Last day laughs

The atmosphere was a little low as we departed Kyoto and headed for Nara on the last day of our stay in Japan. We had experienced so much and had two fantastic weeks, but Clare had left us and Tony was planning to head off after Nara...the tour was definitely coming to a close. Nara was a little damp, but there were plenty of tourists and it is always worthwhile seeing the giant Buddha. Not to mention the deer, of course, who apparently love to eat all paper, including paper money. Beware of that if you ever have money in your pocket as those deer are not shy!! We had to laugh about the toilet instructions in Nara Park - bit late for those, who needed the information earlier on in the tour, but we also enjoyed the unfortunate spelling errors. From Nara we headed to Iga to visit the Ninja Museum and Iga Castle. Participants seemed to enjoy the Ninja House and museum although it was unfortunate that the show had been cancelled. From there we headed back to Osaka and the Stargate Hotel in Rinku Town. By then people were simply concerned with how they were going to pack all their goodies and get them home safely. A significant number of participants had already had to invest in a second, smaller suitcase!! There was a definite twinge of sadness, but also a feeling of contentment among participants that the tour had offered them so many more amazing Japanese experiences than they had initially imagined. In addition, a whole new group of solid friendships had been made. In fact, the 2013 Tour Team had made plans for a reunion before the last night had even drawn to a close. I shed a tear as we boarded the Airport courtesy bus the next morning and waved goodbye to many of our tour team, who were continuing on in their travels. Our first ever HPGCC Tour of Hyogo, Hiroshima, and the Kansai Region had been a wonderful success and I felt very proud of what we had achieved as a team. My sincere thanks to my new Tour Team friends - we shared the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. To everyone in Hyogo Prefecture, who welcomed us so warmly at every single stage, we are eternally grateful. And a special thank you to my co-leader, Shingo Usami, who was an absolute champion and a great support.

Nishiki Markets and Eiga Mura - feeling like a kid again!!

We started the day with a visit to the amazing Nishiki Markets where we did some determined food sampling before buying ourselves some various picnic items to enjoy in a nearby park. From there we headed to Eiga Mura, which I can tell you is truly great fun!! Clare and I went into the Ninja House where we had to find our own way out of each room through trick doors and secret holes all while actors dressed as ninja jumped out at us at every opportunity! We went from there into the haunted house where we squealed like teenagers - truly this is a fun experience and students would absolutely love it. This is a real samurai village film set where many period dramas have been filmed. There are actors dressed as samurai walking around the streets and you can also see a live short performance. There are plenty of ninja toys and costumes to buy so it really is a great experience for educators, tourists, kids, or just big kids like me. On the way back to the ryokan a few of us took a bus, which unfortunately stopped suddenly and the driver told us we were at the end of the line...not a good thing for me to hear as my directions are hopeless, but Clare and Jemma and their trusty map saved the day! Well done ladies! I would have still been walking somewhere around Kyoto if it wasn't for you.

The Rain Cannot Dampen our Spirits in Kyoto

As we left Kinosaki and headed for Kyoto, the rain started to pelt down around us. It was the first day of miserable weather in almost two weeks so we could hardly complain, but it was a bit of a let down as most of the things we planned to do in Kyoto involved walking aound outside. We battled our way up the narrow streets to Kiyomizudera - an umbrella in the eye at every turn. I love that area though...there are so many shops selling all kinds of crafts and knick-knacks...I could just spend ages wandering up and down. From there we headed to Kinkakuji, the beautiful golden temple. Even in the drizzle you cannot fail to be impressed by the image of the glowing pavillion across the water. There is something magical about Kyoto. Rain, hail, or shine you just can't help but love the atmosphere of the whole place.

A Night in Kinosaki

Arriving in Kinosaki I was determined to have everyone dress in Yukata and wander the streets to soak up the Onsen Matsuri festival. It was only a small festival and there were few people, but it was our first opportunity to participate in a real festival so I wanted to make the most of it. The staff at the ryokan were very helpful in getting us all dressed in the yukata of our choice in record speed. I thought we looked pretty good and it is amazing how beautiful it makes you feel to get dressed up. There were several stalls lining the streets and I got talked into eating chocolate bananas and strawberries...you can see from the photos how yummy they looked. Kinosaki is a really beautiful town famous for its onsen (hot baths) so most of us made our way to try at least one of them. The idea is to try several as each bath has different properties and unique surroundings, but actually it was pretty difficult to get dressed again each time and we had a huge meal waiting for us at the ryokan so I only had one bath myself. It was our last night in Hyogo Prefecture, but what a wonderful way to spend our time in this amazing prefecture that really can offer all aspects of Japan.

The Soba Challenge

We departed Hiroshima right on schedule and I thanked my lucky stars that our lovely travel agent had booked a hotel immediately adjacent to the shinkansen station as it was a very early start and with a train change to make along the way, we were determined to meet up with our coach bus in Himeji on time. Everything went smoothly once again (yay, team!!) and we were finally aboard a bus bound for Izushi, an ancient castle town famous for the Izushi Soba noodle. It was a fairly long ride and many of us napped after the rushed start to the day. Upon arrival in Izushi we were met by the staff of Hyogo International Association, who took us to an Izushi family restaurant where the owner had an area set up to teach us all how to make soba. We all got in it up to our elbows and concentrated hard on making the perfect shape and texture. I can tell you it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked and required quite a bit of muscle to knead the dough! Once the noodles were all completed we then moved on to another restaurant where we had our own noodles cooked as well as the restaurant's own home product. I would like to say that I couldn't tell the difference between the two, but I suspect the Japanese in our group may not quite agree. The restaurant policy is to award a prize to the person, who eats the most plates of soba, and on this occasion the award goes to.....Shingo!! Who else?? :) I think he had close to 30 plates. Actually, Yuki came pretty close, but I am afraid the rest of us put in a pretty poor effort. With full tummies we then took a guided walk around the beautiful town and admired the sheer enormity of the famous clock tower.

As the tour's end draws near, a rainbow appears

Ok, ok, I realise I have let some of you down by not updating the blog over the last few days, but truly you can't believe the schedule that we have undertaken. We have been from Hiroshima and Miyajima to Izushi and Kinosaki in northern Hyogo, then to Kyoto, Nara, and Mie Prefecture in just a few days. There was certainly something to be said for having a home base rather than having to pack up your suitcase each morning!! I will upload some photos soon, but rest assured that we are all ok, we have finished all scheduled activities, and are now headed for our final hotel in Osaka tonight. Sadly we said farewell to Team Member, Clare, this morning as she has now headed up to Shizuoka. Team Member, Tony, also left us just after lunch in Nara to continue on his journey. It feels very strange after two such wonderful weeks together that the time has come for people to start going their separate ways. Of our group of 15 eight team members will remain in Japan for varying lengths of time and with their own schedules. Seven of us will depart Japan tomorrow with amazing memories, wonderful new friends, and I suspect several extra kilos of both luggage and body weight!! This picture does not do it any justice, but as the tour draws to a close, we have just witnessed the most amazing full rainbow from the windows of the bus. Honestly, the colours were absolutely incredible and it really looked like you could see the full arc touching the ground at either end. What a wonderful feeling and a really apt image for our tour group.