I LOVE my digital camera!

Nasty overcast skies, but this is the current main campus of Kansai Gaidai. They'll be opening up a new campus in April that we'll be moved to.. it's much larger!.
Ursula at Hakkenden, the favorite local drinking hole. This would be a great drunk shot, except that she hadn't been drinking. ^.^

Ursula's friend Micah, gesturing toward... ? the wall? imaginary friend? tiny gnomes on the shelf in front of him? We're unsure...
So, due to the fact that my shoes were wearing thin, I ordered two pairs from Payless and had Josh ship them to me... this was the box after taking out a bunch of crap that he did not send and not the poor condition of the originally pristine box... note at the bottom there are seaweed packages??? Eh?? Thus began the mystery...

Which continues... this is a pic of all the random crap that somehow ended up in my box.. Josh never sent any of this.. Note the "Print Artist" software box.. upon opening that (because, hey, it WAS sent to me) I found a note requesting that the software company refund a woman's money, she was returning this software to them in CALIFORNIA from ARIZONA!!! How on EARTH did it wind up on a BOAT to JAPAN??!?! I have her address, I think I'll send her a letter explaining the situation, she'll get a kick out of it... "Hi, you don't know me but..."
Funny though the story may be, what's NOT funny is that only one of my shoes arrived, my boots, and my platforms are MISSING. Meaning i STILL don't have any other shoes to wear with all my skirts!! (my other platforms broke)...

Even stranger, the REPLACEMENT customs forms.. what happened to the originals?? Note the insurance Josh paid for from the Postal service, who wants to place bets on whether or not they'll pay up for my missing shoes??
The night I went to pick up Josh, Ursula came with me because her flight to America left at 5am the next morning, and since trains don't run early enough for her to get there ahead of time, she had to spend the night at a hotel.. this hotel...

The reason we're taking pictures of the hotel is because a. Ursula had to pay about 200 bucks for one night (only hotel on the island, and they know it!), and because b. we had to endure a rare show of Japanese rudeness to get it...
*View from hotel room* You see, the girl (a trainee, said her pin) at the front desk viewed Ursula with trepidation the moment we entered the hotel room... I was dressed in a suit, so I looked the same as most of her customers, probably, but Ursula did not look like a businessman/woman, and this is a business hotel... the Lonely Planet guide didn't help, either, saying that the hotel would cost maybe 100 a night... *cont..*

*View of the lovely construction from her room* The LP Guide also suggested asking the front desk of this particular hotel for student discounts.. but when Ursula did so, the girl smiled patronizingly and laughed haughtily, and said "This ISN'T the YMCA you know." Ursula wanted to deck her... I was just astonished... then the girl asked for a 300 dollar deposit!! The nerve!! Anyway, so Ursula wanted pictures to show what she paid for. ^.^
Lovely Pacific Ocean, on which Kansai International Airport floats. ^.^.

Hotel room toilet... This is a similar style to the one I described (with horror) in my first Tokyo journal entry!
Inside the brightly colored KIX airport.

Waiting, waiting... Josh's plane was two hours late... newfound respect for Japanese efficiency.. ^.^ (Ursula and I kept remarking that JAL and ANA -- both Japanese airlines-- are never this late... ^.^
Poor Josh.. disheveled and dirty after 48 hours of travel, including a sleepless 12 hour layover in Chicago...

Switching gears, this is a New Year's celebration in Neyagawa City, on shrine grounds.. keep that in mind.. ^.^ In Makino we saw Pachinko machines set up on shrine grounds for their celebration...
Children buying children's stuff... note the woman in the background with the white surgical mask... anyone who is coughing or ill wears these, to prevent others from being infected... It's a very good and healthy procedure, wish other countries would pick up on it...

Typical Japanese festival fare... Octopus and squid tentacles, as well as squid bodies, all on sticks of course!! Makes ya hungry just looking at it, doesn't it?
Lots of people at these festivals....

Those green New Year's branches are very important, you see them EVERYWHERE for the first week or so of the year... also note the ema (votive boards) display and the fearsome looking gargoyle guarding the entrance to the shrine temple.
What else is sold in the shrine during the festival? Well, cheap Japanese schoolgirl idol's goods, for one...

Pokemon (note: Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Squirtle are viewable here.. can you find more? ^.^), Hello Kitty, Hamu-chan (hamster cartoon) etc. candy also...
Or how about some holy, if cheap, crystal and plastic goods? Shrine keychains anyone? ^.^

On our way to the aquarium (which was in itself an adventure, if I ever get around to updating the journal pages) Josh and I saw (and later rode) this GIANT ferris wheel... used to be the largest in the world, until one was built in London that is slightly larger... wow!!
I mean, it was GIGANTIC. It completely filled your field of vision if you were standing under it looking up...

The Osaka Kaiyukan (aquarium)...
I love this area, it's so pretty, right off the ocean with tons of street performers, and it was such a clear, crisp day... reminded me of many other oceanfront cities...

PENGUINS!! Yeah!! They had these guys out front, for anyone to see... they are SOOO cute!!! And so close!! There's one guy there to make sure no one touches them, but you COULD.
This little guy wandered away and appeared to be reading the sign talking about his species.. you can see the wing-tag they use for identification in this picture..

OCEAN!! ^.^ BOATS!!
Aquarium entrance, this is a turtle shell... !! It's like EIGHT FEET TALL!!

Recreation of Japan's forests... supposedly there are monkeys here but we didn't see any in this particular terrarium...
Native bird, an ibis... preeeetttyyyy.. ^.^

PAGE 1... PAGE 2... PAGE 3... PAGE 4...

MORE TO COME!!!

7 pages of Photo Fun!!
Birthday photos!!
(Infamous) Trip to Galveston
Moving Jimmy and Stephanie to Wisconsin
The last few pre-departure pics!
First set of pictures from Japan!
First week in Japan, pictures from the dorms
Osaka Castle pics^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Osaka Castle pics Page2
October PicturesPage 1. . . .Page 2. . . .Page 3. . . . Page 4

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER PAGES!!! (Some have pics of me, and many of the ppl my journal talks about!!"):

Josh and Meredith's Page
Mike's Page, check out Matt's Bday pics at Hakkenden.

Nasty overcast skies, but this is the current main campus of Kansai Gaidai. They'll be opening up a new campus in April that we'll be moved to.. it's much larger!.	Ursula at Hakkenden, the favorite local drinking hole. This would be a great drunk shot, except that she hadn't been drinking. ^.^
Ursula's friend Micah, gesturing toward... ? the wall? imaginary friend? tiny gnomes on the shelf in front of him? We're unsure...	So, due to the fact that my shoes were wearing thin, I ordered two pairs from Payless and had Josh ship them to me... this was the box after taking out a bunch of crap that he did not send and not the poor condition of the originally pristine box... note at the bottom there are seaweed packages??? Eh?? Thus began the mystery...
Which continues... this is a pic of all the random crap that somehow ended up in my box.. Josh never sent any of this.. Note the "Print Artist" software box.. upon opening that (because, hey, it WAS sent to me) I found a note requesting that the software company refund a woman's money, she was returning this software to them in CALIFORNIA from ARIZONA!!! How on EARTH did it wind up on a BOAT to JAPAN??!?! I have her address, I think I'll send her a letter explaining the situation, she'll get a kick out of it... "Hi, you don't know me but..."	Funny though the story may be, what's NOT funny is that only one of my shoes arrived, my boots, and my platforms are MISSING. Meaning i STILL don't have any other shoes to wear with all my skirts!! (my other platforms broke)...
Even stranger, the REPLACEMENT customs forms.. what happened to the originals?? Note the insurance Josh paid for from the Postal service, who wants to place bets on whether or not they'll pay up for my missing shoes??	The night I went to pick up Josh, Ursula came with me because her flight to America left at 5am the next morning, and since trains don't run early enough for her to get there ahead of time, she had to spend the night at a hotel.. this hotel...
The reason we're taking pictures of the hotel is because a. Ursula had to pay about 200 bucks for one night (only hotel on the island, and they know it!), and because b. we had to endure a rare show of Japanese rudeness to get it...	View from hotel room You see, the girl (a trainee, said her pin) at the front desk viewed Ursula with trepidation the moment we entered the hotel room... I was dressed in a suit, so I looked the same as most of her customers, probably, but Ursula did not look like a businessman/woman, and this is a business hotel... the Lonely Planet guide didn't help, either, saying that the hotel would cost maybe 100 a night... cont..
View of the lovely construction from her room The LP Guide also suggested asking the front desk of this particular hotel for student discounts.. but when Ursula did so, the girl smiled patronizingly and laughed haughtily, and said "This ISN'T the YMCA you know." Ursula wanted to deck her... I was just astonished... then the girl asked for a 300 dollar deposit!! The nerve!! Anyway, so Ursula wanted pictures to show what she paid for. ^.^	Lovely Pacific Ocean, on which Kansai International Airport floats. ^.^.
Hotel room toilet... This is a similar style to the one I described (with horror) in my first Tokyo journal entry!	Inside the brightly colored KIX airport.
Waiting, waiting... Josh's plane was two hours late... newfound respect for Japanese efficiency.. ^.^ (Ursula and I kept remarking that JAL and ANA -- both Japanese airlines-- are never this late... ^.^	Poor Josh.. disheveled and dirty after 48 hours of travel, including a sleepless 12 hour layover in Chicago...
Switching gears, this is a New Year's celebration in Neyagawa City, on shrine grounds.. keep that in mind.. ^.^ In Makino we saw Pachinko machines set up on shrine grounds for their celebration...	Children buying children's stuff... note the woman in the background with the white surgical mask... anyone who is coughing or ill wears these, to prevent others from being infected... It's a very good and healthy procedure, wish other countries would pick up on it...
Typical Japanese festival fare... Octopus and squid tentacles, as well as squid bodies, all on sticks of course!! Makes ya hungry just looking at it, doesn't it?	Lots of people at these festivals....
Those green New Year's branches are very important, you see them EVERYWHERE for the first week or so of the year... also note the ema (votive boards) display and the fearsome looking gargoyle guarding the entrance to the shrine temple.	What else is sold in the shrine during the festival? Well, cheap Japanese schoolgirl idol's goods, for one...
Pokemon (note: Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Squirtle are viewable here.. can you find more? ^.^), Hello Kitty, Hamu-chan (hamster cartoon) etc. candy also...	Or how about some holy, if cheap, crystal and plastic goods? Shrine keychains anyone? ^.^
On our way to the aquarium (which was in itself an adventure, if I ever get around to updating the journal pages) Josh and I saw (and later rode) this GIANT ferris wheel... used to be the largest in the world, until one was built in London that is slightly larger... wow!!	I mean, it was GIGANTIC. It completely filled your field of vision if you were standing under it looking up...
The Osaka Kaiyukan (aquarium)...	I love this area, it's so pretty, right off the ocean with tons of street performers, and it was such a clear, crisp day... reminded me of many other oceanfront cities...
PENGUINS!! Yeah!! They had these guys out front, for anyone to see... they are SOOO cute!!! And so close!! There's one guy there to make sure no one touches them, but you COULD.	This little guy wandered away and appeared to be reading the sign talking about his species.. you can see the wing-tag they use for identification in this picture..
OCEAN!! ^.^ BOATS!!	Aquarium entrance, this is a turtle shell... !! It's like EIGHT FEET TALL!!
Recreation of Japan's forests... supposedly there are monkeys here but we didn't see any in this particular terrarium...	Native bird, an ibis... preeeetttyyyy.. ^.^