Razieltje's sanctum

Standing up a bit too late, we enjoyed a brief breakfast before packing up. Today we left Nagasaki to head for our last destination.. Goodbye Nagasaki! 

Having the entire day to spend exploring Nagasaki, we didn't have that much planned. With Gunkanjima island (which was the inspiration for the bad guys' lair in the movie Skyfall) not being my cup of (maccha) tea, we were up to explore other things. A Catholic Cathedral is a nice change of view after all those shrines

Back on the move today, and heading even deeper into the western territory. We leave Kumamoto behind and head for Nagasaki! Kumamon waving us out!

You can plan and prepare all you like, but if a volcano decides to be an aso, then you won't be allowed within 2km. Which is funny, because that was the name of the volcano.. Mount Aso has been placed on eruption level 2 so we weren't allowed to visit the crater.. Thought this fitted well

Visiting Japan gives you the opportunity to see some unique landmarks in the world. One of those is on the island of Mijayima. Still standing after more than 700 years..

Waking up too late for breakfast (again) we damned (and praised) the soft bed. We quickly got dressed and started the day fresh! In this time of terrorism, the fear for another nuclear mishap is great 

Today became a day of travel. After having so much fun yesterday, today we had to pack all our stuff up and head for our next destination, Hiroshima! But first we made a stop.. A mighty fortress atop a hill

Sometimes you have excellent planning, sometimes you think it'll be fine, but sometimes everything says 'to hell with your ideas!' so we wanted to go to Universal Studios... Umbrellas everywhere! 

Today was our most relaxed day thus far. We woke up at 9h30 (darn, missed our breakfast..) and went lazily on our way to the aquarium! This is but the exterior! 

Feeling worn, tired and still sore we needed to be present for morning ceremony with the monks. This is truly an unique experience. Followed by another truly unique experience.. Breakfast, monk style! Unfortunately it looks better than it tastes.. =/

Our last day in Kyoto was spent quite relaxing. Waking up, getting everything ready for departure, and heading back out of the hostel for some last explorations.. Kodama's not the only cute one..

Today we spent the day in Kyoto. It is a big city divided in different sections, and on advice of our hostel we took an all-day bus pass and went on our way. I guess on Sunday everybody's up early..

It's the end of our first week and we're in Kyoto with high spirits. Waking up in a hostel is a fresh experience for me and I was eternally grateful to my prepared self that I brought earplugs. But enough about that, we were back on the train and off to Nara! Meek as a lamb, but kawaii none the less

We got woken up abruptly at 7am by the japanese-only speaking obaasan(Japanese for granny, or how the owner of the Ryokan liked to be called) with breakfast tea and onigiri. Being up that early gave us the opportunity to seize the day! The folk village of Hida