This picture was taken on the plane before we departed for Japan. I can't get over how different we looked back then.
Mike, me, and Dan Hannon (a fellow English teacher for another school) enjoy the inland sea and the small beach.
Seto Ohashi
These boys were polite enough to let us join their game.
Here we are with Elders Braun and Sato when we took them out for dinner at a local okonomiyaki shop. It was our first time eating okonomiyaki, which is pretty much a cabbage pancake with your choice of vegetables and meat, sometimes noodles, and topped with mayonaise and okonomiyaki sauce. We weren't big fans of it right away, but we grew accustomed to it, and actually began to crave it.
My adult student Eriko (center) invited me to attend an American cooking class with her, hosted by a woman named Jean. *hint* Jean is the American looking one holding the blonde girl (her daughter Aiko.) During this class Jean taught the Japanese women how to make things like homemade cream of mushroom soup and pineapple upside-down cake. The Japanese woman next to Eriko is Yoshiko, the woman who gave me the kimono.
Here I am wearing the kimono given to me by Yoshiko Misaki. I met the woman only once at a cooking class, but the Japanese are very cordial and give gifts frequently. This was a pretty large gift, and I was very shocked to receive it, since kimonos aren't exactly cheap.
These are the gigantic flowers from my students Taru and Midori's grandmother's (Obaasan) garden. Like I said, the Japanese are all about giving gifts.
When we first got to Japan, we had a difficult time with the food. Within a few weeks we met an Indian man named Chugh who took us to an Indian restaurant in Marugame. It was absolutely delicious and we immediately fell in love with their curry and naan. We ate there at least once a week. Eventually we began to like Japanese food and didn't feel the need to eat out at the Indian restaurant as often.
These are the workers at Kahna Peena. They got to know us very well over the course of our stay in Japan.
This is our friend N.K. Chugh. He is from Bombay, India and had a job building ships in Japan. He is the person who introduced us to the best restaurant in our city.
The famous Zentsuji temple was within biking distance of our home. On our day off we rode there to explore the temple grounds. This is called a Pagoda, which has five levels and usually not more than that. 
Mike keepin' it real in front of one of the temple shrines.
This gate is a familiar sight in Japan. There is one at every temple.
There were at least 50 or more of these statues on the temple grounds. They represent important "gods." People would put yen on the statues in hopes of receiving blessings. We had fun trying to mimic their poses.
This is our former boss Fumi (center) with her son Kenjiro and her husband Shigeyoshi (a.k.a. Shibucho-san, which means branch president.)
We told them to make silly faces, and surprisingly they did. Even Shibucho-san humored us.
Fumiyo-san and her mother 
Shigeyoshi-san and his mother
Before the chopping, showing off my locks.
After the chopping.
We were invited to attend a music festival put on by Sakaide high school students. They played better than any high school band I've ever heard in my life. They take their music seriously, I'll give them that. Here we are with "Lucy" (Gem School gave English names to their students) and our friend Dan. Lucy had a huge crush on Dan. :)
We took the midnight ferry boat from Takamatsu to Kobe. Many people take the night ride so they can sleep. Unfortunately, we didn't sleep a wink. This is us on the ferry.
This was the beer vending machine on the ferry boat. Beer vending machines are not uncommon in Japan.
Once we got to Kobe, we had to take a train to Osaka. This nice Japanese girl spoke some English, and helped us get the right train and get off at the right stop.
The Osaka Castle
Mike and a canon at the Osaka Castle.
One of the many displays in the Osaka Castle.
The Umeda Sky Building was one of the main attractions in Osaka. There is a Garden Observatory on the roof and it has a really cool gift shop inside.
There was a wheel inside here that you could spin for good fortune and blessing.
How I wish this was a real elephant. I have had a fascination with them for a long time now. I'd love to ride on the back of one someday.
And here I am touching the real deal! I was so excited to get that close to an elephant. They don't feel like anything I expected. And their trunks are super strong.
Me in front of a fountain at a park within the park called Istanbul park.
Istanbul Pet Hotel.
Me in front of several stairs leading up to the awesome looking building.
Mike and Me
Mike and a waterfall.
Kazurabashi vine bridge. People pay about 500 yen to cross it. Our friend Matt started jumping on the bridge and some of the Japanese people pretty much soiled themselves because they were so freaked out. Wouldn't you? The bridge is made of vines.
Kazurabashi bridge from the other side. 
Mike and me on a rock in the middle of the emerald green river going through the canyon.
Mike with the beautiful canyon behind him.
Me, the professional rock climber, obviously. 
Here we are with our friends. From right: Mike, me, Twila, Matt, Jonas, Jason, Claire, Annika, and Jake.
Jake, Annnika, Twila, and Matt about to cross the bridge. It looks like something taken out of an Indiana Jones movie.
After the bridge there was a little shop that sold whole fish on a stick. Not something we were willing to try...
