Kobe to Kyoto

It's November 4th here in Osaka, so Nate and I already know who wins the election. We won't spoil it for you, but let's just say you can put your money on black.

We left Kobe on Sunday. Our last day there was kind of a bust. We met with a couple of my friends, Mika and Nanaho, for lunch. We had omrice, which is like an omelette's stuffed with rice only it's not as good as it sounds. We supplied the girls with Obama pins, spreadin' a little hope/change.

Although it's unclear weather they really supported Obama or just thought the pins were cute.

In the afternoon, we went to a fashion museum shaped like a spaceship, again, less cool than it sounds. Dinner was a debacle. After walking the streets for an hour searching for English menus, we found a restaurant who claimed to have English menus, then didn't. So we haphazardly ordered some things based on pictures and ended up with some mediocre sashimi and random chicken organs. We ordered Domino's when we got back to the hotel. It was Delicious. (The American Special - pepperoni pizza!)

We arrived in Kyoto on Sunday afternoon and met with my friend Yoshie and her boyfriend, Naoki. Yoshie's English is poor, but darling. Her favorite phrase is "Are you kidding?!" which she uses both frequently and inappropriately. But we were able to communicate using a combination of broken English, phrasebooks, electronic dictionary and gestures.

We visited a lovely temple on the west side of Kyoto, then went out for a fabulous Japanese dinner (with no English menus!). It was a treat to eat with native speakers and not have to worry about mystery organ meats. The sake and beer were freely flowing at dinner, so we topped off the night with a little karaoke. Naoki had explained that he liked "rock and roll, like Mary J. Blige and Boyz II Men" so Nate and I were a little concerned but we all rocked out to Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Celine Dion. Highlights were Nate's Eminem raps, their J-Pop duets and us braving the very difficult "Across the Sea" (Nate note: We told them this is the only song we know about Japan).

Yesterday, we went to Sanjusangendo, an impressive temple with 1001 life-sized Buddha statues. Unfortunately, no photos allowed inside cause it's sacred or whatever.

We then visited the Heian Shrine which has an incredible Japanese garden.

In Japan, November 3rd is a national holiday called "Culture Day", so the Manga Museum had free admission. It was more of a manga library than a museum, so there were walls and walls of manga and the place was packed with adults and kids reading in every corner, hallway and stairwell. Nate managed to find a baseball themed series featuring Ichiro in a showdown with the Japanese Barry Bonds.

In the evening we got some beer and strolled down by the river, where all the kids hang out. The place was littered with giggling Japanese girls, jugglers and musicians, including an aspiring Japanese John Mayer. Dinner was unremarkable, yet expensive.

We moved to Osaka this morning and we will be here for two nights. The election coverage will be happening during the day tomorrow, so we have no other plans all day. I found a group called Democrats Abroad that is holding an "election watch" tomorrow at an Irish pub in Osaka. According to the email I just got, "at least 12 democrats" will be attending. Should be wild.