The first 10 days of our voyage were bitterly cold and windy, but it changed from 40 degrees to 80 degrees overnight! I took the opportunity to dig my shorts out of the back of my drawer and do a little homework on Prom deck. Kelly and I were finally able to stand outside and watch the sunset without freezing. I did my version of "Titanic" without leaning too far over the railing.
	We watched the sun sink down to the ocean and disappear over the horizon with a little green flash. One of those portholes on the bottom level (main deck) somewhere close to the middle is my room. I have a great view out the starboard side from my room.
	On Monday, September 27, starting at about 0730 hrs we were welcomed into Kobe, Japan by the Kobe Fire Department's fireboat, and the Kobe City Fire Fighter Band playing John Philip Sousa marches as we pulled into the dock.
	Although we couldn't get off the ship for about 3 more hours, we were officially in Kobe at 0800 hrs. Kelly and I stood on the starboard side of the Prom deck taking pictures and enjoying the music along with several other students, passengers, and crew.
	While we waited for the ship to be cleared by customs, members of the Kobe City Chamber of Commerce, the mayor, and many other prominent Kobe citizens came on the ship to officially welcome us. The Student Union was packed!! The highlight of the morning was a short performance by the Kodo drummers. Not only was their playing incredibly powerful, but they also had choreographed movement to their playing. I took lots of video of them and later found some music in Tokyo for my mother.
	Everyone was so happy to finally get off the ship and touch land that some people even fell down onto their knees and kissed the ground. We had to buy a Portliner ticket for 240 yen to get us off of Port Island, the artificial island where we came in, to the mainland. This was Kelly's first time buying a train ticket, but we all got very good at it by the end of our 5 days in Japan.
	The first thing we did when we got off of the ship was to buy a drink from one of the many drink machines they have on the streets. Kelly was pretty daring and tried some cold green tea. This picture of Kelly is the before shot, place your mouse arrow over the picture and you will see my reaction after I tasted the tea. We thought that it smelled like soup. The first morning I walked around Kobe with Sang, Julie, Becky, Mel, and Kelly.
	One of the first things we did was find a place to eat. We stopped at a little place where there were models of the food outside, so we gestured to the woman what we wanted to eat and she showed us into the restaurant behind a curtain and up a narrow flight of stairs. When they brought our orders, they scraped our food onto the hot stainless steel tray in the middle of the table, so our food stayed very hot. At night we went to Osaka because we heard that there were a lot of Internet cafe's and restaurants. Well, we never found a restaurant, but we did find this pet store with exotic animals like ostriches, monkeys, and pigs where the restaurants were supposed to be. I hope this was a pet store and not where they picked up their next meal!
	Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, was certainly a bright city at night. We walked around for awhile, but never did find a place to eat because we had no map and basically kept walking around in circles. We finally found a very expensive Internet Cafe 15 minutes before it closed, but I was fortunately able to send a quick email and post my first web update.
	Tuesday I went to Kyoto with Mel and Jenna, a girl that I randomly met on the ship who was willing to go to Kyoto with me (most of my other friends had tours that they were taking that day). There are so many people who ride bikes in Japan, I almost got ran over several times. This little girl was so cute, I saw her riding on the bike, and we both ended up at the same temple. I bought some pigeon feed and let her take some out of my hand to feed the pigeons as well.
	Jenna sits in front of Higashi-Honganji Temple, the largest wooden building in Kyoto. This temple was the highlight of my day because we were fortunate enough to visit while a service was in session. We took off our shoes, went inside, sat on the mats, and listened to several monks perform the service.
	We walked several miles that day all the way up to the Kinkakuji Temple, better known as the Golden Pavilion. You are not able to get up close, but we had a good view from across the pond. The paths led us up and around the area surrounding the Golden Pavilion where we sat and rested near this waterfall.
	Tuesday evening we met Kelly and some of Jenna's friends, and we all went to the Geisha district for dinner. Kelly and I both tried an exotic looking drink for dessert. I got quite the shock when I took a sip and something slimy slid up my straw into my mouth. What I thought were chocolate chunks was actually coffee jello. It was pretty good once I knew what I was eating. Put your arrow over the picture and you can see Kelly's dessert. I ran out of the restaurant to get this picture of a Geisha woman crossing the street. I unfortunately didn't have a great opportunity to get a good picture of these traditionally dressed women.
	Wednesday morning Kelly and I went to Nara with Steve, a guy we picked up in the breakfast line on the ship. The deer in Nara Park are even more tame than the ones at Prin. I had some leftover pigeon seed which we fed the first few deer we saw, and then I bought some deer cookies and they really came after me. Krista, don't tell those Newaygo boys, I don't think they'd be allowed to hunt here. Take a look at the rack on that deer in the picture when you put your mouse over the picture on the left. I took that picture just for you!!
	Our main goal in Nara was to get to Todaiji Temple. Todaiji is a big tourist trap, I even got sucked into the gift shop. Inside the temple was this Big Buddha. I don't remember the exact dimensions, but it basically stretched the entire height of the temple. IT'S HUGE!!! After Todaiji it was almost time for me to go to the train station to take the Hikari bullet train to Tokyo. We found a place to eat, but the food was far from appealing. I ate enough of it, but Kelly and Steve went to KFC afterwards.
	I went to visit Heather Andrews Ikeda and family in Yokohama. Misa & Heather stand in front of their house Thursday morning before Misa left for school. Misa picked me up at the train station and told me all about Japanese customs and food. I learned so much more visiting family than I ever could have walking around on my own or with friends. Thursday Heather & Masayuki (sp?) took me around Tokyo and we met Sue Patterson for lunch. I had such an awesome time in Tokyo!
	One of my main goals for my trip to Japan was to buy a kimono. I was told that kimonos were very expensive, but we walked into a second hand store where I found a kimono and obi for about $63, it was quite the bargain. Mel Romaine met me after she got out of school and we went shopping around for shoes and socks to complete the outfit before heading back to her house for a huge dinner. Machiko Romaine taught me how to wear my kimono and gave me the extra accessories that I needed. The Japanese are such wonderful hosts. I hope that I can repay their kindness someday.
	While in Japan I saw many shrines and temples. They all had similar features, but were still so unique. When I was walking through a Japanese garden with Sue Patterson all of these fish flocked to us. I think they thought we had food. Japanese gardens are so well planned out. Each rock in the path is carefully placed to make you think about your surroundings. We sat down for a nice cold glass of Japanese style lemonade to set the mood before entering into the garden.
	We pulled away from Kobe on Friday, October 1 right as the sun was setting at 1800 hrs. In the distance we saw a ferris wheel lit up with color changing neon lights. We watched the lights of Kobe slowly disappear as the ship pulled away from the port.
	Sang wanted a haircut, but it was way too expensive in Japan, so I jokingly offered to cut his hair for him. To my surprise he actually took me up on it. I'd never cut a guy's hair before, but it was kinda fun. Becky helped me out and together we did an ok job. Sang likes it, so that's all that matters, but he was really nervous! (His roommate only had to fix it up a little bit) The picture on the right is a little out of order, but my dad took this of our ship, the S.S. Universe Explorer, leaving Vancouver. This is a perspective that I can't easily get (I have not yet perfected the skill of being in two completely different places at once).