Sunday, April 29, 2018

I'm Home

Konnichiwa. I am home from my Japan adventure and have missed checking in with you folks for the last 10 days. Hope all has been well and everyone is enjoying spring, finally.
I had a fantastic trip and have lots of photos and stories to share. Japan is an amazing country and I feel like I had a rich experience visiting.  I do wish we had had a couple more days, which I think is often normal when traveling, but I am also glad to be home.
My trip started with over 20 hours of traveling before we reached the small city of Nichinan. Nichinan in on the big southern island of Japan (not counting all the the small islands that form a chain off of this island)  called Kuyshu and it is almost  at the southern point of the island. It's is  lush and tropical and very pretty.




I must say I enjoyed it after our very long nasty winter.
We spent 4 days in Nichinand (as it is our sister city) doing official business and sightseeing.  From there we flew to Kyoto, the historical heart of Japan for a couple of days and then we took the bullet train into Tokyo for the last few days. It was busy and fun and I will say the 8 kids who came with us were great, as well as the 4 other teachers I traveled with.
I'm keeping this short as I have yet to really go through my photos and am also trying to get back into the home time zone. Japan was +13 hours. Yawn. My brain doesn't know if it's time to go to bed or time to get up. :)
Plus it's back to work in the morning. UGH!!!!!!!!!
But you can be sure there is more to come since I took well over 1000 photos.
Happy new week.

16 comments:

CJ Kennedy said...

Welcome home. Love the sneak peek of your trip and can't wait to here more about it.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

WELCOME HOME!!! What a fabulous journey you must have had. I am sure you will have loads to share with your students tomorrow, and I'm sure you won't be on your own time zone for several days.

What a beautiful island where you first stopped. I LOVE the palm trees. Lush and tropical looking, I bet it was a real thrill after leaving your cold city. So glad you made it home safe and so glad you had a good time.

Valerie-Jael said...

Glad you enjoyed your time in Japan, and that you are now safely back - missed you! Hope you soon adjust to the time etc. Try to take things easy! Love the photos, hugs, Valerie

Astrid Maclean said...

Welcome back!! Having just returned from a month long blog break while in Australia, I look forward to visiting more regularly again and really look forward to seeing more photos and hearing more about your trip. I went on a 3 week holiday to Japan last year around this time, and I so agree, it is an amazing country! We went to Osaka, then spent two weeks in Kyoto and also took the bullet to Tokyo for a few days flying back from there. It will be really interesting to compare notes.

Hope you surive the coming week! xxx

Lisca said...

Welcome back! Wow! That Nichinan looks lush indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing many more photos and hearing about your adventures.
Now have a good sleep .
Hugs,
Lisca

froebelsternchen said...

I am so happy to hear you are well and have had a good trip and that you arrived safe at home again my friend!
This first photos are already WONDERFUL!
I am really looking forward to more photos and the adventure stories from Japan!
But at first get back into every day at home and your work at school again ! I can tell you that I missed you ♥♥♥
Hugs, Susi

pearshapedcrafting said...

Good to see you home safe! Looking forward to more photos! Sounds like an exciting time! Sleep well! Chrisx

craftytrog said...

Welcome home Erika! Looks like a great trip! I'd love to go to Japan someday! Looking forward to seeing your photos.
Alison xx

Jeanie said...

It looks beautiful and your photos are terrific. Oh, that color. Bet you were happy to see spring! Rest up and I will look forward to each and every post and as many hundreds of photos as you decide to share. I'm glad it was a great experience. Welcome home.

Meggymay said...

Welcome home Erika.
It sounds like you had a wonderful trip, and the photos you shared today really have us wanting to see more.
Looking forward to seeing more photos and your thoughts on Japan.
Yvonne xx

Mrs.B said...

Sounds like a wonderful experience Erika and no doubt you had lots of adventures. Looking forward to seeing more photos.
Avril xx

Gibby Frogett said...

A belated welcome back Erika - seems only the other day you were getting ready to go.
Pleased to hear you had a lovely time - your photos are fabulous - looks a really beauiful place - and I look forward to seeing more of your adventure.
Gill xx

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Beautiful photos! I can't wait to hear more about the trip.

Divers and Sundry said...

Home Sweet Home, there's nothing like it :) But what an exciting trip! I've been looking forward to photos :) I have a fondness for Sumo and for Japanese films, so I'm fascinated by Japan. Thx for sharing.

Let's Art Journal said...

How did I miss this post! The views are stunning and how lovely are those flowers 😁. I'm so glad you had a fab time and of course you have probably guessed by now how excited I am to learn all about your travels ...lol 😉. Have a great day! J 😊 x

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Enjoyed these first few views, Erika and am now going to catchup up on the rest of your travels. Only 1,000 photos...yes, I well know how easy it is to take the pics and then how much work to sort through them afterwards...good luck!