We're in Japan now. It is just as if I had never left in some ways. Prices are still pretty much the same, and the weather is rainy as always. All our old friends were still in Toyama, though some of my old teachers have been moved to new schools now. One of my teachers, Mrs. Akeno, is 5 months pregnant, so that is exciting.

We had the best weather of our trip in Kyoto, and now we are in Izumo, at my brother's apartment. We tried to go to the nearby city of Matsue today, but there were strong winds and rain, so our trip was a bit miserable. We did manage to find a nice little ramen place in the middle of nowhere, which was out bright spot in a rainy day. Matsue castle is nice. It looks small from afar, but is 6 stories high inside. It is one of only 12 remaining original castles in Japan. The rest were damaged in the war, torn down in the late 19th century, or burnt down in accidents. Many of the town castles, including Toyama's, are concrete reconstructions, which isn't so nice.

Tomorrow is my brother's wedding day. It sounds like it will be a busy day. Today seems to have been very stressful for Paul and Keiko, as there are many last minute things they have to do. Hopefully they will get everything done and still get a good night's rest. The rest of the family is cooking dinner tonight so they don't have to worry about food.

Unfortunately, the two weeks seem to be flying by, and we will be leaving Monday morning. It's a shame we have so many other wedding this year, because that meant we couldn't stay longer. At least we get to do a lot of world travel, though.