Wow, what a day!!

Tame deer, giant buddhas, rats and birthday cake! ;)



Today I went to Nara...It was absolutely magnificent - you have to see my photos to appreciate the real beauty of it. I went by subway and train and it took about one hour in total - the journey was breathtaking - the train meandered up the mountainside through beautiful villages and towns (you could see people working in the fields and cycling through forests etc) and finally arrived at Nara. I went to the tourist information office as soon as i got there and found that they spoke fluent english!! HOORAY!! I got a hiking trail map and was told all the main sites to see on the way and that it would take about five hours. I did exactly as instructed except for a de-tour higher up into the mountains which -although it was a bit knackering- was worth the effort as the views were (as the lovely charlie boorman would say)....amaaazing!! I bought some sandwiches before i set off on the hiking trail and after a few hours stopped at a view point from which you could see Nara city for miles... it was gorgeous! The whole of Nara is swarming with deer... said to be messengers of the gods. They are sooo tame they come right up to you and there are sellers in the street selling deer nuts - i bought a packet and was surrounded by about 20 deer within seconds!! When I ran out, one of them tried to eat my map!!! Also there were people selling hot sweet potatoes in the street and anyone who bought a sweet potato was surrounded by deer pretty instantly too!! I visited loads of temples on the route including Toshodai-ji, Yakushi - Ji and Todai-ji (where there is the great buddha hall - the largest wooden building in the world which houses the largest buddha statue in Japan) they were all absolutely amaaazing and the sort of thing you could just stand and stare at in awe for hours on end. In Todai-ji there is a supporting post in the hall which has a hole apparently the same size as one of the nostrils of the buddha statue. Legend has it that those who pass through it will be blessed with enlightenment in their next life. It was hilarious seeing people of all shapes, sizes and ages trying to squeeze through the hole!!
Anyway as it was turning dark I decided to head back to Osaka...washing myself with holy/blessd water at one of the temples must have worked as i had a very handsome young japanese business man's bottom in exact eye-line view the whole journey home ha ha... When I got off the train I realised that I am starting to go in the same direction and at the same speed as everyone else in rush hour at last, yippeee! I got back to the hostel and Yumi (the lovely hostel owner) told me there would be a seminar in the communal area tonight for an NGO (the guy that runs it is staying here at the hostel and was using it as a meeting ground for other people) she said did i want to join them (and that she would translate for me and Jef, the french guy) and they were having a small birthday party afterwards so i said yes. this is the NGO website: htpp://www.geocites.jp/hiroki_site/saidia. It was very interesting and he told us all about how he decided to set up the charity (he used to be an office worker!) and all about the work that the charity does and the area that it operates in etc.. Anyway, as well as that and as well as having nice chats with Jef (who has been here 3 months looking for teaching work) I also met some other lovely people - Yumi's mum, who does loads of voluntary work including working for a helpline for japanese people who want to commit suicide!!eeek! she travels an hour to get to the office and then works from 10pm right the way through until the morning, convincing people not to end their lives.... what a tough job. I also met another guy whose name translates to Black stone...ha ha.. I can't remember how to pronounce/spell it in Japanese. He has worked for 6 years running a charity for the homeless people of Osaka and every friday he takes them cleaning Osaka station and then when they are finished, in return he provides them with a sleeping bag or blanket or food. He seems like a very nice man. They asked me what I do for a job and if i did any voluntary work so I told them about the Pituitary Foundation. Tommorow they are going out to visit the homeless people and invited me with them.. so I am going! Yumi is going too (thank god as she is my translator) and Yumi's mum, the Guy who runs the NGO and Blackstone, the guy who runs the charity for homeless people. (and one other man i havent met). We're leaving the hostel at 11am and back at 2pm... I feel very priviliged to have been invited along. We drank soup and ate birthday cake and it was generally a lovely evening!! Now I am going to bed... So my plan for tommorow involves visiting homeless people around Osaka and then coming back to the hostel, collecting my bag, checking in to the capsule hotel in a different part of Osaka and then exploring that area.
A couple of things I had written down but forgot to tell you... yesterday at the spa, on the notice that said no tattoos.. it also said "no persons who have gotten dead drunk" which actually doesn't sound funny now i write it... i think you had to see the illustration to appreciate the humour!! Also Evan, the ozzie here at the hostel said that he has been in Japan 6 months and has been told by many, that japanese people don't invite people to stay in their homes as its a very personal space for them and therefore i was very priviliged to have stayed at Norikos home. He said that he tried to find people to move into a house with him but japanese people dont share homes, they either live with family or on their own, they will not share their personal space with anyone else!....so there you go, another privilege :)
One other thing... on the train I often see pairs of school boys and/or pairs of business men playing nintendo DS with each other on bluetooth and shouting "oochi ochi" its bloody funny - i dont know why but it is! Oooh and one other thing - japanese people sleeeeeep SO much!! On subways, on trains, on buses, in cafes, on benches on the street... honestly, everywhere you go there is at least one japanese person asleep!!

As I am checking out of this hostel tommorow, I feel now is the right time to tell you (I haven't told you before as I knew you would worry)... that this hostel is in the middle of the red light district and is SWARMING with f*ck off huoooge rats!!! Despite that, the hostel is lovely and everyone here seems very down to earth and kind. Dont worry mum, I am still being careful!!! Night night! xx

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL MUM, I LOVE YOU! xxxxxxxxxx