I don't post much these days, although I do still read through the comm MB. I've managed to keep in contact with a few of you, especially those in England and a few of you here in the States... facebook tends to be the place I see everyone. So I wanted to peek out of hiding and say hello!

Also, I'm headed to Japan on Monday. I'll be doing volunteer work in Ofunatu to help with tsunami cleanup. There are no words for how excited I am to get to be doing this; the way everything has been falling into place is truly amazing! There is still so much to do... and I leave Monday morning.

My purpose for posting: If there are any of you out there who have some practical advice about trains and buses in Japan, particularly through northern Honshu, I would LOVE to pick your brains! The shinkansen lines are all but destroyed between Tokyo and Ofunatu, so it will have to be trains and buses to my destination. I'm completely at ease with subways/the Tube/undergrounds; trains I'm okay with, but buses give me pause. Ultimately, both time AND cost need to be considered. So I feel a little ill-equipped for deciding, as I don't know much about the transport systems in Japan. Any help would be wonderful!

And on that note, I'll quietly slip back into the shadow.