Here are some photos from my winter vacation in Japan. My trip ended up taking 18 days and I visited Hiroshima, Miyajima, Okayama, Himeji, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and surrounding areas. I stayed for 8 days of the trip with my friend Yuko's family in Himeji. I took many day trips from Himeji and spent the new year with her mother's parents close to Himeji. During the first week of January I departed from Himeji and travelled through Shikoku to Matsuyama. I stayed two days in Matsuyama and then travelled to Beppu and Oita, afterwhich I returned safely and happily to Kumamoto. The vacation was very nice and I am looking forward to my spring vacation to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia in March. I also hope to take another trip in summer before I return to America. If possible, I plan to travel around the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions for a few weeks.

Since I have returned to Kumamoto I have been studying hard for final exams which are coming up in about a month. I have two kanji classes which are a lot of work but are by far my favorite classes. This semester alone I will have tackled over 500 kanji most of which are new to me. Very difficult but also very enjoyable for me since I love kanji.

Overall, things are going very well for me here. I like Kumamoto, love the food here, and I feel like I am keeping a decent balance between study and recreation. There are often small trips and events organized for the exchange students which are both very inexpensive and quite enjoyable. For example, last Friday we took a day trip to a katana-maker's home north of Kumamoto. He showed us his shop and we spent the day learning about the process of sword-making from him. Also, next month there is a 2-day trip to Kita-Kyushu and Yamaguchi ken. There have also been excursions to Aso-zan (which is acting up right now and at a danger level of 3) and Nagasaki.

I will keep in touch periodically.

Take care,
Ryan