number of Americans in Okinawa because of the U.S. military base there, the American Village was created to cater to their entertainment needs. Filled with everything imaginable (cinema, shops, bowling, beach, bars, restaurants), it remains a rather odd place. Despite its name, it very much felt more like an American themed park in Japan than something truly American. 

It was, however, a nice spot to watch the sun go down.

saikin.

Just a note to say I have not forgot about my poor, pathetic, lonely, little blog, but I have been busy racing around Japan (life's tough), and in my spare time have been writing assignments for my Australian university, so have not had the time to write or organise photos and whatnot. Hopefully some will be appearing soon though! Until then, happy summer to those in the north, to those in the south - keep warm! 

sanposhita.

Takayama is such a charming place. Rebecca and I woke to another overwhelming breakfast. I particularly enjoyed watching her face as she sampled umeboshi for the first time, although was unfortunately unable to capture it on film.

One of the very friendly women at the ryokan recommended we wander over to the nearby markets. The  morning markets are held next to a river, and almost exclusively sell locally made crafts or lovally grown fruits and vegetables. We bought some presents and knickknacks for friends at home and headed down to the river to say hello to the koi.

Most of the central area of Takayama is made up of stone-cobbled streets with traditional-style Japanese shop fronts selling various wares. We spent most of our day wandering, eventually returning to our ryokan to change into our yukatas.

And preparing for another feast.

The next day we had planned to hire bikes to explore more of Takayama, but decided to climb up to the park by foot instead. Too hot to face the descent, we searched for four leaf clovers instead.

My wish was the Bec would never go home, but I made the mistake of revealing my wish. Rookie error. We had one last cake together and said sad goodbyes. Overwhelmed by Rebecca’s good looks, Japanese people came up and asked to have photos with her, which were later posted on the café’s blog. Classic.

Although it was sad to say goodbye, I was so glad Bec was able to come and see some of Japan with me. I loved all the places we went together, and am excited to be travelling to Kyoto and Takayama again soon!