So we've finally left Tokyo..and Tokyo was amazing, but it was emotionally, physically, aurally, and everything else under the sun draining. Such a bright and exciting city, but it can take the life out of you. The crowds, the flashing lights, the everything is enough to make you wish you were in a coma, but still have the ability to wake up every now and then to experience all the great things it has to offer, including the hardcore punk show we went to, and the awesome exciting front row view of a pickpocket being chased down and caught. And I know, he was in the wrong, but I still felt so sorry for him for getting caught. Why do I always feel for the underdog?

We visited this placed called Nikko, which has this park called Edo Wonderland..where we saw this awesome ninja show. Ninjas might be cooler than god himself. In fact, im willing to bet that god tried out to be a ninja and got rejected so he took the next available job on the list of cool, after New York Garbage person, and ice cream taste tester. We also visited the Shinto Shrine where the whole "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil" monkeys were created, invented, whatever the hell you would say in reference to that. We came back to Tokyo and had one more day until we left...

After leaving Tokyo, we headed to Kyoto which was one HELL of an amazing city. It was a nice little quaint city with tons of really nice walks and just a really laid back atmosphere. This has been my first hostel stay since Australia and it was nice to get back into that independent feeling of travelling. Me and Hatchet made friends with two other travellers and hung out with them for the two days we were there.

One day we decided to go on a walk called the Philosophers path that leads you along a cherry blossom tree lined canal. While walked, we deviated a couple times to visit temples and such. The best part was when we side tracked into a graveyard just to check out some of the japanese gravesites...we wondered a little further and stumbled into this hidden buddhist temple within a wooded area. Exhausted from the humidity, and just loving the fact that we felt so islated, we decided to sit upon the temple steps to just take in the beauty of it all. Directly in front of us, was a small shrine with a buddha and some flower and fruit offerings. The three of us sat there contemplating outloud about how we really wished we could see some wild monkeys, when we heard one. We, as foolish and adventurous as we are, decided to call back to it. We engaged in this sound game for quite some time, until we noticed they were right above the shrine we were staring at. It was fantastic to us to see wild monkeys up so close, until we realized what exactly was going on. They went berserk. They climbed down into the shrine and started to mess shit up hard core kung fu style! They kicked over the vases, stole the fruit, and sat there scavaging the place. It was hilarious, and we instantly started capturing this on video recordings and pictures. The monkeys werent finished though..they ran into the temple, and we could hear them running around. And then we realized this temple was also the residence of several monks. Lights flashed on, and we witness monks chasing monkeys, rain above us, tree frogs dotting the hydrangea leaves around us, and suddenly it was just heaven. I couldn't have picked a more picture postcard activity as the one we were in the middle of. Monkeys running all around us, little ones, big ones, tiny ones the size of atoms...scavaging for food, and bewildered monks.

After Kyoto, we headed to the osaka region to stay with Hatchets uncle...and since then we've been doing day trips into Osaka. We visited the aquarium where I could have stayed forever. I was in awe at the sharks we saw, and the rays, and the jelly fish. Man I love the ocean. I can't wait to get back to ocean life again, more diving, swimming, more sharks..SHARKS!!!

Tonight we are going to test out the whole capsule hotel. These are these hotels that are oriented towards business men, or people who are too drunk to take the last train home becuase they were too busy barfing their sake-intoxicated brains out in the holes in the ground they call toilets. Basically, its a little larger than a coffin. Think of a pull out drawer in a morgue, if you will..where our lifefilled bodies will inhabit. They say its not for those who suffer from claustrophobia, and although I don't , i hope i don't freak out!

We are heading back to Kyoto for a couple days, then to Nara, back to Osaka and then onto Hiroshima where we plan on staying in a traditional Japanese style hotel called a ryoken. One of the last things we plan on doing here in Japan is climbing Mount Fuji by night, so that we can catch a sunrise. How amazing is that going to be?

Japan has been so much fun, and has been filled with very up ups, and then just ups. It's hot as hell times ten here, and i guess this is only a taste of what it'll be like, as I'm sure China will kick my ass heat wise, and then I suffer through the European winter. Boo Hoo for me!

okay so right now...im sitting in a massage chair in an extremely upscale internet cafe drinking unlimited amounts of hot chocolate..and in about an hour Im going back to my capsule hotel. and by the way, after I checked in, i have to say its about 23089308 times better than a morgue pull out tray. its more like a human kennel. little pods, little tv's in them, a/c...okay so its a little different than a kennel...whatever it is, right now i have one thing running through my mind....in this moment, my life rules.