after spending a week in the Kansai region with 7 other friends - 2 guys and 6 girls. Its the first time that Ive travelled with a proper backpack and roughed it out in low-budget inns, but I had a great time.
We left on a Tuesday evening and caught the night bus (bullet train too expensive), arrived in Kyoto at 7am. Ive always wanted to visit Kyoto because Ive read so much about it. We visited old Japanese castles, monuments and were constantly on the move. In the evenings wed be so exhausted, wed pass out and be out again by 9am for another round of touring. I even spotted some real geisha, it was great! After 3 nights in Kyoto, we headed off to Nara just for a day and visited the largest Buddha monument in Japan, made of bronze and gold plated. Theres a small hole in a wooden pillar through which people try to squeeze through because its supposed to give you enlightenment, so mostly just kids and skinny people squeeze through. The two guys I was with, bugged me to go through it, and after many an attempt, I made it, it was quite fun! A bit embarrassing too, since all these people were watching. hehe
After that we headed to Osaka and spent 2 nights there. Its a huge city, it actually seemed bigger and busier than Tokyo! People there seem to love to shop and go out! We also went on the biggest ferris wheel in the world, and got a great view of the Osaka harbour.
And to think I almost backed out of the trip at the last minute 
Pics…maybe Ill show them in the near future.