Today is Friday, or rather Monday for us, as we have just started back at work after our "weekend"! Being in work at 7.30am today was not pleasant, and I'm feeling a bit tired to say the least!
On Wednesday we went to the gym and then went to the cinema in the afternoon to see Spy Game, since Wednesday is "Ladies' Day" which means I only had to pay 1000yen, whereas James had to pay the full rip off price of 1800!!!!!! hahaha! Following that was a couple of Happy Hour drinks with some friends, followed by All You Can Eat kaiten sushi!!!!
On Thursday we waited in for the parcels that we knew were being delivered, then set off for Kobe. We wanted to go before Christmas because now is the time of the annual illuminations festival to honour the dead of the 1995 earthquake that killed over 5000 people in the city. The luminations were beautiful; we had to queue for quite a while, but were kept moving constantly by policemen with light sabres and the lights were well worth it when we got there. First, a street with overhead illuminations so that it felt like you were walking through a tunnel of light, then a park where the best display was located - a huge circle of light that made you feel like you were entering a cathedral with an open roof when you stood inside it. I am putting some pics on the photo page, so please take a look.. This area was also full of stalls cooking and selling all kinds of Japanese food - we had been planning on eating out at a restaurant but the stalls were too tempting in the end, so we sampled a variety of traditional Japanese cuisine, the best of which was a kebab of Kobe beef and a piece of pineapple covered in chocolate. Mmmmmm...!
Anyway time for bed as we have another ridiculously early start tomorrow, and James is determined to tire us both out even more by going to the gym after work!!!
Merry Christmas (even though it doesn't feel like it!)
Nic.
p.s. Have just been to the toilet - very strange - even though it is outside, there is still a heated seat and state of the art hand-drier etc!!!!