I just spent the past two days on a beach! Not what we planned for when mapping out our trip to Japan, but no complaints here.

From Nagoya we took a plane to the main island of Okinawa, then another flight to Ishigaki-jima, then we hopped a ferry to Iriomote-jima, a remote jungle island where John and I did some snorkeling a year ago. Because I didn’t bother to bring my contacts to Japan, the snorkeling was a little blurry for me this time, but still a lot of fun. I spent more time lying in the sand (with plenty of shade and sunblock), reading my book and listening to the ocean. I also met some new friends!

This is Dwight. He was pretty shy, but I thought he had a lovely shell.

Next I met Fusako-san. She crawled around on John’s hand for a while, before falling off the edge. (She was fine.)

This is Goro, who wasn’t shy at all. I loved his beady little eyes.

Then we have Chibi, who was almost the tiniest crab we found. (Photographed on John’s index finger.)

And finally, Stripy-kun! Who was very stripy.

All of these guys were extremely friendly and graciously tolerated our poking them and turning them upside down, so I think I’m over my fear of hermit crabs. They’re just too cute to be afraid of.

Now we’re back in Tokyo for the night, and tomorrow we return to the states. I really feel like I just got here, but surely it won’t be so long before I’m back for another visit. I’ve also got plenty of more photos to share once I return!

Yesterday was a little surreal. I’m sorry to say that Bonney was not feeling well, and she needed to go home to New Hampshire early from Japan. We were disappointed that she couldn’t make it through the rest of the trip, but when you’re feeling bad and in a foreign country, the only thing you want is to go home.

So Bonney went home, and she was happy to do so. There are a lot of things in Japan that I’m sad she’ll have missed (like craft stores!), but I’m certain she has lots of memories even from her short time here that will last her a lifetime.

We ended up leaving Kyoto a day early, and heading to Nagoya today (where there is an international airport). Nagoya is usually skipped by tourists, but John and I lived in this city for a year after college, so it’s a little like home to us. It’s actually a pretty nice city—not as intimidating as Tokyo, but still a relatively happening place.

We took it easy for most of the day after going to the airport, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a Sega center next door to our hotel, and we went out for some crane game fun after dinner. With much success!

Rirakkuma is a popular prize in “UFO catchers,” as they’re called. We already have tons of these little bears at home, but you can never have too many pancake-eating stuffed bears, I say.

John won a Rirakkuma with a chef’s hat and utensils and a Rirakkuma wearing a scarf. He also won me a white one who’s holding a sandwich. Too cute!

(He wants me to mention that he didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before, and that’s why he’s a little less than photogenic in these pics.)

And remember these guys?

We now have more little plastic tofu blocks than we know what to do with, so enter the photo contest this summer and you might win some.

Bonney, if you’re reading this, we miss you and we hope you’re feeling better once you get home. We will be trying our best to have lots of fun for you in Japan!

I had underestimated the traditional ryokan we’re staying at in Kyoto. Free wireless internet for all!

To get here, we took the bullet train, the highlight of which was bento boxes. Here is Bonney with hers before digging in. (I haven’t gotten her permission to use this photo, but I’m going to anyway because I think it’s great.)

We could identify about half of its contents before she ate it, and two-thirds after. (Mine was a vegetable bento, and much less mysterious.)

Once in Kyoto, we reached our ryokan by cab. The driver turned out to be a plush toy lover!

He was an older man, and hard of hearing, and that made the plush fandom even more endearing.

The place we’re staying is within walking distance of Maruyama Koen and Kiyomizudera, so that was our outing for the day. Both are extremely popular destinations, and the crowds were pretty incredible. But we had much fun browsing the souvenir shops that lined the steep streets heading up to the temple. For myself, I picked up the most adorable mousey!

It’s made from kimono fabric, though I can’t recall what this type of craft is called. (Any help?) There were lots of reeeally cute toys like these, and it was hard to resist buying more. There’s a whole museum/shop devoted to them somewhere in the city that I stumbled upon once. I’m not having any luck locating it again, so I guess I’ll just hope that I’ll have the good fortune to find it by chance.

Maybe a pic or two of the hundreds of temples and shrines in this city will make it into my post tomorrow.