Kumamoto

Still with Sabine and having a great time. We went to Mt. Aso yesterday, a volcano, which was pretty impressive, as I'd never been at a volcano crater before.

It's really nice here in Kumamoto – Sabine is looking after me nicely and we cycle into town every day, on sightly rickety Japanese bikes, which makes it feel more like everyday life than traveling. It's fun, too, and I'll miss it when I move on tomorrow morning. I'll take the Shinkansen (the fast 'bullet train') up to Osaka, making a stop-over for a couple of hours in Hiroshima on the way. I'll stay in Osaka until Wednesday, making a couple of daytrips to the historic towns of Nara and Himeiji, then I'll move on to Kyoto.

As you can see, my plans are slowly taking shape – I'm planning ahead a little, so I can take advantage of the internet connection here. Missing you guys as well as many things from home, but Japan is very exciting and I'm looking very much forward to seeing more of it!