Chisun Inn Kagoshima

... the one hand, this is a very beautiful place with friendly people and very nice, warm weather. The culture here is indeed more laid-back and is noticeably different from the mainland. People just act different here yet it is still Japan. On the other hand, this is a somewhat sad place where the weight of history and the hideous events of nearly a century ago still linger in the hearts and minds of the inhabitants. In addition, the resentment over the continued U.S ...

... been conscripted to work as nurses for the military hid in caves during the U.S. assault on the island. Unfortunately, these young girls were told by the Japanese military at the time that they should be wary of surrendering to the U.S. forces. The girls would not come out of their cave hiding place and the U.S. soldiers were unfortunately forced to gas them out, killing them.<br><br>Taking a tour like this is a very sobering experience. On the one hand, you ...

Today we arrived at Naha City in Okinawa. We flew from Tokyo in an ANA 747. It has bee a really long time since I've flown in a 747 and (other than landing which I hate with a passion) it was a pleasure. The service on ANA is impeccable and the 747 (despite Airbus' development of the A380) is still the granddaddy of all airplanes. It was a pleasure to once again be on a 747.<br><br>Upon disembarking from the ...

... did all of our shopping in fast forward. On our way home, we stopped at the military exchange, the small American-style mall on base. My mom and I went inside to buy silk robes, like the one Julia gave me for Christmas. We also got books for our respective plane rides, and then went to dinner at Macaroni Grill nearby. It was absolutely delicious, and Riley was very funny. While Julia packed at home, my mom and I took Riley ...

... we saw how Okinawans lived in the past (obviously). The Okinawans lived in squat wooden houses on shelly lawns. What's interesting about this island is that it was not always a part of Japan- that only happened in the last century. It had its own special Ryukuan culture, as evidenced by many things around the island that are different from Japan's other islands. One of Okinawa's most special features is the shisa dog. Shisa dogs are ...

... to the car, it stopped raining, of course. Obviously after all of that I needed a nap, so I took one up in the guest room. When I woke up, we had an excellent dinner of pasta and root beer floats before heading to the mall. The Okinawan mall was different than other malls I've seen, with a more open floor plan while still having sort of individual shops. Right as we walked in there was a cartoon animal to ride on, which Riley saw and immediately wanted, so we had problems ...

Thursday morning marked my third location change of the trip. My 1:30 PM flight meant that there was not a whole lot we'd be able to do before I had to go, so Natalie and I decided to check out the Harbor City Mall again. After a repeat of breakfast at Starbucks, we headed over to the entrance from yesterday. Or so we thought. Apparently this mall is so huge that we were able to wander for an hour, through a luxury brand ...

... Park, so we played on the playgrounds there and worked up a sweat. After that we headed over to Araha beach to cool off and end our fun day by eating Ramen at the beach. We had fun even though it didn't work out how we planned. Other than that we hung out and have sent a few emails to Trevor. We get to talk to him on the computer here and there, but mostly it is just me that gets to talk to him unless he gets a day off. I hope you enjoy!

... to work out how to put pics on web for you all. Seems to be a Tiffany's in the most obscure places of Japan - local shopping ...

... flattened a deer that subsequently came flying towards our faces! We had time to visit the beautiful Furosato Onsen on the way back to the ferry terminal, which was in a gorgeous location overlooking the ocean, before I said goodbye to Tatsu, who had been an absolute star. We exchanged email addresses and he said to contact him if I ever needed any help or a place to crash, and I may take him up on the offer if I don`t manage to find a job before my money runs out!