Gorinnka Yufu

... journey, partly to review my course in Japanese and extract the verbs and vocabulary needed for the tasks of travel, and mostly because I loved this ryokan with its old wooden buildings looking like samurai houses and stone lanterns and paths through plantings, and lit torches at night.

... of the walking tour are the ruins of Usuki castle. The moat and the steps leading up to the grounds of the former castle are the main attraction here. As we ascended the steps leading to the empty ground my friend taught me a wish making tradition. There was a wooden mon, or gate, along the stairwell. If wishmakers can throw a stone up and have it land upon the top of the gate without falling their wish will come true.

My stone landed upon the gate at my third throw.

... colorful sky-high portable shrines carried during the Hita Gion Festival and Kangien (a progressive educational institution that produced some of the famous personalities in Japanese history and was run by the ancestors of the current Oita governor).
The hotel itself looks out on to Mikuma River and offers a variety of plans for rest, relaxation, meals, and best of all the yakata-bune which is a traditional river boat with tatami mats and ...

... Ski Tournament is held here in the fall. But dont let the word "Aqua Park" fool you. Its basically just a floating raft on the water where local surfer types hang out. They all seemed pretty absorbed in getting their own turn at wakeboarding that it would be really hard for a someone just passing by to get a real chance without a reservation. Plus at 3000yen ($30 for 15minutes) its not exactly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Im ...

... negruzca y charcos amarillentos en su centro. El siguiente era mas imprisionante aun: habia una especie de lago con agua de color azul turquesa, del que emanaba vapor constatemente. Este era el "humo" que habiamos visto la noche anterior. No habia lava como yo me esperaba, pero aun asi me gusto. Habia carteles advirtiendo a los asmaticos que no se acercaran. Una guia japonesa que trabaja en la zona y nos dio un poco de conversacion nos conto que habiamos tenido ...

... verde brillante. Precioso.
Espero que manana haga un dia soleado para sacar buenas fotos de los alrededores.
A las 9 de la noche ya estabamos cenadas, duchadas y leyendo un libro (o escribiendo en el portatil).
Oh! Las almohadas tienen dentro lo que parecen al tacto pistachos. Nicola pensaba que eran habas, pero sonaban como pistachos. En el otro hostal en Kawaguchiko, las almohadas tenian dentro algo que parecia arroz. Total, como les sobra....

... called for an interview. Remember this is your personal marketing document we are taking about; it needs to stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. So if you are applying for a job outside of a country with your native tongue, it is important that you seek professional help for the translation of your CV. Even if you have a relatively good grasp of a language it still comes highly advisable that you hire a professional ...

Beppu

After an exhausting few days at Fukuoka, I decided to head to a more relaxed sort of place. I headed to Beppu, which is basically a touristy sort of town/city built on hot springs. When I first go to Beppu, I wondered why I had came for. It seemed a place for couples. Not really a place to meet people. Not because the place was bad in anyway. It was more that, the thing to do in Beppu is go to Onsens (public baths) and to do that you have to get ...

... hour and half in a loud (and probably obnoxious to the other patrons) conversation. Despite the little time here and a light rain in Beppu (the first of the trip), the bath and food made my experience here rather nice, especially since I worried it was all neon and no substance. Maybe it would be in the day or on a weekend, but right now it fit just right.

And now I'm really tired, so I'm off to bed. Next up is Tsuwano--small town culture in Shimane-ken.

-mike

... one active volcano in the area - with the idea that we'll walk around its crater before heading back down. Unfortunately - due to volcanic activity - the crater is not the safest place to be that day so we just decide to walk down from the top - about a 3 hour jaunt. Again the views are great and despite the snow storm the previous night, the day is warm and clear. We decided to try and take a short cut through the woods, lost our bearings ...