Golden week is a big holiday over here.  The official holidays were the 29th, 3rd, and 6th but i took another 3 days and had about 10 days off.

I left April 25th from Funabashi on the night bus to Osaka.  The bus is only 5000 yen (about $60) but you have to put up with things like narrow seats and a fat guy who snores beside you.  But I got there in one piece.

Had a good time visiting Yukis family and friends.  Made my first visit to Nara.  Interesting place; the first big city in Japan and for some reason there are deer running around everywhere.  Saw a lot of temples and castles and visited with Yuki's friends.

Other places we visited over the holiday included Kobe, Himeji and Osaka.  Himeji has a beautiful castle that we will probably take everyone who is coming to the wedding to.  We weren't able to go inside because it was closed when we arrived but it is supposed to be the best example of a real Japanese castle in the whole country.  Plus there is a sake factory nearby and maybe we can go for a tour!  Yuki's sister had a baby boy so we also spent some time in Osaka visiting at the hospital.  

We really enjoyed the holiday and we are looking forward to moving down to that area in the summer. 

Although our wedding will take place on August 31st, we officially recorded our marriage on May 3rd.  Why so early?  I wanted Yuki to come with me to Funabashi until my job finishes and the only way she could come was if she got married (Dad's orders).

The bus ride home was not as bad. Probably because Yuki was in the chair beside me, not the fat snoring man.