Hello!~

I was busy getting ready for Germany. Today was my last day off before my flight.
The next few days I'll be busy at work and with other things that still need to be done, so this is very likely my last entry before I go back to Germany.
I'm getting a little bit excited.
However, the weather seems to be horrible back home at the moment. 12°C??!! That's over 20°C less than here in Japan!! (x__X'') ... better pack some winter stuff as well, huh? (o_o') ....

It will be a long flight. First time I'm going with Emirates!
I'll spend almost one whole day in Osaka (or maybe Kyoto) because my flight will be at midnight!
I've pretty much seen everything in and around those cities, including Nara, Kobe, Akashi, Uji, Iga Ueno etc.
Amanohashidate is yet on my list, but there's not enough time again!!
I might just go shopping in Osaka, but I'm more in the mood for sightseeing as I won't have any real summer vacation, including travelling, this year in Japan!
Any suggestions? Any events or festivals during the week? I couldn't find anything that is held during the week (and not on the weekend), but if you have any suggestions, also for sightseeing that doesn't include any of the things mentioned above and the major attractions in Osaka and Kyoto, let me know!

Actually I wanted to go to a small summer festival tonight with Japanese dancing and stuff, but it was cancelled.
This was like the only chance I had this year to actually attend a summer festival. Once I'm back in Japan, festival season is pretty much over.
Some of you asked for some summer festival photos. I'm sorry, but it seems like this year there won't be any ;__;
I also have never managed to see one of those awesome Japanese fireworks yet!!!
There might be a few chances once I'm back, so I'll try!!!

I wanted to post photos of the festival now, but as there was none, I'll post something else instead.
Last Sunday we had a BBQ at the seaside. Unfortunately my city is not close to the ocean, so we had to drive for over an hour, but it was totally worth it.



We were also super lucky with the weather, but just look and see yourself!
After rainy season all the plants and trees go boom and you get this very beautiful, strong green! Isn't it beautiful, especially in combination with the blue sky? ^-^



In front of a supermarket I thought I was dreaming, but it must be true: In Japan dogs drive, too!!!! XDDDD



And because it's so cute: zoOM!~



Finally arrived at the place. There were cute, painted stones ...



... and even cute wooden, self-made sculptures.



And such great weather! You can also camp there, go scuba diving, canoe riding and so on :)



The rules! XD And as is typical for Japan, explained with funny pictures.



We also took a short boat tour :)



You could say we wanted to escape from all the strange insects there!! (Just kidding .. XD)



There were a lot of super tiny islands, and I mean SUPER TINY!!







There were a lot of fishermen everywhere! They come with a boat like the one we took. The boat will throw them off at one of those super tiny islands and then they have to stay there until another boat comes to pick them up by the end of the day! XD
Well, at least that's a great place to escape to if you wanna be all by yourself, huh? :D





Arrived at quite some famous place with a few small caves in the huge rocks.





I really liked the color of the water there, too! (*____*)b



It was time to say goodbye to all the cute 'n tiny islands and FINALLY time for ...



.. BBQ!!!!! There was yummie meat, squid, shells and lots of vegetables. Really super delicious!



And eating while having such a great view is super nice anyways!! (*_*)



Very interesting small hut. Actually people stayed there! Well, most people are camping outside anyways, so this is luxus! XD
And I like how that old rotten tree is continued in the painting on the hut! :)



Cute little butterfly. This is like one of the very few butterflies I'm familiar with as we have them back home, too!
However, Japan has so many awesome and huge butterflies out there!! Have yet to catch one with my camera, though!



Found a starfish in the ocean!!! That one was upside down, though (T_T) ....



This one was not. So beautiful!



Completely random, but I liked the colors!



Uhm ... call me crazy, but that paving stone looks like an emoticon/smilie face, no??!! XDDDD


And that was my Sunday (last week). It was really nice and we were extremely lucky, because it started to get pretty cloudy, windy and rainy on our way back as a typhoon was approaching.
In the end it never hit us, but some other places in Japan.


Alright, that's it. Hope you enjoyed this entry although it wasn't about any Japanese summer festivals, but more about a typical Japanese summer activity.
Seeing all those scuba divers there makes me wanna try it, too!! (^-^'') .....

Gotta go to bed now. The next few days will be busy and then I'm already off to winter wonderland(?!) Germany! ...
I'm curious how much things have changed in the past few 2-3,5 years!
I wonder if I'll be able to properly speak German without getting it mixed up with any English or Japanese (probably not!).
I wonder if everything will be familiar or quite strange now that I've been away for such a long time.
I can't wait to eat certain food that is not available and that I've been craving for FOREVER!!! (*___*)


Probably see you on the other side of the world (more or less XD) next time!
This time I'll take my laptop with me, so it'll be easier to update (even with photos) - if I have time.

Thanks for reading and being patient lately!~