01.24.2007 2:18pm

I just uploaded all of the photos I've taken so far of my trip with Starr. So far, we've been:

January 16th to the 19th - Tokyo
January 20th - Nagoya
January 21st - Nara
January 22nd - Inuyama
January 23rd - Kyoto

and today is the 24th, but tonight and tomorrow afternoon we'll be in Osaka (Starr really wants to go to the aquarium) and on 26th at 11:00am we'll board our boat to China. We'll arrive on the 28th and then its on to Beijing for 3 or 4 days. Expect updates from China.

So far the trip has been fantastic. In Tokyo we went to the New York Bar in the Park Hyatt (where Lost in Translation was filmed), saw the Tsukiji fish market (the largest fish market in the world) and got sushi there right off the boat, saw the Todaiji (containing the largest Buddha in Japan), the deer, and some other temples in Nara, an original castle with a great view in Inuyama, temples in Kyoto, and we've been steady boozing in the meantime.

The deer in Nara were awesome, ((click here), mostly because they kept attacking Starr and I found it hillarious. Thank God they got their horns cut recently because they would have kicked her ass if they still had them. It was only because she had a handful of sembei and they were hungry, don't think its actually dangerous there. This was the first time I saw the deer bow too. Last time I wasn't sure if what I was looking at was the real thing, but if you put a handful of food out, they step into line and show some respect. Cute.

On our way to Kyoto we got separated which I also found pretty funny. We were on a slow train and switching to a fast one when Starr realized she left her camera on the last train. She paused for just a second, the doors closed, and I waved goodbye to her from inside the train. The look of absolute shock and horror in her face made it all worth it, but I just got off at the next station, Yasu, and waited for her slower train to show back up. I found her totally unconcerned, back in her seat with her camera.

We ran out of yen in Kyoto and were left with Starr's Bank of America card and my traveler's checks. We couldn't find anyone who would accept either one, so we had to figure out how we were going to eat dinner, maybe get some coffee, tickets back to Nagoya and booze for the ride on less than $10. It was pretty fun. We got some food off of the McDonald's dollar menu because it was all we could afford and walked across the whole city to Kyoto station so we could save enough money to get back on the train home. I was able to get my traveler's checks cashed in Kyoto station but it was pretty touch and go for a while there. It made me nervous but was fun just the same.

I hope to update this again before I get on a boat for China, but that might not happen. If not, expect the next post from Beijing. Love you all.