Spring break travels (part 1)

It's going to take hours (if not days) for me to upload photos, etc. from my trip, so here's the short version (part 1):

TOWADA (/HACHINOHE)
3/20 (Sun):
- picked up Jen, Syv & Justin from Misawa station in the afternoon
- we all go to the JTB in Towada to book train tickets for the rest of the trip
- head to Shimoda Jusco to kill some time before dinner
- chanko nabe dinner at Sumo Jaya Tsukimitei　(相撲茶屋月見亭）

 3/21 (Mon):
- stopped off at the Towada Museum of Folklore & History（十和田湖民俗資料館）/Former Kasaishi Family Residence (heritage house)（旧笠石家住宅） on the way to...
- Oirase Gorge　（奥入瀬渓流） & Lake Towada （十和田湖）
- lunch at the restaurant (千の花)at the Towada Chamber of Commerce & Industry (商工会議所)
- Towada Art Center (十和田現代美術館)
- Towada Jusco (ate taiyaki, shopped for breakfast, bought snacks, etc.)
- yakiniku dinner at Gyu Kaku （牛角）

3/22 (Tue):
- short visit to my base school, Kirita JHS　（切田中学校）; they toured the school and helped two students practice for their Canada home stay interviews
- visit to my office; they met my supervisor, Kacho, Hosa, Maita-Kyoikucho, most of the other Shidoka teachers as well as fellow BOE ALTs
- met up with M-san and we all went for super fresh and delicious kaiten sushi (八食市場寿司) at the Hachinohe Hasshoku Center （八食センター）
- went to the ferry wharf to see the sea (there were a bunch of cows in trucks waiting to be transported somewhere, so it was a weird juxtaposition of sea sounds and cows mooing...)
- my (and Jen, Syv & Justin's) first onsen experience at a rotenburo (outdoor/open-air bath) at Yakeyama (野の花焼山荘); I'm still not an onsen "convert" but since it was just the three of us in the girl's side, it was nice to get some "girl time" ^_^
- horse meat nabe and sashimi dinner at Kicchou (吉兆）
- last trip to Towada Jusco to pick up breakfast and train food/snacks for their 3/23 morning departure for Tokyo

OSAKA/KYOTO/HIMEJI/KOBE
3/28 (Sun):
- arrived in Osaka in the early afternoon, and after checking into our hotel, hit up the Osaka Museum of History （大阪歴史博物館）
- walked around Osaka Castle (大阪城) and had takoyaki from one of the vendors just outside the castle
- okonomiyaki dinner at the  BOTEJYU Dotonbori Head Restaurant (ぼてぢゅう総本店）
- walked around Dotonbori （道頓堀) before heading back to the hotel

3/29 (Mon):
- headed out for Kyoto first thing in the morning
- weirdest weather ever: occasionally sunny, cloudy, rainy and snowy! 
- went to Kinkakuji aka the Golden Pavilion （金閣寺） and Kiyomizudera (清水寺) by bus 
- had a quick lunch at Kyoto Station before heading to Fushimi-Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) by JR train
- back to Kyoto Station for souvenir shopping (which turned into a bit of a tea tasting) and another quick dinner in the station before heading back to our hotel (in Osaka)

3/30 (Tue):
- headed out to Himeji Castle (姫路城) first thing in the morning; we were really lucky as the weather was gorgeous (sunny and cool) and we made it before: a) the main tower was covered by a giant tent for renovations (starting in April 2010); and b) before the masses of people arrived (when we left, it was a 30min wait to get to the admission gate, and another 90+min wait to get inside)
- bought bento lunches to eat in a nearby park
- took a bus and a cable car ride up to Mt. Shosha (書写山) to see Shoshazan Engyoji, (書寫山圓教寺) a temple complex where parts of The Last Samurai (as well as various Japanese period dramas) were filmed
- since it was on the way back to Osaka, we stopped in Kobe for dinner; Justin stopped a random guy on the street near Sannomiya Station so we (I) could ask for a recommendation for a good but not too expensive Kobe beef restaurant and he directed us to Steak Land Kobe (ステーキランド神戸)
- it was still fairly expensive (around 5000-6000 yen) but much cheaper than the starting at 8000yen place the Lonely Planet Japan guide recommended (the guy on the street also mentioned a couple of 10,000yen places before he remembered Steak Land...)
- we were all pretty much in a "meat coma" after dinner, so it was straight back to the hotel without any further sightseeing/souvenir shopping, etc. in Kobe