Mostly Pics

So, weve made a few new friends. Last weekend, while I was working, Melissa joined in a game of Bocce Ball (excuse my spelling) with a few random people in the park accross the road. It turns out some of them live in our building, and we have since spent a few nights out with them. Norm and Val live accross the hall from us and Mike lives down one floor directly below them. Last week we all went to a Kiyomizu Temple, in Kyoto, together.

The train station in Kyoto is an architectural marvel. This picture doesnt do it justice at all. It is really impressive when you are standing in the main atrium (where this photo was taken) and you slowly turn 360 degrees. (Val on the left, Melissa, and Norm...Mike is wearing a cap, and is behind the girl with the red backpack).

The Temple had fresh water springs in various locations, and there were wells everywhere for washing your hands ("pleasae wash hand"), face and ...body? The water is clean enough to drink (as you can see in the pictures below)

People write their most pressing wishes, for the year, on a piece of wood, and then hang them on this rack. There are hundreds of them. Most are written in Japanese Kanji, however there are a few in english.

And the visit just wouldnt be complete without a few token rock stars (who, by the way, were kind enough to pose for me).

So, thats it for now. More to come soon. I will just dump a bunch of random pictures, and maybe a few captions the next time I come to the cafe. I get my Gaijin card in 6 days, so I will finally be able to open a bank account and start the internet application process.

(I just heard "Honest" Ed Mirvish died). So sad!

... Hope all (else) is well back home...

‘Till we meet again,

Mike

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