kaerimasu (return)

First and foremost, sorry for the massively long lack of posts. Yes I still exist, yes I'm fine. What happened was my computer had some issues, and I had to get it repaired which took about a month. The fact that I didn't (couldn't) fix it myself should tell you a lot. I figured what fun is a blog with no pictures, so I didn't bother to even post until I could put pictures up. So now that that is out of the way let's pick up where we left off.
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When we last left out hero (me I guess) Golden Week (our scattering of days off) was just ending up. After a full week of school following Golden Week, one of the craziest/best things happened. Something that we know as "Hasika Yasumi" roughly translated as "Measles Vacation." There was a measles out break in the Tokyo area especially at my school. This wasn't a problem for any Americans since we were all vaccinated, but for all the Japanese this was an issue, since measles can be fatal in adults. So to be on the safe side they gave us a week off. After a brief celebration, I got Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets, ASAP, and headed to Osaka to visit Steve Munoz and his wife Erin. Erin is a Japanese-English teacher, and they live outside of Osaka, the second biggest city in Japan. Aside from the paper I still had to write and turn in online that week, what followed was one of the best weeks so far this trip. When I got to Osaka, Steve took me to a bar he plays gigs at and I had a real hamburger for the first time in a few months. A REAL hamburger. We went to Osakajo castle, which was quite impressive, and also to a ninja village out in the country (inaka) which was pretty much awesome (see the pictures, seriously). Steve played a gig in Osaka towards the end of the week, which was great. I hadn't seen him perform in several years, and he is just as amazing if not more than the last time I saw him. Come to think of it, I probably didn't appreciate his performance when last I saw him, because I was so young, but I was quite glad to see him play. The next day was my last day in the Kansai area (the area where Osaka and a few other big cities are) so we went to nearby Nara for some Okinomiyaki, and then Kyoto before I left. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of Kyoto, which is home to a million temples, shrines, and other beautiful/interesting things, but I figured it will give me something to see when I come back to Japan.
Thus concludes my first catch up entry, sorry for the lateness, I'll try and catch up by the end of the week.

Pictures:
Osaka
Ninja Village
Nara and Kyoto