Well! Time for another long awaited update. I'm going to add some new photos to facebook too so check it out if you're interested!

Since my last entry...

-Ross has gotten the flu

-I am now sick and had to take a day off work today

-we went to Osaka aquarium

-we have tried and rated the pros and cons of Haagen Daaz vs. Baskin Robbins icecream

-we have trekked for ten km to purchase bargain futons in Suminodo (don't worry, noone knows where it is!)

-we have been to Kobe to see waterfalls and the Nunobiki herb farm (you'd love it, Mum!)

-we have found a bar where everything is fabulous and everything is also only $2

-we have had burgers with our good friends

-Allie picnicked on the river with the Juso girls

-Stef is coming to visit!

So, now for more details!

We headed to Osaka's Kaiyukan aquarium a few weeks ago and saw amazing fish and sharks and otters (super cute!) and seals and turtles and jellyfish and all sorts of cool stuff - it is definitely a place to see in Osaka. I'm not usually keen for that kinda sightseeing but it was the start of the rainy season, a kinda miserable day and we were like whatever, lets check it out. After a ride on one of the world's tallest and largest ferris wheels, overlooking Osaka port and some lunch, we trekked through the awesome aquarium. Definitely worth it.

We've also done some sightseeing in Kobe recently. Last Friday we headed on the train to Kobe, which is about twenty mins west of our place in Juso on the train and really famous for its horrific earthquake back in 1996. It's amazingly close to Osaka, and I work in the Hyogo prefecture/Kobe area a few times a week. It's really pretty. A lot of Kobe students have mentioned to me that there was a pretty messy time in Kansai area history when the earthquake occurred. There is a phrase associated with the fact that when the earthquake occurred, it only affected Kobe and Osaka went along as per usual. The saying goes that 'Kobe struggled to find its feet while Osaka kept playing Pachinko'. Its a kinda nasty phrase, which will really strike you if you come to visit. Pachinko is the adult playground (or one of them!) of the Japanese. Pachinko is like the pokies and there are these massive pachinkp parlous everywhere you go in Japan. There seem to be as many of the flashing neon lit, crazily loud pachinko parlous as there are vending machines, and with the ration of vending machines in Japan at three machines for every person, that's pretty amazing! Gambling is illegal in Japan, but Pachinko gets away with being blatently gambling by only letting patrons win tickets, that can then be transferred into cash or chocolates or toys or cigarettes.

So, we headed to Kobe! It was a really nice, hot day so we lathered up the sunscreen and headed to Shin Kobe station. We had read about Nunobiki Falls, a set of four waterfalls about 20 mins walk behind Shin Kobe station. We left the station, grabbed some lunch at the convenience store (which makes sense if you've been to Japan and experienced the phenomenon of convenience store lunches) and sat down under some trees at the base of Mount Rokko to eat. Just after we finished eating and stood up to put our rubbish in the bin we heard this stampede and down the stairs near up came an enormous wild boar and its babies! They headed straight for where we'd been sitting and sniffed and honked around like crazy...very cute but mildly frightening!

We took a cable car/ropeway bubble thing up the mountain and looked out over gorgeous Kobe. Kobe is a beautiful city. Big city just like Osaka but somehow much more beautiful! It is surrounded by mountains and sits on the port so there is always a beautiful view of the ocean. The ropeway bubble car things were kinds scary but the view was magnificent. We took it right to the top, where is stopped at a little station next to th Nunobiki Herb Garden. This was such a beautiful place, and a real throwback to the European influence in Kobe. The most famous part of Kobe is actually a few streets of huge European houses that belonged to businessmen and their families who settled in the port years and years ago, and quite a bit of that influence is still very evident in Kobe. Nunobiki Herb Garden is a big Tudor style building surrounded by beautiful gardens; makes you feel like you've stepped out of your bubble car into an English garden; lots of roses and herbs and little doilies and handkerchiefs and lots and lots and lots of lavender (told you you'd love it Mum!)

We had a cold drink in the garden then hiked down the mountain to see the waterfalls. We ended up seeing loads more wildlife that day including a fat green caterpillar (that squealed when i touched it - Ross will back me up!), fish swimming in the bottom of the waterfall, a scary but beautiful snake, a lizard and lots of little orange freaky caterpillars. It was a gorgeous day out.

On Saturaday night we headed out with friends to check out a 200 yen (2 dollars) bar we'd heard about and sure enough, it's true! For 200 yen you can get beers, wines, spirits...and crinkle cut hot chips! (and vegemite on toast actually but it was the chips that did it for me...what is it about crinkle cut chips?????)

On Sunday we trekked out to Suminodo, near Kyobashi, far, far from Juso (but we hadn't realised this initially) to buy some futons and comforters (doona covers) to have for when people come to stay. I had managed to bargain with a girl I found who was having a 'sayonara sale' and was advertising online. I had seen the futons, they looked good, I bargained and ta da! we were on a train to the middle of nowhere with our two massive suitcases...a mission! We eventually found her apartment and against all odds the massive bloody futons fit in our cases so we hiked them back to the station where we 'challenged the triple' (a new campaign at Baskin Robbins Ice creamery where you can have three scoops for the price of two...not nearly as challenging as you may think, scoops here are remarkably small!)

So now we have two futons (come and stay everyone!) and we're both sick but we're doing ok! School is pretty good - very busy at the moment as its almost summer holidays and our school staff are going mad trying to sell places in summer classes while we try to avoid getting in their way.

We're sorry we haven't been emailing as often as we'd like to (to those who've been emailing us!) but we really are very busy trying to fit in the gym, friends, work and sightseeing. We really are missing you guys and hope to see you soon! Come visit us if you'd like to get away! Stef is coming tonight!

Love to you all and expecially to Markus and Nat - congrats on the birth of your baby girl! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo