another one of my clever ideas... 
It wasn't raining when we left the hotel near Kyoto main station -- although a typhoon had been forecasted to hit Japan that day. So we took the subway to the stop the useful tourist map said to take to go to the Imperial Palace. By the time we stepped out of the subway stop, it was pouring. The typhoon had hit. Oh well, we already got this far, might as well go check out the Imperial Palace. Tams and I walked through the courtyard of the Imperial Palace looking for the Imperial Household Agency (which my trusty Lonely Planet book said we needed to go first to obtain permission to enter the Imperial Palace). Was minorly curious why the entire place seemed deserted, but figured it was just the rain and plunged deeper into the Imperial Park. After noticing some key facts, I was struck with a brilliant idea. It was raining. I was walking along the Imperial Palace wall. The wall had a nice little overhang.The overhang would keep me dry. A two foot ditch was between me at the half foot width space under the overhang. I would like to be dry. I could jump two feet. Flashing a cheeky grin towards Tams, I jumped over the ditch and landed under the overhang....and promptly set off the Imperial Palace alarm. Shocked still and heart racing, my life flashed before my eyes as I waited for the inevitable death I knew awaited me. I jumped back across the ditch. The alarm went off. Nothing happened...yet. I looked at Tams. She looked back at me with a look that clearly said that she was embarrassed to know me. We looked at each other again.... and ran.
back from the land of the rising sun
Back in sunny CA from Japan and Taiwan now. Went to Japan with the only other girl friend I know that is as nutty about anime as me (in a non-crazy way of course). Other highlights (and pictures!):
 >> getting lost in the middle of nowhere (walking around in the rain for an hour) and then eating take-out bowls on the doorstep of a local japanese supply shop. Tams and I have never been so embarrassed. Straggling, wet, hungry, and caught squatting on the doorstep of their shop -- the nicest japanese people ever insisted we come inside, cleared off a table, and invited us to finish eating in their shop. They even found an English speaker to give us directions. I never knew I could blush from embarrassment that much.
>>japanese style clubbing. strange people those japanese. so polite that even in the clubs they dance in lines facing forward. but they did have their hot japanese men dance on the bar :) course, they contrasted that with the ugliest japanese women I've ever seen, actually the ugliest women I've ever seen, dance in the front also. although some tight techno. :) some guy tried to hit on me at the bar, but we had serious communication issues. after 10 min of trying to communicate, he gave up. i must have really been his type though...I was dancing in the different spot somewhere else that night and he tried to hit on me again thinking he'd try his luck with another girl. I was like...um....i'm the same girl... ;p at least tams got one that semi-spoke english. ;p
>> bboy/bgirl battle. This one's for you, mrfilipno.These guys were innnnnsssaaaaaane. Not even kidding. One guy did windmills one handed! You have to watch the videos. One is of the windmill guy, another of this super tall guy who...I don't even know what its called. The third is of a girl hip hop group. :)
boy1
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>> Tams and I, first day in Tokyo and later in front of Mt. Fuji.
>> Sneaking pictures of a Bandai anime event. New Gundam Mobile Seed
>> ah...one of the more *different* temples in Japan.Their idol is....unique....and ah....much, much bigger than the picture shows (as well as only one of say 20?). Supposedly, women who can't get pregnant go there to pray...go figure.
>> Osaka Castle and Dontomburi
 
>> Eating black eggs made from the sulfur steam in Hakone.
 >> Staying at a hot spring hotel and wearing yukatas (japanese robes) around the hotel. :) This is a picture of the entrance to the hot spring.We were with a tour group when we stayed at this hotel...so it was a little awkward to go into the hot springs with all the women that we knew from the tour (since you must be nekkid ;p). Ah, but Tams and I had no shame...we went twice. :)And got lucky, since there weren't too many people in the baths. I would have pictures of hot springs itself, but Tams wouldn't let me take any pictures (i promised only head shots!!) The water was sooo, sooo, sooo hot. You could only stay in for 15 min. max or you'd probably faint from the heat. The first room you enter is a little bath house with little stools and buckets for washing off. Then you enter the indoor bath with is about 85-90 degrees? You're supposed to stay for 6 minutes, then go outside to the outdoor bath that is made of out rocks. Stay in for another 6 min, then go back to the indoor bath for 6 min. After 4 minutes in the outdoor pool, I felt my head start spinning, so got out and went to take a cold shower. Best cold shower of my life. ;p
This is our sketchy picture that got caught on camera. We set it to auto-take but ah....weren't in position in time. ;pThe next picture is what it should have been.
>> Very cool trouser press.
 
>> Fake petting a deer at Nara. I don't really like animals (usually a filter question when I meet a new guy), so Tams got the perfect picture of me fake petting one of the deer that walk around Nara Temple.
Finished off an eventful Japan trip with a visit to Taiwan where I got to see Shar and JB! :) As well as go back to the orphanage I lived at one summer 4 years ago. The kids have grown so much!
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