The Galluccis came, the Galluccis went...

For the first time in my life, I was going to be out of the country for Christmas this year. I can only imagine how depressing it would have been if my family hadn't come here! Both my parents and my sister arrived at 10:00 pm on Friday Dec 23rd, and left January 3rd.

(By the way the picture above is me with my family and Mrs. Kamogawa. She has been invaluable in helping me make travel arrangements, mail packages, and make puchases on the internet. She studied abroad in Alaska for a little while. Many thanks to her!)

We had a blast! (And definitely pushed the boundaries of my little house to its limits.) We traveled a lot around Nagasaki Prefecture, and Fukuoka City. (Which included much driving). Then we all flew to Osaka for a 2 day layover's worth of sightseeing. Some of the highlights include:

Going to a Dutch-themed amusement Park for Christmas Day.

Attending Catholic Mass on Hirado Island.

All singing "White Christmas" during the Karaoke portion of my school's end of the year party.

Seeing the Nagasaki Peace Park and surrounding bay area.

Shopping in the Sasebo arcade, and eating very spicy Indian Food.

Climbing the tallest mountain in Hirado around sunset on New Year's Eve. (Incidentally the furthest west you can go in Japan without having to take a boat).

Playing Jenga and watching wacky Japanese TV on Ikitsuki at CJ's house for New Year's countdown.

Almost being homeless in Osaka for 2 days.

Climbing the Garden Observatory Building (or whatever it's called) and seeing Osaka by night.

Mom finally being able to go into something because it wasn't closed for the New Year (We went up Osaka Castle).

A very expensive cab ride to the airport.

Me taking the "Slow-Boat" back to Fukuoka.


So, without further ado, the pics! If one strikes your fancy, click on it... You'll get a bigger, brighter, more detailed version!

These were all shot with my Sony V1, but I'm going to look through my parents pics to see what I want to post.

The first picture I took of my family. On Christmas day, we go visit a Buddhist Temple. Go figure...



Madeline standing next to "jizo". They are memorials erected for children that have died. Of course Madeline didn't know that, so she gave them a quizzical look. Thanks Madeline... ;)



I think Mrs. Kamogawa took this one and the next.



We all got up and sang "White Christmas". Everyone complimented us on our excellent English pronunciation.



This is the smaller (and at that time, closed) castle in the area of northern Kyushu. The girls in the picture are the perfect example of winter style in Japan. Fairly short skirts, boots, and a sort of wool trench. Seriously, everyone has these.



Madeline being goonie on the Karatsu beach wave breakers.



I was able to sneak a picture of this girl in a kimono at the Nagasaki Peace Park. In front of the group is a place where people bring thousands of cranes to wish for peace.



This obelisk is at the epicenter of where the A-bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Pretty powerful.



We took a glass elevator all the way up this building and then went across a giant escalator to get to the top. The view of the city from up there was fantastic. You can see the escalators if you look carefully. They are the two cross pieces shaped like a "V" at the top near the circle.



View from the top. This is the best of many tries, and I still got some glare from the window.



Madeline in front of Osaka Castle.



Emperor and Empress Gallucci.



I thought the bathroom of our hotel in Osaka was so cool. I had Madeline come and stand in the tub so I could get some fun pics.



I took this in the cab on our way to Kansai Airport to see my parents off. The sun was just beginning to set behind Osaka's heavy industries.


-Well, that's all for now. I have some other waaaaaay outdated pics that I still need to post if I can get around to it. Dorothy is coming in 3 days, so you can bet that I'll be posting lots of pictures when she gets here.