Author Archive: origamiunicorn
Greece Day 2: Delphi
Another early start today to join a bus tour to Delphi. The trip is about 2.5 hours. Our tour guide, Mariana, kept the trip interesting, pointing out landmarks along the way and telling historical anecdotes. After a winding, narrow mountain road, we reached the spot on Mount Parnassus where the Oracle resided. I had read …
Athens arrival and Day 1
Nerves and exhaustion dominated my mood Friday as I started my travels. However the flights went smoothly. There was some excitement in the first leg from Boston to Istanbul when someone’s pet cat got loose ohn the plane. The lights were out and many passengers were asleep when I heard a commotion in the aisles. …
Tokyo, Day 1
Edo-Tokyo Museum My cousin had to work so I went off on my own. I was moving a little slowly. The heat was getting to me and I felt a little achy. I got a later start than I had planned, but I dragged myself out the door and took the train to the Edo-Tokyo …
Goodbye Kyoto, Hello Tokyo
Laundry My last morning in Kyoto I got up early, had the same breakfast as the day before at Maeda Coffee, and set out to do some laundry. I have made great strides in conversational Japanese, but my reading skills still leave a lot to be desired. Even with Google Translate, the washing machine instructions …
Kyoto, Day 2
Slow day I was feeling a little under the weather today. The oppressive heat plus still not being caught up on sleep plus walking miles each day had me feeling tired and achy. I took my time in the morning before getting out and about. I went for breakfast at a small coffee shop. I …
Kyoto, Day 1
Saori Another language exchange friend, Saori, met me when I arrived at Kyoto station. She and I had only ever exchanged written messages, never Skyped, so I was especially excited to meet her. She is from Osaka. She took the day off from work to take a train to Kyoto to meet me for lunch. …
Early morning in Kanazawa
Neighborhoods Part of the reason I decided to stay in Kanazawa was because I had to change trains there to get to Kyoto from Nagano. The other reason was to see the very famous Ken-rokuen garden. I had planned to go yesterday when I arrived in Kanazawa, but because it was so late I had …
Night time in Kanazawa
Walking in Kanazawa I didn’t get to Kanazawa until early evening. The hotel was very luxurious and I had a spectacular view of the city, with the ocean off in the distance. I took several photos as the sun set. After I rested a bit, I took off to wander the city and find some …
Last day in Nagano
Breakfast This morning was beautiful after the rain. I took a photo from the window of my room of the bath house in the morning light. Later, I showed the photo to Mariko’s mother and she was very happy that I wanted to take a picture of it. It was early and Mariko’s mother and …
Nagano Day 2
This is going to be a lengthy post. So much happened! Morning Breakfast with Mariko, Kei and Mihiro was simple and lovely. I made toast and coffee for everyone, Mariko made fried eggs with shoyu, yogurt with peach jam (made by her mom) and fresh blueberries (from her parents inn), and we had Mihiro’s miso …
origamiunicorn 