Time goes so fast when you're having fun...(Sian)

It has been so long since we last wrote!
We tried to post the other day but the computer crashed and all of our entry was lost!
Hey ho.
Well, since we last added an entry it has been Karaoke, Karaoke and more Karaoke! Emma, Steve and I all have sore throats now.
If you are interested, our itinery has been this...
2nd April we left Tokyo for a town near Odawara where we could see mount Fuji. Kaoru's boyfriend, Gareth was a brilliant host, he got us involved in a traditional Shinto/Buddhist festival. The festival involved many villagers dressed in judo suits and carrying around a very heavy wooden shrine for the day. Luckily stops were made at regular intervals and we all managed to drink Sake from 9am until 4pm. Steve and Gareth had to carry the shrine for a while, whilst Emma, Kaoru and I joined in with the chant of Otsui and Yeysha... (it didn't make any sense to us either!). In the afternoon after the shrine carrying Emma and I got a taste of the Japaneese sea side and managed to have a quick paddle in the sea. The evening was taken up with a trip to the local spa. Boys and girls were seperated we all got naked and went in Jacuzzi's and lovely warm bath tubs. Once I had got over being a prude I really enjoyed it. Emma and I giggled at ourselves, lying naked on some bamboo, outside in Japan! Who would have thought it!
4th April we took the Shinkansen train for approximatley 8 hours along the length of Japan to Nagasaki. The city whose nucleur Bonb blast ended the second world war. The city was interesting, we strolled around the peace park and took a look in at the atomic bomb museum which was very informative. I was shocked to see how many atomic bombs are still held by countries around the world. Hadn't thought too much about the implication of the cold war, but now I can see why it was so important.
Emma, Steve and I had fun in an Indian resturant and made full use of the hotels dressing gowns, attempting to dress up as geisha, but failing rather badly!
6th April we left Nagasaki for Hakata, a funky vibrant city with lots of fashion shops and Karaoke bars. Emma and I booked in to a capsule hotel just for ladies, which left steve to book in to a hotel on his own. Before taking up residence in our 'pods,' we enjoyed a 2 hour session of Karaoke... it was brilliant! The ladies hotel was rather sweet, we wondered around in our pink dressing gowns safe in the knowledge that men were not alowed in! We also had full use of the spa facilities, which was a lovely way to wind down after a day sight seeing. The actual capsule was really tiny, the length of a bed and just tall enough to sit up in. It was a bit like an enclosed bunk bed with a TV at the end. Unfortunatley they were not very comfortable to sleep in. The aircon was up really high and we had very little ventilation in our pods. Still it was a great experience.
7th April we left Hakata for a quick Shinkansen ride to Hiroshima. I had learned so much about Hiroshima at school, so it was weird to actually be there. In the sight of the bomb blast is a dome, a world heritage sight to comemerate those who lost their lives and a reminder to all of us about the dangers of atomic bombs. The peace park was lovely and quiet with lots of cherry trees in bloom. We hit another Karaoke bar in the evening, this time we were spoiled with Hello Kitty Karaoke... Brilliant. We also got to taste some local sashimi delights, Emma being the brave one ate the innards of a clam which apparently tasted like egg! We also tried Whale, not sure if I would eat it again, but as it was served to us we thought we might as well try it. Although it played on my morals a bit, especially knowing that Whales are an endangered species.
8th April MY BIRTHDAY!!
Back to Kyoto for Steve and I. It is good to be back in a city and know our way around... sort of. We took Emma to Gion which was much busier than it had been just a couple of weeks ago. We managed to see 4 Meiko this time, 2 were standing on the street, amongst a croud of tourists. Kyoto is now in full cherry blossom bloom and it is wonderful to see it.
We had another mega Karaoke evening to polish of the day. This time we sang for 6 hours! I didn't even know we knew that many songs! Still at 16 quid with an all you can drink deal, who were we to say no...
9th April, an early start considering the late Karaoke session, but it feels good to be up and out. We visited the Niho-Jo Castle, a 16th century affair which reminded us of Kill Bill.
We leave Emma today. I can't beleive our time in Japan has gone so fast, this time tomorrow we will be on our way to Australia.