On our own!

After saying goodbye to Chie, Danny, Jane and I traveled from Tokyo to Nara by train on Saturday afternoon. We took the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto before switching to a local line to Nara. The shinkansen is quintessentially Japanese in so many ways—fast, smooth, and quiet. Train employees even bowed each time they entered the car!















We spotted Fuji-san (Mount Fuji) from the train, but didn't get a great look at it in the clouds. When we arrived in Nara, we somewhat miraculously found our way to our “business hotel”, where the kind proprietors were waiting for us. (I don’t think they get many non-Japanese customers, so they knew exactly who we were as soon as we walked in the door!) Danny’s Japanese language skills made the whole trip much easier—he speaks much better Japanese than even he realized, thank heavens! We enjoyed a tempura dinner before turning in for the night:















We certainly ate well that day--thank goodness for picture menus!