Jono's visit

Jono, one of my best friends from university came to to visit after traveling in Europe. I went up and met him at Kansai Airport (Osaka). We both had a bit of trouble. I initially went to the wrong airport. STUPID! Jono had a fair bit of trouble clearing immigration. A single male coming from Amsterdam who didn't know the exact address where he was staying didn't exactly go in his favour. Jono also said if he had shaved then it might have been a bit easier to get in. Luckily Jono's phone worked so he was able to get my address from me. After meeting up we took the train to Kyoto. We found our hostel and went exploring in the Kinkakuji area. Kinkakuji is a must see when going to Kyoto so I think I've been there 5 times now with different friends and my family. After we went to a Zen Garden I had not found before. The next day we made a trip to Kiyomizudera, another must see in Kyoto. At this time of year the trees aren't very picturesque but the building is still impressive. We then caught the train to Himeji to see the very impressive Himeji Castle.

Within 36 hrs Jono got to see the 3 things to see in Japanese - a temple, a shrine and a castle!! And probably the best ones there are to see too! That night we headed back to Yukuhashi as I could only get 2 days off work. From Wednesday to Friday Jono went on a train ride adventure to "God know where" and chilled out in Yukuhashi. It was great to have someone to talk to when I came home.

On the weekend I hired a car and drove to Mt Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan. Around Mt Aso is one of the largest craters in the world. It's actually really hard to know when you have entered in it because it's so big. The are a few town within it.

On the Sunday, Yuki drove us to the newly built longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Japan (390m long/173m high). Little did we know it was pretty much where we had been the day before. Oh well! We had really good udon (noodles) there. We had to come back so Jono could catch the train up to near Osaka airport before his JR pass ran out. He didn't have any trouble getting back up there are spending a day fending for himself because he made it made to his flight to Oz.

I was glad Jono got to see Japan and Yukuhashi where I live, so if I tell him a story when I get back he has some reference. The funny part of the trip is that we went to the Kaiten sushi (sushi-go-round) in Yukuhashi 3 times in the week he stayed as he loved the sushi there. I do too. By the 3rd time, they were all smiles for their regular customers.

NOTE: All the photos used in this entry were taken by Jono. Thanks Jono!! Mine have gone missing. :(