Aoshima Kanko Hotel Miyazaki

... kurz ins Meer gesprungen und dann auch wieder raus. Aber vorher haben wir noch die Karte gesucht fuer unsere Wertsachenkoerbchen. Na ich bin gleich mal hingerannt und hab der erklaert das ich die karte verloren hab. Dann ist noch ein Typ dazugekommen und hat mit mir auf english geredet und gemeint, das ist nicht so tragisch. Dann will ich grad wieder gehen, seh ich das andi es gefunden hat. Aaa あったの&#12290 ; Gut dann ...

... anything to go by. DJ events, Live bands, Ladies Nights, Quiz Events and even Fish & Chips on the menu, its just like stepping back into a bar at home for a few hours, except that there are a great diverse crew of people there from all over the world who can give you the rundown on almost anything and everything thats happening around town. I was only in there for two nights but i really felt like a local with ...

So what do emergency brakes and a rental car have in common? It turns out you can't set the GPS on the rental car if the emergency brake isn't on. Try to figure out that one when all the instructions are in Japanese!! And then... try to find the emergency brake. When we first rented the little car we got the key turned... engine on.... controls figured out... and then ... whumph... you can't move when the brake is on so ...

... Hindu, Shinto or Christianity in various countries. We wondered what the capitol of Zambia looks like and now we know. Of course, I won't miss spending the majority of the day grinding up too big hills in granny gear wondering exactly why we decided to do this stupid old bicycle trip anyway. Or, worrying about where we were going to sleep tonight, will it have water or electricity or a toilet. Will it have all three ...

... into the 1.5 of daylight a guy pulls up in his extra large van (quite unusual for this part of the world, they all drive tiny cars and trucks) and asks if we could use a lift. Yes, please! After loading our junk in the back of his van, he explains that earlier he saw us grinding up yet another hill and though, "Gee, they are quite far from any hotels and I hope they aren't planing on camping in this rain." so ...

... a good place to camp. One aiming point is one of the the frequent road side rest stops which are marked on the map. The nice ones are big, have a nice set of rest rooms, and a big grassy picnic area etc. so would make a good camping site. Today at 5:25 and we arrive at the rest stop, still 6km from the camping area (also on the map), and it's getting dark fast, but this rest stop is small, nowhere to camp, so we press on. At least the rest stop big local area map also ...

... I toured 2 automotive parts manufacturers based here in Miyazaki. One factory was very typical of what I would expect to see in America. However, at the second factory, I walk up to the front of the building to see my name posted at the entrace. The president, GM and senior engineer talked to me and showed me around the factory ...

Unreal is only word I can use to describe the last 2 days. Just a hint: 3 days in Japan = 3 nights of Karaoke! We have been treated like rock stars since the day we arrived. 5-10 Japanese Rotarians are constantly shuffling us around to various sightseeing destinations. In 2 days I have learned how to perform Zen Buddhist Meditation Ceremony complete with punishment, visited ancient burial grounds, toured a Plasma TV factory, walked ...

... at themselves, they point to their nose. After several tense moments of conversation I figured out that everyone was not telling me that I had a big nose, but they were trying to tell me about themselves! My humor is hard to translate here. One of the translators was a fashion designer. I asked her if she could design a shirt that could me lose 10 pounds. She didn't laugh and said she would bring me a shirt later. . . Maybe she can! Have to run!

I spent my final day in Kagoshima being lazy - I needed a break from the perils associated with active volcanoes. Instead I just parked myself on a bench for a few hours and finished The Da Vinci Code, probably a couple of years after most people, but better late than never. Soon afterwards, it started raining and didn`t stop for the rest of the day, not that I minded as I`d already done my sightseeing...I just had a quiet evening at the ryokan ...