All I can say is that despite the stupid actions taken by the leader of the nation to the south, he still managed to get re-elected. And I think that this is all I will say on the subject.

In other news...

We've been working a bit more lately in putting together an itinerary for our trip to Japan next Spring. Here's how it looks so far:

- Arrive in Tokyo and overnight there
- Travel to Kyoto and spend about 7-8 nights there
- Fukuoka for about 2 days
- Beppu for 2 nights
- Takayama for the Spring Matsuri
- Magome (and do the Magoma-Tsumago hike)
- Matsumoto for maybe 2 nights
- Return to Tokyo for remainder of the trip.

From the looks of the itinerary we will be covering quite a bit of ground. We will be making our way further south this time as well as checking out more of the interior and smalller cities/towns. It should be quite interesting. :-)