Busan

How is this possible? Why do men always have to snore and when they turn over it seems like the whole bunk bed is going to break. One of the guys in our room did not seem to care at all about the others sleeping. In the morning, he constantly ran in and out the room. If we only had a key!

Check-out was at 11am. Ups, it was already 11.15am! Quickly wake up Nicole. We packed our now so light rucksacks and had breakfast. Afterwards, originally we had planned to leave. Originally! But then the boys (Mike and Griff) and Alex, the French guy who arrived yesterday, got up and everything changed. Alex had a super pc on which he had stored hundreds of mp3s. Oh, could we maybe load some of them onto our hard drive? Sure, which ones would you like? Well, and so it was that we had to postpone our leave and eventually decided to stay. Poor Jin. She had already washed our blankets. But she only laughed and said not to worry, it was ok.

To round up the day we went out for dinner all together. Mike, Griff, Alex, Jin and us two. Jin took us to a Korean restaurant not far from the Backpackers. We had Dakgalbi, fried rice with chicken and noodles. Again it was prepared on the table. We could have continued eating the whole night. It was so good. After dinner we went to a bar to have a few drinks. It was 0.40am as we went home. This was a really nice evening for our farewell. But will we really manage to move on tomorrow? Or will we sleep too long again and stay?

Busan

Today we planed to go sightseeing. Meaning to get up early. But somehow we never seem to manage to get up early. It’s just too hard for us. Again it was 11am. For breakfast we had something totally different today. Coco pops with Milk.

It was already 2pm as we finally went to the post, packed like donkeys. Quickly put together the box, put all the stuff in, fill in address and off it goes. 18 Kg, heavy! Only after we left the post office, we noticed that we had spent a whole hour in there.

Sightseeing! How about going to the Haeundae Beach. One should have seen it. We took off shoes and socks and walked through the sea along the beach. It wasn’t that cold. We had a lovely sunset with the 1.8 Km long Gwangan Grand Bridge in the front. What a shame it always gets dark so early.

Busan

After a relaxing breakfast – since days we had toast with onion and cheese and we still liked it – we went to look for a post office. We decided to send home our tent, inflators and sleeping bags as we will not need it for a long time now. In China it would be too dangerous to camp and in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam … it is so cheap to find accommodation that we probably wouldn’t camp anyway. It would just be unnecessary weight to carry. Anyway, we got told to travel to China with as little luggage as possible. So everything points to it. Once we get to Australia we’ll ask Nicole’s parents to send it back to us. It wouldn’t be really expensive. The box would only cost Won 1,600 and a parcel of 10 kg about Won 20,000. Tomorrow, off it will go.

For dinner we were meeting up with Mike and Griff. Arne from Denmark, again somebody new, joined as well. We went to a Korean restaurant down the road. We had Bolgogi. On the table grill prepared beef with lots of different salads and sauces. Delicious.

Actually, we were going to leave tomorrow. But after having looked through a big lot of brochures at the backpackers we spontaneously changed our plans. There is just too much to see.

Busan

It was already 10.30am as we woke up. Jin asked us if we would be the next two hours as she had to go somewhere but was also awaiting another guest. Sure we can welcome him. He arrived at lunch time. Gary from the UK. But as Jin got back we still weren't in the mood of going out. So we stayed. Nicole was trying to put our pictures onto the PC and I was writing our reports. That's how the day passed.

Busan

Although we only went to bed at 8am, I (Ramona) was already awake at noon. I got up and tried to download my photos onto the PC and then save them onto my hard drive. But somehow nothing worked. When Nicole got up at 1.45pm we had our breakfast. Spicy Korean noodles. Yammy!

At 3.40pm we went to the Internet Cafe across the road. Typing reports for our website. 8.5 hours. How our fingers hurt afterwards! And still we are not up to date. To download the pictures didn't work. Guess we have to find a different way.

It was after midnight when we went back to the backpackers. We had two new room mates. Jen, from Canada who lives in Korea with her husband at the moment, and a Polnish girl. We had a lot to chat.

Busan

Today at last we could sleep as long as we liked. We didn't have to leave the room by 10am and we didn't want to go anywhere. It looks like we had really needed it. It was 11.45am as we woke up. No need to do much sight-seeing today. By the time we had our shower and breakfast it will be after 2pm. This was not bad either as we could relax a little.

Anyway, we had to go outside once. Get something to eat and go to the bank. We were looking forward to having some toast with tomatoes and melted cheese. We didn't have it for a long time. At a vegetable stand we bought some fresh tomatoes. They looked so tasty. The woman packed them carefully into a bag. The other stuff we found in a supermarket. Now quick to the bank we thought. Quick, well... The ATMs didn't work with foreign credit cards as usual and at the counter it seemed they haven't even heard of credit cards yet. Though it even said on the sign "Foreign Exchange". Two of the clerks were phoning all about to get some advice. After a long time waiting they said we would get the money. But they would need our passports first. Oh great. Of course, we didn't take them with us. Only I (Ramona) had my German ID card still in my purse. Thanks to my dad who said I should rather take it with me. One never knows what it's good for. And he was right. They accepted it and I got my money. Only Nicole didn't and she was not very pleased I can tell you.

Back at the backpackers we prepared our toasts. We were so happy to eat them. But then ... yak, what was that? All sweet! Just like mashed plums or so. Not at all tomatoes. After two of those toasts we couldn't stand anymore. Later we found out from Jin that it weren't tomatoes but a Korean fruit called Persimmon. And we had to buy a whole kilo of that.

In the evening we went out together with the two English guys Mike and Griff and one of the Japanese guys who had just arrived today. First we went for a Korean dinner. Some kind of pasta soup with vegetables and sausages. Very spicy and delicious. It was prepared on a stove on our table. After having eaten we went to a pub. A live band was playing. Unfortunately, they finished already after half an hour. Then the pub was turned into a disco. It seems to be a meeting place for American soldiers and other Westeners. Korean people were also there. In the beginning we only sat at the table but later we wouldn't leave the dance floor anymore. Until closing time. We weren't the only ones who couldn't get enought though. Some friends of Mike, too. So we all went over to the flat of one of those guys and partied on. We were nine people. A wonder that the neighbours didn't throw us out with all the noise we made.

At 8am we were finally in our beds. We haven't been partying this long since Bornholm. Guess there will be no sight-seeing again tomorrow.

Shimonoseki - Busan (South Korea)

We arrived in Busan, South Korea at 8.30am. We left the ferry and had to queue. Eventually we now needed the Korean entry stamp. Already on the ferry we observed the Koreans. What is the difference between Korean and Japanese people? Hmm... the first impression: Here women do have curly hairs as well. In general they do not seem to be as well dressed as the Japanese. In addition to that quietness was gone. Koreans push, bump, partly ignore others while passing them, are much louder. Just as in Germany.

But, coming from Japan, it certainly was a good idea to prepare like this for China. For us, South Korea will only be a transition country.

At the tourist information we booked a room at Blue Backpackers. We wanted to stay one, maybe two nights and then head off for Seoul. Luckily we could check-in immediately, so that we could get rid off our heavy rucksacks again. However, it wasn't that easy to find that Backpackers - it really wasn't! What we didn't know was that it is a normal flat in a totally normal block of houses.

Jin, a young Korean girl, shares her flat with up to six travellers. She has her own room, and there also is a double room and a dorm for four people. Mike and Griff, two young English guys who want to stay for a year in Korea in order to teach English, stay in the double room. Thus we took our beds in the dorm.

What's to see in Busan? The fish market! OK, these days there is the annual fish festival. It was impressing. So many fishes! I (Nicole) am really no fish fancier but what was there to see... Giant octopuses, giant crabs and giant rays and many many more fishes the names I don't even know. And something really disgusting which looks like a - sorry for that - penis. Look at the picture and see for yourself. Later we learned that one needs to suck these things. Unsavory! But there wasn't only fish at the fish market but also pig heads, pig feet, other Korean treats, sweets, ...

Lateron, we wanted to drive to Taejongdae. By bus. Apparently there are cliffs and stones of fantastic shapes - and a light house. With the Busan map in our hand we were standing at the bus station when an elderly man addressed to us. He wanted to take us to Taejongdae. No, no, we would like to take the bus. Gosh, did he stink of alcohol! Let's go, we'll take a taxi. He was really pushy! He overruled my plea that we didn't have enough money for a taxi. But he had enough. Still, we would like to take the bus. He seemed to take it personally and spoke louder and louder. Within a few seconds a lot of people were gathering around us. A young Korean girl who even knew German helped us and relieved we got in the bus. But what was that? That guy followed us and even paid for us. Well, if he really wanted to ... We were very happy though when he eventually got off the bus.

Actually, it's not worth mentioning Taejongdae. We couldn't see these rocks and cliffs and the light house was a huge construction site!

We took the bus back to town and as I didn't have enough coins a young Korean guy paid Won 700 for me. Wow, now I was really surprised, I hadn't expected that. During the ride he talked a bit to Ramona and even gave her a little snoopy as a present. Snoopy now is another talisman at her rucksack.

In the evening at Blue Backpackers we got to know Jane from London. She has been travelling for more than 16 years now and has already seen half of the world. Especially Asia! It was so exciting to listen to her stories. She had so much to tell. And of course, we were always ready to take notes of her recommendations. We gabbed until 2am ... just great!

Hiroshima - Shimonoseki

Today's day was just about travelling. We were looking forward to that. Finally take a bus for 4.5 hours without having to change at all. And if we are lucky, we will be in South Korea by tomorrow. At 10am we left Hiroshima and arrived in Shimonoseki at 2.20pm. From the train station we went to the harbour and in fact got some tickets for today's ferry to Busan/South Korea. 6pm pass control. This time it didn't take as long as last time in Russia. But we didn't have to register here either.

We were friendly welcomed at the ferry and taken to our cabin. Again a cabin for our own. Cool. But no! The cabin proved to be a dorm for up to 10 people. Luckily, there were only three more women so we had a lot of space.

After dinner we went to the bar. Let's see what we could get for our last Japanese Yen. It was just enough for a glass of red wine. It was served ice cold - ?? - and the glass was not even full. And on top of it we had been asked to leave the bar at 11pm. What else was to do than go to bed or on the futon mattresses to sleep?

Hiroshima

We arrived in Hiroshima at 8am. Rucksacks in a locker and breakfast. Then buy the ticket to Shimonoseki for tomorrow and go to the Tourist Information at 9am. There one booked for us a room in the Mikawa Ryokan. A Ryokan is a Japanese room, which means with futon matresses, table with short legs and paper walls. We were supposed to better check-in immediately. But in the Ryokan we were told that check-in is only possible after noon time. Great, and why did we have to go there then?

We strolled through the Peace Memorial Park. Passed the Atomic Bomb Dome. This former town hall was probably the epicenter of the atomic explosion August 6, 1945. It is the only building destroyed by the atomic bomb which is still there. On our way through the park again and againe small groups of pupils appealed to us: 'Excuse me. We go to the Yagi Elementary School in Hiroshima. We are in 5th grade. We are learning English. May we ask you some questions?' Of course, yes. All groups wanted to know where we come from, what our names are. But they also asked for our favourite sport, which impression we had of Hiroshima, ... As a thankyou we received paper folded cranes from them (origami).

At about 2.30pm we went into the museum. Although we don't really like museums we were very much interested in this topic. We lent audiovisuals and got even more information than there was to read on the signs. It was interesting, impressing, sad and at the same time infuriating.

On August 6, 1945 at 8.15am Hiroshima as first city of the world was assassinated by an atomic bomb. The city had almost been fully destroyed and more than 140,000 people lost their life. Those, who survived, had been injured physically and psychologically and even today many still suffer from the after effects. The museum is a collection and exhibition of objects from victims, pictures and documents. In addition to that one gets an overview on Hiroshima's history as well as an insight in the atomic age. Today one says that Hiroshima has recovered from the debris and the people here want a peaceful world without atomic weapons. This of course poses some questions as i.e.:

What actually is an atomic bomb? An atomic bomb is a weapon of which the effect is based on the energy released during the nuclear fission of uranium or plutonium. Its destructiveness is multiple higher than the destructiveness of a bomb with conventional explosive. In addition to that the rays of gamma, neutrons and others released during the explosion cause severe physical harms over a long period of time. The bomb thrown on Hiroshima was about three meters long and weighed about 4 tons. Because of its long stretched form it was called "Little Boy". The bomb had probably been filled with 50 kg of Uran-235. Less than 1 kg has 'only' reacted and released an energy which corresponds to an explosion power of 15,000 tons.

Why had the atomic bomb been thrown on Hiroshima? In August 1942 the United States started the Manhattan Project in order to build an atomic bomb. July 16, 1945 they successfully conducted the first atomic weapon test world-wide in the desert of New Mexico. The United States wanted to force Japan to surrender as soon as possible in order to keep their own losses as low as possible. In addition to that, the Sowjet Union had made a secret agreement at the Jalta Conference in February 1945 to join the battle against Japan. The United States wanted to use the atomic bomb before this happened in order to establish their predominance after the war. And eventually the first atomic bomb should be used for a real attack in order to test its effects. About end of the war most of the Japanese big cities had been destroyed by air attacks. Hiroshima had probably been chosen because firstly the size and the topographic constitution of the city was well suitable to observe the destroying effects of the atomic bomb and secondly many troups, military institutions and armament fabrics were concentrated here and the city had hardly been damaged.

In the museum they report a lot about individual destinies like i. e. of Sadako Sasaki. She had been two years old when the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima. Ten years later she came down with actinic leukaemia and had been taken in the Red Cross hospital. Despite the pain she had to agonize because of her disease she faithfully folded many of these paper cranes in the hope of healing. After 8 months of fighting against the disease her young life ended. Through her, though, the cranes got a symbol for hope and freedom, above all with pupils - all over the world.

We spent 3.5 hours in the museum and in the end we had to rush as the museum closes at 6pm. To see how these people had suffered and partly still have to suffer today has often filled our eyes with tears. It only shows us again how unimportant and insignificant problems of missing tongue piercings or non functionating hard drives are.

Suzuka - Hiroshima

What happens now? Why is there so much noise? It's only 3.30am! Why are they shouting so loud? Who is supposed to be able to sleep like this? When I (Ramona) finally fell asleep again, it started pouring down with rain. Again I was awake. 4.30am. It went on like this until we got up at 9.30am. It had stopped raining eventually. Everything was under water. The whole golf course was a mud field. Nearly all other campers had already left. Was there a check-out time? We started packing. Our backpacks were laying in puddles. Especially Nicole's got it really bad. The whole backpiece was wet. Should this be the revenge for the fantastic weekend we had? It was impossible to pack the bags in the mud. We took everything separately to the teeing ground and put it there to dry. The sun started shining and it got really warm. Great. And then a Japanese came with a water hose to help us clean the plastic foile for underneath the tent. How kind. While everything was drying off we had our breakfast. The later it got the more Japanese guys came with their golfing geer. Are we in the way? No, if we were they would say so.

Around 2pm we went off. We took the bus to the station and then the train to Nagoya. From there we wanted to take the night bus to Hiroshima. We got the ticket for Yen 84,000. Departure at 11pm. So there was still a lot of time for us to kill. At the tourist information we learned that there is a huge electronic shopping area. Maybe here we will find the hard drive Al has told us about. We had enough of always looking for photo shops being able to download our pictures and burn them on a CD. And we couldn't rename our pictures either. Thus, a hard drive would be practical. We ran from one shop to another. But we couldn't find anything. Again and again we were sent somewhere else. But then we found a shop with hard drives. The newest on the market which aren't even sold yet in Europe. The one we had a look at was even cheaper than the one we had had in our mind. We thought about it forwards and backwards. We checked on Internet whether this is the one we were looking for. In the shops one could go online without paying anything. Everything just sounded perfect. It was a shame though that the shop assistant couldn't explain it to us in English. But we would have the instruction manual for that. In any case, my camera cable would fit and therefore I decided to buy it.

Nicole needed an adapter for her camera cable as she didn't have the right USB plug. Before she would buy a hard drive she wanted to look for the adapter. Without the cable the hard drive wouldn't work anyway. Again we went through all the shops. Everywhere the plug was out of stock. Nicole was totally frustrated. She would have loved to buy a hard drive as well. She finally decided to buy it anyway as she wouldn't get it as cheap anymore. But when we came back to the shop we learned that there was no hard drive left. Oh great! Why the hell did we run almost 2 hours in order to find this stupid adapter?

We went back to the station. Somehow I wasn't sure whether I had taken the right decision. I wasn't really happy with it. Something didn't seem to be alright. But what? I thought about it the whole way. And then I realized it! The cable! Of course, it couldn't fit! The hard drive only has an output, no input. I was just so stupid? Why didn't I realize it before? One cannot connect the camera with the hard drive. One always needs a PC to be connected inbetween. Great. That's not at all what we were looking for. Now, Nicole could be happy that she couldn't buy the hard drive anymore. And I was so pissed!

Back at the station we had dinner and at 11pm the night bus left. On time as always. This time it was a double-decker. Totally comfortable and a lot of space for the feet.

Suzuka

3 o'clock in the morning. What's going on here? Why is it so loud and why are there so many people? They won't go to the circuit already, will they? Will they already start to queue? We only wanted to get up at 5.30am. But we had been so clever, had placed our chair cushions well. Our seat is secure ... The gates only open at 6.30am anyway.

We arrived at the main entrance at 6.20am. But there was almost no-one. We had expected thousands of people. They cannot all have overslept. Is our clock not working or is everybody already in the circuit? At the barrier we could see that only about 1,000 people had passed it. This could only mean one thing: All have reserved their seats. Just as we did. The security precautions were impressive. Like the two days before there were just none. We could have taken everything with us to the circuit but here in Japan one doesn't do it. Then at our tribune, our chair cushions, they were still there including the stones. Unbelievable! Everything was untouched. Who does not have a seat yet, will have huge problems getting one.

We got to know a few students from middle and south America as well as an Egypt grown up in Essen/Germany. We seemed to be the only non-Japanese people near and far and with those guys the time until 10.55am went much faster. Then the first race started: 10 rounds Formula 3. There were some interesting duels but we were all just crazy about Formula 1.

At 2.30pm Formula 1 started. Barrichello had a good start and also Schumi had already passed one car. Actually, which ranking does Schumi need in order to get this one and only point? We weren't sure because of these new point distribution rules. 8th ranking or would the 10th already be good enough? This uncertainty! Only five more rounds: Barrichello leads, Schumi 8th. His arrear to ranking 7 doesn't seem to get shorter. Does this mean that the 8th is enough for him? Yes, that must be it. Only two more rounds to go, no change. Last round, the Ferrari-Crew is running out of their box. They were as merry as a lark. But only during the press conference we could be assured. Schumi is the World Champion for the sixth time. No-one has ever managed that before. Ferrari has won the constructeur's World Championship for the fifth time in a row. We couldn't believe it. We were there at this sportive historical event. In Japan.

Suzuka

Now one can see what effect fast cars and handsome drivers do have on us: We got up already at 7am. We immediately went to the spot where we first sat yesterday. One can see best from here. At 9am the first training, including the stars. And look at this. What does Kimi do? Where does he want to go? He arrives almost in front of us in the grit field. We just couldn't refrain from grinning.

Schumi though wasn't good either. Hopefully this will change. It counts at 2pm. There's still some time left. We tried to sleep. If one can call it sleep. We turned around and around on our small spot - we had to squeeze our chair cushion between the others. Feet angled, legs outstretched. Or maybe tuck them up? Where to put the head? On the jumper? Arm underneath or not? It was just not easy. At 2pm then finally the qualifying. Whether Kimi will make his round now? No, just like a professional he made it. Only his time was not as good as expected. Only ranking 7. This should be easy for Schumi. But everything just went differently as it started to rain. No-one could have expected that. This morning I (Nicole) only wore shorts and a top. We didn't bring rain stuff. Schumi lost five seconds to Barrichello (Pole Position) and only made it for a disappointing ranking 14. Oh no, where will this end? He will be able to get this one and only point, won't he? Disappointed we left the circuit. But not without having put stones on our hair cushions. Will this be enough to reserve our seats until tomorrow?

On our way back we took comfort in a sausage one can see everywhere in Japan. Put on a stick and only then grilled. It was ok with ketchup but the sweet mustard does not need to be put on it. No comparison though with a real German Bratwurst.

The way back to our tent did take a while. There were still many people. On the parking just in front of our camp site we couldn't believe our eyes. What do all these people queue for? It could only be for the bus! Like a crocodile they were queuing kilometers long. No-one was pushing, all were just waiting patiently. Unbelievable.

Suzuka

At 8am we got up. We didn't want to miss the free training. We packed bread and cheese for later and left for the circuit. As we had the non reserved seats, we had to walk half round the court. The circuit is placed into an amusement park and we had to cross that one first. It nearly took us 40 minutes until we got to the first non reserved seats area. This one was supposed to be the best. To our surprise it were sitting places and there was still so much free space. The training had begun already. It was a hell of a noise every time the cars passed by. Slowly the ranks began to fill up. Everybody brought big plastic foils with them which they lay on the ground, fixed them with herings, to sit on. We didn't even think about that. But tomorrow. Tomorrow we will bring our seating mats.

Around lunch time more and more driver came to the training. And finally, Schumi and Raikkoenen came as well. How they whized by, amazing!

From 12 - 2pm was lunchbreak. Now the track got cleaned. Lots of little orange men ran to the track and started sweeping with brooms. It looked so funny.

We went round the circuit to explore the other areas. Was there really no better one than ours? We went all the way round but couldn't find anything better. Not even at the hairpin curve. Here, by the way, we found the first other foreigners. We already thought we were the only ones. A group of Irish guys were sitting here. We watched the afternoon training with them. We had such a good laugh!

It was confirmed, tomorrow we would go to our first place again. Nowhere else could such a big part of the circuit be seen and also had a TV screen. The end of the Start/Finish Line, first curve and first chicanery.

As the training was over and all the Japanese were about to leave, we didn't dare our eyes. What were they doing now? Everybody left their plastic mats. Checked even, if they were well secured. This can't be true. Are we in Mallorca? Too bad we didn't think of bringing our mats. But if it really works and everybody will still have the same seats tomorrow, there is no need to say what we are going to do then.

In the amusement park lots of car booths had been put up. In front of every race car were 2 bunnies (young half naked girls). Unbelivable how the men went for them. Everybody had to take a picture of the girls. Nobody was interested in the cars. What else is there to say?

Kyoto - Suzuka

At noon we took the bus to Nagoya. Our way to Suzuka starts. We still could not believe it. Our first Formula 1 race live. And even in Japan! And when Schumi gets World Champion! Unbelievable! In Nagoya we took the bus to Suzuka. From there by bus to Suzuka circuit. Everything just goes like clockwork. The rub will probably be the camp site. A golf course. How will the course look like after thousands of tents had stood there for several days?! The question was unnecessary. That wasn't a real golf course. It was a hard court with a few holes. The balls are hit from a ramp. Well, this is only a training course. But damn hard! We could hardly put our tent pegs in. However, we set up our tent in a minute. And it was quite funny again to watch other people setting up their tent. Some seemed to never have done it before. Well ... :)

Kyoto

Ramona picked me up at 10am. We rented two bikes as it is cheaper and faster than by bus. Today, we certainly have to run from morning to night in order to get the tickets. At the station we parked our bikes and asked for a ticket-shop. They were just talking about PIA, but we just couldn't find it. Maybe one can help us at the Tourist Information Center. Yes, how to get to Suzuka. And that we can camp there. Fantastic! On a golf course. ??? Camping on a golf course? Who does allow this? It does not matter now. We need the tickets as without tickets no Suzuka. Go to Lawsons. To Lawsons? The supermarket Lawsons? Yes, one can buy tickets at a machine there. Yen 90,000 for three days. Yeah, great joke. We would like to go to the Formula 1 race and not to a go kart race. Yen 90,000 for three days?! That cannot be true. Still we did not want to leave no stone unturned. Just around the corner there was a Lawsons. In fact, they also have a ticket machine. However, only in Japanese. Of course! We need the shop assistant. Now. It couldn't be fast enough. We seem to be so close. But his English was not good enough. He phoned though ... but finally send us to ... you won't believe it ... to PIA. Hmm, it needs to be here somewhere. We tried it again and after two more attempts we found it.

And: They could in fact sell us tickets for the Formula 1 race. Three days for Yen 90,000. After all! Standing room of course. We couldn't believe it! We made it, held our tickets in our hands. Schumi, we are coming!

If we now get back our money for the Hiroshima bus ticket ... No problem with our Japanese note. We only had to pay Euro 4 cancellation fee. We are up for it!

Kyoto

Originally, we had planned to have a look at the Imperial Palace today. But one had to show up at 9.30am or 1.30pm. 1.30pm is impossible for us because of the booked tea ceremony and 9.30am is just too early for us. Eventually, we are on vacation! Today we got the bus ticket together with the bus map. We do not want to experience the same as yesterday again. Pay after, no way!

At 1.45pm the tea ceremony started. Tea is a popular drink world-wide but it nowhere contributes as much to the cultural life than in Japan. Here, the making of and drinking of tea has become an aesthetic importance and developed to real art: One sits in a teeny-weeny room and enjoys being together with others. The host has hung up a picture roll, lit the fire on which water for the tea will be heated and prepared something small to eat. Well, it was the same for us. We had to knee in that Japanese room. Outch. Kneeing again. I (Nicole) will not make it kneeing all the time. I wonder how they can knee so long without feeling any pain. Thanks to God we were allowed to sit comfortable. A Japanese woman, who luckily knew English, explained the whole ceremony to us. In total there were three women serving us. They brought a bowl with Japanese sweets und a folded piece of paper, in which lies only one chop-stick. With that one eats the sweets. In the meantime another woman prepared the tea. If one wants to take a sweet, one needs to first thank the person to her/his left who hasn't even gotten anything yet. After that, one has to lift the bowl of sweets, put it down again, take the chop-sticks laying on the bowl, take a sweet and puts it on the piece of paper. The chop-sticks will be cleaned with the piece of paper as well before putting them back on the bowl and passing it on to her/his neighbour. Only then tea is served. A pretty viscous tea. Green like poison. Can this be good at all? They say it's healthy. One needs to do the same with the cup of tea as with the sweets bowl. Well, do you still remember? First thank your neighbour, then only lift up the cup of tea. One turns the cup two times clockwise before drinking. After having drunk one cleans the spot where the mouth had touched the cup with thumb and forefinger, turns the cup two times again. This time anti-clockwise so that the front of the cup is just in front of her/him again. The tea itself was more than bitter and it takes a long time to get used to it. We couldn't finish the cup. After that the table will be cleared and the ceremony is over. Hmmm, guess for us everything would just take too much time. It takes hours until one can finally drink her/his tea. We then had been invited to join the course for the tea ceremony. Today it was the first lesson. Of course, why not? We learned a lot of different things together with other non-Japanese and Japanese people who do a three months course: How does one open a Japanese sliding door (in three steps, not with a cant like in Europe) - Ramona thought that one does not need to train that as it is logical after one has seen it once ... guess who took the wrong arm to open the sliding door?? :) - , how does one look into the room (kneeing on the floor in the other room, leaning a bit forward and looking into the room), how to enter the room (one pulls oneself in two steps into the room, still kneeing on the floor), that one had to first have a look at the picture and the flowers and bows in front of it, how to get up, how to walk through the room, how to hold the cup of tea and how to drink, how to hold the chop-sticks in order to take the sweet, how to clean the chop-sticks, and so on. The two hours flew by like nothing. The whole ceremony was very interesting and we were happy to get an impression of that culture.

Tonight we will take the night bus to Hiroshima. Let's just quickly have a look at our emails before we get our rucksacks from the hostel. It's even for free! But it should change our whole plans for the coming days. My sister Silke had dropped me an eMail and mentioned the Formula 1 race in Suzuka. Hold on. What day is it? Tuesday, the race is already on Sunday. Gee, we hadn't thought about that at all anymore. We hadn't even planned to stay in Japan that long. Where actually is Suzuka? Is Hiroshima on the way to Suzuka? We both immediately were hooked. If only we could manage to get there. But certainly Suzuka is somewhere in the North or in the South of Japan...

Back in the hostel we had a look at all Japanese maps in order to find Suzuka. But we just couldn't find it. Gosh, it cannot be true. Is it only a hicksville? We asked at the reception ... Oh, only 3 - 4 hours by train from Kyoto. Direction east. And why do we head for the west?? We have to change that immediately. We draw on the receptionist straight away. We needed him now. He had to cancel our bus trip to Hiroshima for tonight - and so that we can get back our money again. OK, we would agree to pay a cancellation fee. The poor guy had to do several phone calls. In addition to that we would also need to beds for tonight. In the hostel though only one was still available. Another bed was available though in another hostel, just a few streets furhter. OK, no problem at all. We'll manage that. The guy phoned back and forth and finally told us that everything is done. He gave us a piece of paper on which he had explained the situation in Japanese. We are supposed to show this at the ticket desk tomorrow. We will then get back our money. Many thanks. That was really nice of him.

Now we only have to buy the tickets for the race. The websites though are only in Japanese. Thus, this will be our one and only task for tomorrow. Get two tickets in Kyoto. We couldn't think of a quiet night. This was just impossible. We both had been so excited, we could already see us on Schumacher's racing car during his lap of honour now being World Champion ... The whole night we could just think of Formula 1 and Suzuka!

At 6pm it got dark already. We went to downtown. As we wanted to get off the bus, we had to pay extra again. Is it possible??? On the way there we didn't have to pay! But no mean look, no argueing helped. Yen 200 per person. Otherwise the bus door won't open again. Now, that's enough. Next time we just rush off. Let the busdriver run after us if he wants to. What a joke this ticket. Had we only bought the big one instead.

For dinner we chose a nice Japanese restaurant. We ordered pork with rice and sauce and soup. Served with green tea. It was so delicious! Back to the hostel we walked!

Kyoto

Originally, we wanted to rent some bicycles but the bad wheather mad us change our minds. It rained. We went to the station to buy our tickets for the nightbus to Hiroshima for tomorrow. Departure at 10.45pm, cost 6620 Yen.

At the hostel we had bought one day tickets for the buses and now we wanted to go to the Kinkakuji Temple. The golden Temple. It was really beautiful. It got reflected by the sun on the lake. A little further down the road there was the Ryoanji Temple. Here one can see the very famous stonegarden. 30x10m big with 15 big stones put in a faszinating pattern into a bed of gravel. The garden is supposed to be a masterpiece of Japanese culture. We were so excited, but only until we saw it. What is that supposed to be?

What on earth is so faszinating? That bit of gravel we could have put ourselves. A few big stones thrown into the middle and done.

Next we wanted to go to Arashiyama. Known for it's pretty landscape with a small village near the mountains. We took the next bus. Unfortunately, we then realised that we had taken a JR bus which is not possible with our dayticket. And into the bargain the bus went to the wrong direction. As we finally could get off, we had to pay 400 Yen extra. The next time we should take bus no. 8. That's the Citybus and it accepts our ticket. But bus no. 8 didn't want it either. Why not? What are they selling them for if one can't use them? Again we had to pay extra. Slowly we got fed up with driving bus. It got later and more expensive and Arashiyama was not in sight. Nicole wanted to give up already, but we tried it one last time. With success. Arashiyama was really a beautiful village. At the foot of the mauntains with a little river running below. We also saw a little forest of bamboo. Wow, did they grow high. One could rent a rickshaw here. They had so funny shoes on. How can that be comfortable? Big toe and indextoe together and the rest. Just like fingered gloves.

At 6pm it got dark already. We went to downtown. As we wanted to get off the bus, we had to pay extra again. Is it possible??? On the way there we didn't have to pay! But no mean look, no argueing helped. Yen 200 per person. Otherwise the bus door won't open again. Now, that's enough. Next time we just rush off. Let the busdriver run after us if he wants to. What a joke this ticket. Had we only bought the big one instead.

For dinner we chose a nice Japanese restaurant. We ordered pork with rice and sauce and soup. Served with green tea. It was so delicious! Back to the hostel we walked!

Kyoto

We wanted to go to Mt. Hiei in the north of Kyoto. At the subway station we again weren't sure how to get the tickets. Nicole pushed a button on the machine and suddenly everything started flashing. Why is that??? Shouldn't now be everything written in English? Then already a little window opened up and a railway officer looked at us. We just wanted to issue 2 one day tickets. But they didn't sell them at this station. Well, so we had to buy single tickets. At the foot of Mt. Hiei we changed to the cablecar and later to the ropeway. We had a fantastic view across Kyoto and the mountains behind the town from the top.

On the other side of the mountain is the Enryakaji Temple, 2,6 km by foot. That one we wanted to see. It was a huge temple site. One next to the other. In the upper temple a monk was praying. We took off our shoes and sat down to watch. He was kind of singing. With his right hand he made a rhythm on a wooden ball which gave a low tune. Later he also took a bell and a pelvis. Frankincense was coming out off several bowls. The altar was a large golden Buddha. All very impressing.

We went by bus back to Kyoto. Gosh, was it full. But still, at every stop more people got in. The driver sped down the serpentines like a mad man. The roads were so narrow at times, that no other car comming from the front would have been able to pass. We were so glad as we could get off.

Kyoto

Today we had to change accomodation again as the one we were staying in was fully booked. We asked at the tourist information and they gave us the adresses of 2 budget hotels which should even be cheaper than the hostels. The bad thing was that they were far away from the station. Well, the main thing is that they have a room available. We were lucky, they still had 2 beds in a 5 person room. We booked it for 3 nights.

Now we wanted to visit the Nijo Castle. It was quite a long walk to get there but it was worth it. It was so interesting to see a Japanese castle. Totally different to the German ones. In the early days the Shogun had lived there. There were so many rooms, all with paper walls. The best thing was the nightingale floor. It had the funktion of a guard dog. No matter how carefully you walked, the floor would give a squeeking sound with every step. Faszinating. This way nobody could creep up unnoticed.

Our dinner we took at a Japanese restaurant. We had to take off our shoes and sit down on a little cushion on the floor at a small table. We ordered our menues and to our surprise we even got a starter. How nice. But as we wanted to pay, they charged us extra for the starter, even though we hadn't ordered it. What cheek!

We shared our room with 2 Spanish girls, Elisabeth and Aglae, and a Chinese girl. 5 women in one room! It was so funny! No need to say, that it knocked on the door soon: "A little quieter please, other people want to sleep."

Kawaguchiko - Kyoto

I (Nicole) wanted to do breakfast but the cooker didn't want to. But this time it was ok. No more petrol. I snatched a bike, rode to the petrol station, got 0.8l of petrol ... and then we could finally cook our eggs.

We both were quite tired - it only was 8.45am - and didn't get on with it. We even thought about staying another night. But six days of Kawaguchiko are enough. Otherwise we'll never make it around the world.

We took the bus to Gotenba. From there we had to take the train. Cheapest option: 5 hours, change trains several times and arrive in Kyoto only at 9.50pm. It goes without saying that we went for the cheapest option. We already had left enough money in Japan, hadn't we?

At one station we attracted the attention of a dumb group. We even understood them by the signs they made that they wanted to know our age. How happy they were when one had guessed right. When we showed them on our world map where we come from they clapped their hands with enthusiasm and were happy. How easy it is to make someone happy.

Of course, the tourist information in Kyoto was closed already. Now it was necessary to find an accomodation on our own account. We had to ask at several hotels. It was the week-end, many fully booked or just too expensive. But then a double room for Yen 13,600. Still damn expensive, but it was already quite late and we were looking forward to a shower ...

Kawaguchiko

We slept long today. It was already 10.20am when we crawled out of the tent. We were looking forward to bread with cheese and a soft boiled eg. But where was the bag with the bread and cheese gone which was laying in front of Nicoles entrance? Gone! Never to be found again. An animal would have left some trace, wouldn't it? But if it was a human being, we surely would have heard it, wouldn't we? The person had to open the outer tent to get it. Or were we so tired from the Fuji that we didn't hear a thing? Scary! Nicole luckily had kept another pack of cheese inside the tent. So we used that one with the cracker bread from Norway (this keeps for ever without rotting!). About the so much wanted egg we could only dream off. The cooker didn't work. What a day!

Today was washing day. We had to clean our cloths from the dust of the Fuji. But the washing machine only can use cold water. Well, as long as it gets clean. The first lot we had already put in before breakfast and it was ready now. Nicole went to fetch the cloths and I put up a washing line between the trees. We had just finished hanging up the clean cloths and went back to the breakfast table, as a crow was pecking at our eggs. Is it true!! Great, now 3 of the eggs were cracked. We can only use them for scrambled eggs now. That's it! From now on, all food will be stored inside the inner tent!

In the afternoon we hired some bikes. We sat on them like the first human beings. Well, we were rather used to cars than bikes. We wanted to get some cash and went to the big shopping center where there is an ATM. But it didn't work with our foreign credit cards. So we went to the bank. It was closed. Will this day continue like that? We went to the tourist information to find out when the bus to Kyoto is leaving tomorrow. At 11.10am. Perfect. The lady also told us that we could get cash at the post office. Finally.

We drove around a little and later went to the big shopping mall. Interesting what the teens are buying over here. Nearly everything was in pink. Kitschy! By chance my gaze fell upon a rack with ear rings. How they looked strange. No wonder, they were piercings! They even had tongue piercings. Oh, somebody will be soooo happy now! We were looking for those for days as Nicole had dropped her piercing into the sink a while ago. Hopefully, it was not too late and the hole is closed again. Back at the camp site Nicole directly tried to put it in. She was smiling like a cheshire cat when she came back. She had to fumble a lot but could pierce the whole in the end.

Now we took care of our cooker. It had to work somehow. Was it again full of dirt? We took the pieces apart and cleaned them. Surprise, surprise, it worked perfectly afterwards. We will become cookercleaningspecialists soon if it continues like this.