What I Learned

 My trip was really good. I think just getting away from this house and the day-to-day problems and situations was good for me.

I learned a lot about the history of the area and the people there. Having someone who could translate really makes a big difference; there are some English signs and information, but of course, the Japanese has a lot more detail. At two museums, there was information about two different poets that I want to check out. The history of the area is rather fascinating. I'm hoping that I can find more information on that area. This is part of my study. I want to keep learning as I think it helps my brain!

Another thing I learned about was travelling in Japan. This is only the second time I've travelled in Japan. I had a budget for the trip, Hannah paid for the hotels, I paid for the food and museum tickets. Most of the museums were 400 or 500 yen each, so not that expensive. I thought about buying a ticket online that would give us access to 5 places for one price, but I realised that we wouldn't have time to visit all the places on that ticket, plus it wasn't that much cheaper. If we had visited all the places listed, it would have been just 100 yen more than the one ticket. A good lesson learnt, sometimes things that look cheaper aren't! Another thing was the cost of food. We got breakfast and dinner from the convenience stores, and for lunch, we ate out. It still cost a lot more than I thought. One thing I'll have to consider when we go to Tokyo later this year. 

Using the parcel courier service was a good decision. It cost about 5,000 yen altogether, about £24, but so worth it. The buses we used were packed, plus the step up and down were rather high. I know I couldn't have lifted the suitcase; Hannah might have been able to, but it would have been a struggle. I'm going to use that service when we go to Tokyo, not having a suitcase on packed transport really helps!

I also learned a lot about my body. I'm not that fit, but I was able to push myself to walk and go to all the different places. Most days, we did over 10,000 steps. By the end of the 4 days, I thought I was going to pass out from the pain in my legs and lower back. But I made it, I do need to get more exercise in before going to Tokyo because walking there is going to be hell, not just the walking but the heat and humidity as well!

The past week I've been trying to get out into the garden, so between rain and wind storms, I've had a go at weeding and tidying up. Also, Mikey finally got rid of the old car. It's been sitting in the driveway for a year; it's good that it's gone!

Today, Mikey and David managed to tidy up the front part of the storage area. I took a little video, ignore Mikey swearing at me! I do!

A few photos from last week. On the way to the supermarket, we went past a temple that had beautiful cherry blossoms and carp streamers out!

Very beautiful, but I think with the storms we've had the past few days, most have blown down already.

I've been trying to write this for the past couple of hours, but I keep getting interrupted. I'll try to post again tomorrow!