ANA Hotel Hakata Fukuoka

Here we go again, off to lands unknown (to us, anyway) with our lives stuffed into luggage. The last time we do this will not be too soon! I suppose it's the price of an adventurous lifestyle. <br><br>Speaking of which, we are currently in Nogata, Fukuoka which is probably the *least* adventurous town ever. It consists of rice fields and... rice fields. My grandparents live here though, and it's also where we ...

... for museums or exhibition halls in Tokyo the first week I arrived. Didn't find anything! I'm sure I must have just missed them somehow. Then in Osaka I heard about a robot place in Nagoya, but I'd already passed that town by and was nearing the end of my trip, so backtracking didn't fit the circumstances. Somewhat reluctantly, I resigned myself to not getting to see any of the famous Japanese robots... at least not on THIS trip, I consoled myself.<br><br>Then I saw it ...

... the islands separated and the strait was formed. Think Red Sea. Mojiko had strategic military importance, so it was the focus of several wars and fights over whether this part of Japan would be open to foreign trade (a theme that also affected Nagasaki and Kagoshima). Mojiko had an important role in the banana import market, which anyone who has seen melons selling for $10 to $50 in Japan's supermarkets will ...

... It's not my style, but I'm glad I got to see it. <br><br>The train trip between Saga and Karatsu was about a hour. There were a lot of students, in school uniforms, on the train, as well as an unusually high number of very elderly passengers. My guess is that this is a sign that this is a declining rural area--with an aging population and not enough school children to justify a school in every town. <br><br>A number of passengers were ...

We stayed in Fukuoka for one night as we were getting the Beetle at 9am in the morning from the port here. We knew it was a bit of a party town and had many street stalls so went out in the evening for a wander. We walked for miles but ended up back at the first street stall we saw as it had a good view and seemed busy enough that it was ok to eat in!! Sat down and got noodles as we couldn't decide ...

Naja gesehen haben wir sie noch nicht. Wir haben nur bemerkt, das hier die Leute nicht so freundlich sind. Andi hält einer die Tür auf (wartet extra auf sie ne halbe minute) und erntet nichtmal ein Kopfnicken... nani sore????<br>Schön sind die Frauen hier auch nicht dafür gibts hier Hostclubs und das einen nach den anderen und das für beider Geschlechter....Mal schauen ob ich morgen ...

... but spotlessly clean and with every inclusion you could ask for, including breakfast, all for $82 per night virtually next door to the train station, so we are not complaining. Leaves us enough money to justify the prices we will be paying to stay in the ryokans in the mountains later on in the trip. A short walk to the 7/11 for their suprisingly good sandwiches for dinner, and some instant noodles for the girls, and time to turn in for the night.

... vuelta a Fukuoka con una sonrisa en la cara. Nunca me ha atraído el lejano oriente. No me disgusta, ni mucho menos, es que simplemente no me interesa, y después de haber estado sigo con esa impresión. No creo que vuelva si de simple turismo se trata. Pero desde luego, ya que he tenido que ir, ha merecido la pena. Por suerte, se me ha cancelado el viaje a Boston la semana que viene, pero parece ser que de China en enero no me libro. Seguiré dando noticias. ¡Besos y abrazos!

... At the Busan ferry we were lucky enough to be just in time to catch the jet ferry to Fukuoka. We spent some time getting through customs and then boarded a relatively small ship, two stories housing about eighty passengers or so. At this point I should probably explain what a jet ferry is. A jet ferry doesn't just motor through the water, it hydroplanes on what looks like three fins. It moves very quickly and is a very smooth ride as well. It got us through the Sea of Japan in a ...

... in Indonesia. Last but not least, were five pictures which remain engrained in my memory. The pictures of his ancestral forefathers. Mr. Tanaka himself had been an Economist for Nippon Steel, later dispatched by Nippon Steel to represent the industrial sector in the government apparatus. His father, though, and his grandfathers, and their fathers and grandfathers had all been bankers. In fact, one member of the Tanaka family some 100 ...