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Travelogs & Reflections > Paul's Travelog > Japan
Japan
September 12, 2005
Today we went to the ocean and ate there and then went to kazu's house and met his parents. We found a park to play frisbee and then went to catch the ferry back to Osaka.
September 10, 2005
 Today we got to Miyazaki were Kazu lives! It was great to see Kazu because we hadn't seen him in two years when he was a student in Eugene and stayed at our house. It felt so good to see him because Kazu and I really bonded when he was with us. It was fun seeing his hometown and lifestyle. Kazu's friend, Yuta, was with us the whole time we were in Miyazaki. We had never met him before but he became one of my good friends in Japan too!
After we ate breakfast, we went to Aya Castle were you could make pottery and weavings. Peter and grandma Carrol made weavings and I made a mug. Here are the steps I followed to make the mug:
1. Make 3 balls of clay, then roll each ball into a snake of uniform width.
2. Create circular base on pottery wheel.
3. Form sides by circling snakes around base and up.
4. Smooth outside from top to bottom with finger.
5. Smooth inside from bottom to top with finger.
6. Pinch cup all around inside and out with whole hand.
7. Decorate outside of cup. I asked Kazu to write my name, his name and Yuta's name in Japanese characters around the mug.
8. When we were finished, it looked really cool. The last step it to glaze and fire it so Kazu will have to pick it up in a few days and send it to me in Eugene.
We visited the main castle and from the very top of the castle we could see that a baseball game was being played at a nearby sportsfield. We walked over a suspension bridge and watched the game for awhile. I got autographs from the players and the manager of one of the teams let us sit in the player dugout to watch the game.
Next we went to an archeological museum where there were a lot of arrowheads, volcanic rocks and other artifacts from before Christ was born. Around the museum there were mounds where royal people from many years ago were buried. We got to go inside one and Yutah locked us in the cave! We also climbed to the top of the mound and around the perimeter and rolled down the steep sides. When we tried to run up the side, Yutah and Kazu would push us back down!
That night we went to a cabin in the mountains and had a barbecue Japanese style (we barbecued vegetables and chicken on the grill and then dipped them in a sauce and ate it all with noodles that we warmed up on the barbecue. it was really yummy!). That night we played frisbee in the large cabin and "Hit the Deck," a card game we used to play with Kaz in Eugene. We had to teach Yutah how to play and he was hilarious trying to figure out the game. He would say "Yea" when he made a good move!
September 9, 2005
 Today we went to Osaka and hung out with Hayato. We played frisbee in his neighborhood park, and I got some Japanese baseball cards at a shopping center in downtown Osaka. At 7:30 P.M. we went to the ferry.
September 8, 2005
 Today we went to Nara, a place with lots of temples and deer that you can feed and pet. When we got to Nara we saw about 20 deer, and they kept trying to attack me. Then we went to lunch and after we went to see the Big Buddha and it WAS really big. As we were leaving, I got a Buddha fortune. It said: In competition: Not good in the beginning but is favorable in the end. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing frisbee with Hayato in the park.
September 7, 2005
 Today we woke up early and Hayato and his parents took us to a golden temple made of REAL GOLD and I got some great pics. You can see them in our pics section. Peter drew it and he drew it good and I drew it to not as good. Then we went to anther temple but we couldnât take pics. It was pretty cool because there were 1001 statues guarding a huge Buddha in the middle. I took some photos of the outside of the temple of Japanese characters engraved in stone.
Itâs been really fun spending time with Hayato because we got to show him our lifestyle and the sights in our town of Eugene and now he gets to show us his lifestyle and the places that he knows in his home country. Itâs been fun hanging out with him. It brings back memories of our time together in Eugene. Itâs been hard but fun trying to figure out what each other is saying. His parents speak some English but not much so weâre constantly asking Hayato to help us translate what weâre trying to say.
After we visited the last temple, we came back to the hotel and Hayato and his parents went  back to Osaka.
September 6, 2005
Today we leave for Japan. We got on to Thai airlines for a 10 hour flight. Thai airlines was really nice to us. We got 2 free meals and 5 movies and free drinks! When we got to Japan, it was 5 in the evening and 2 in the morning in LA. At the airport we met Hayato (our old student who stayed with us in Eugene) and his parents and then we went with them to Kyoto. 
September 5, 2005
Today, mom, Peter, dad, Grandma Carrol and I went to see nana and vovo in San Diego. We showed them all our pics and travelogs on our website and then we went to see nana Silva and then we came back to LA and Bill took me to the Corvette dealership and I got to sit in a convertible corvette and I got some great pics.
September 4, 2005
 Today we spent the day looking for sport cars. We went to 4 dealerships. The first was closed but we saw 6 Ferraris and 3 Mazarattis through the window. The next dealership was closed too but we saw more Ferraris and mazarattis. Then we went to a minicoop/BMW dealership and that was open so we took some pics and went to the last dealership of the day and it was open. We saw 14 mazarattis, 7 Ferraris, 7 Porsches, 2 Bentleys, and 2 Lamborghinis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We took tons of pics because they were so cool and then we headed back home!! an hour later we went to a corrvett place and in got to sit in one and saw the hanging corrvett.
September 3, 2005
Today we went to go see my momâs friends from KwajâRieneke and Candy. Rieneke has two 2-year old girls and they are identical twins. We went swimming at the pool in their hotel and took a walk on the beach.
September 2, 2005
Today mom went to a doctor and the person working there gave me some car magazines with Lamborghini pics! Then we went to a Cadillac/hummer dealership and we got some good pics and Bill rented an escalade for 5 days. After that we went to pick up grandma Carrol and then we went to a play called Creation at the Crystal Cathedral. Creation is an awesome play with 13 movie screens that shows how the world was created. It was really cool because it actually rained on us, and there were actors dressed in cool-looking costumes coming down from the ceiling.
September 1, 2005
Today we got up and went to the airport and went on a 5 hour flight to Phoenix and then when we got to PHX we got on a plane to LA to meet our friend, Bill Clark. When we got there, we went to the Kettle and ate. When we got to his house, we took out all our stuff in our bags and Peter and I watched a movie.
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