My, how time flies...

No wonder my family has been asking when I'm going to write another blog post. I didn't realize that it has been two weeks. Of course, I have been occupied. Today I am in Hiroshima. About two minutes after my train pulled in to the station, it started pouring rain. So I'm spending my time in an internet cafe this morning. It's actually a really nice one. Most internet cafes here have free pop and "coffee", but this one has free soft serve ice cream and free espresso drinks. Awesome.

I'm about ten days into my western Honshu/Kyushu trip. I spent the past week in the Kansai region, which includes the historic capitals of Kyoto and Nara. I saw more shrines and temples in one week than I think I have my entire life. Eventually I gave up. I did stay one night on Mt. Koya, one of the most sacred mountains in Japan. There is an enormous graveyard and dozens of Buddhist temples on the mountain. I stayed in a shukubo, which is lodging at a temple. They served the guests dinner and breakfast of traditional vegetarian food, called shōjin ryori. It was very good, although they did serve some soup that seemed to have moss in it. I decided not to eat that. At 6:00 AM, I attended the morning prayer ceremony, in which four monks recited/sang what I think was excerpts from a sutra. I'm not sure, because the monks didn't really speak English.

So, I got my fill of Japanese religion. The rest of my trip will mostly be focused around outdoor activities. I'm going to Kyushu in a couple of days. That reminds me... I need to book hotels.

I'm really eager to go home. I'm tired of living out of a backpack. And tourism has taken a toll on my feet--I need a pedicure real bad. Traveling has made me realize that I really love Minnesota. And I don't feel bad anymore that I haven't lived anywhere else. This trip has made me realize that I want to travel a lot more, but I always want to return to the home I love.