100 Things We’ve Learned in 100 Days

Posted by on Dec 23, 2011 in Ishikawa, Travel Volunteer Journey | 22 Comments
100 Things We’ve Learned in 100 Days

1. While it’s probably true all around the world, breasts are literally worshipped in Japan – the Jison-in temple in Wakayama is covered in boobs. 2. If you tell a Japanese person something unexpected, an involuntary noise will escape from them: “Eiiiiiiigghh!” If you tell them something truly extraordinary, it will become deeper and longer: ...

The Bridge to Heaven

Posted by on Dec 14, 2011 in Kyoto, Travel Volunteer Journey | 4 Comments
The Bridge to Heaven

One thing we’ve noticed about the Japanese: they can be frightfully competitive with one another. All over the country even the most humble of prefectures must claim to be the biggest/fastest/strongest/best in something, whether that’s soba making or sake brewing or rice growing etc and so on. But one thing we’ve noticed is that nowhere ...

Five, Seven, Five

Posted by on Nov 17, 2011 in Ehime, Travel Volunteer Journey | 9 Comments
Five, Seven, Five

My home town of Ayr isn’t known for much, although, over the years, we’ve had one or two famous denizens. The bloke who invented tarmac, for one; a tan-and-white cow for another. By far and away the most famous, though, is Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. Ring any bells? Maybe not, but if nothing else, ...

Farewell To Autumn

Posted by on Oct 27, 2011 in Gifu, Travel Volunteer Journey | No Comments
Farewell To Autumn

Just a few days ago, we were sweating it out on the coast of Shizuoka. I spent half the day surfing; the other half trying to fend off the humidity. It was so warm that autumn hadn’t really taken hold – the ocean was still perfectly bearable (granted, with a wetsuit) and the leaves hadn’t ...

Kusatsu: It’s Not Just For Christmas (or Autumn Part Two)

Posted by on Oct 16, 2011 in Gunma, Travel Volunteer Journey | 6 Comments
Kusatsu: It’s Not Just For Christmas (or Autumn Part Two)

The town of Zao Onsen, back in Yamagata prefecture, was a nice wee place – we just happened to arrive there at the wrong time of year. So it was with some trepidation that we arrived in Kusatsu in Gunma. On a grander, slightly more Swiss scale, this is a very similar town. Healing waters ...

The Fear Factor

Posted by on Oct 4, 2011 in Tochigi, Travel Volunteer Journey | 7 Comments
The Fear Factor

Anyone who’s ever travelled to a UNESCO World Heritage site knows the feeling – hell, anyone who’s ever been to any tourist attraction of any note knows the feeling. Just for a second, you wish you could have the place all to yourself. But you can’t, because the world is overpopulated, the number of tourist ...

Autumn – Part One

Posted by on Oct 4, 2011 in Tochigi, Travel Volunteer Journey | 4 Comments
Autumn – Part One

Because we’re loving sorts, today we thought we’d bring you two blog posts. This first one is because we literally couldn’t contain the pictures we took of our first autumnal colours today. This time of year is especially exciting for us as it’s been a very, very long time since we saw anything like it. ...