Comfort Hotel Hakata Fukuoka

... an hour's walk, maybe longer. Thanks to computer mapping, I have a good map of the route, including the locations of convenience stores along the way. Hasami is a town where there's a company, Hakusan, that makes pottery in modern designs.

... the other stuff was!! But glad we did as it was the best noodle soup we have had all trip. Then we decided to be brave and order some other little bits - Rob ordered some chicken skewers, which although this is what it was, we had no idea what part of the chicken it was from as it was hard and crunchy!!!! Lesley then pointed at a few things that could not be identified but thought it might be ...

... Pilzen cremig und mit Fleisch das einen Fettrand hatte, aber sehr dünn geschnitten war - ich tippe mal auf Schwein oder Rind - aber nachdem es andi probiert hat und meinte man schmeckt das Fett nicht hab ichs auch probiert und es war echt sehr sehr gut und man konnte kein fett schmecken...) echt lecker sowas. Der Hauptgang war auch sehr lecker aber der maguru bleibt unvergesslich ^_°

... their geography and their language.
They developed complex social skills with many moral obligations both from their isolation and the influence of Confucianism.

The best thing I discovered about Japanese: their profound sense of service. If you ask them about finding a specific store for example they will not let you down until they help you figure out where it is. Even if it involves speaking on the phone with 3 different people.

15/07/2009 Fukuoka matsuri - Mijayima island

Fukuoka
Nos levantamos a las 4 de la manana para llegar a la calle en el distrito de Hakata donde se celebraba el festival (matsuri en japones).
El festival consistia en grupos de hombres cargando carrozas de diferentes dioses en los hombros y llevandolas a otro lugar de la ciudad, a 5km. Los dioses representados en las carrozas tenian caras de enfado y algunas echaban humo. La ultima carroza fue la mejor ...

... After going around some stores in the Tenjin Area, I decided to go to Canal City. Canal City is basically a mall. I bought a few things in one of the stores, then headed downstairs to find a water show going on. It was pretty neat. I then turned around to see a Wendy's and a KFC, felt like home. I decided to get a taste of America, since I havent been back to the states in about a year and had some Wendys, boy did it ...

... very busy intersection, busy with people that is. Another day in Tokyo I just relaxed. The third day in Tokyo I took the shinkansen to Utsunomiya and from there a local train to Nikko. In Nikko there was a bit of a drizzle, but apart from that is was quite nice, although the sights were temples and shrines again. The smaller ones were the nicest ones here. After Nikko I went the same way back and in Tokyo I already booked a bus ticket for the day after to Mount Fuji ...

... menu full of drinks, but all we saw was this fruity cocktail ****. So we tried showing her the word in Sarah's phrasebook, but it merely produced the same result. I'm not exactly sure why this happened, but when I looked up sake on the internet, it said something about the word having a slightly different meaning in Kyushu (this is the island to the south of Japan and where Fukuoka is situated). Anyway, after settling for the menu, we picked the only clear-looking drink and ...

... crane alighted from the bushes and glided to the pond's center, where it stayed a rock for awhile. I took a lot of pictures. Finally it flew further into the gardens, and from there away and out into the lake. I liked the place a lot, though Josh said that it was a little artificial for his tastes due to the paved paths and occasional gazeboed bench areas for couples. We asked directions from the garden's ticket lady to the castle ruins and she told us the way. As we left I said 'kirai ...

... about 2 hours. How is work going? Is Susan already staying with you? I am sorry the Marathon event did not turn out the way Miki had expected, but it is hard if you do not know a language at all in a foreign country. Just imagine what it would be like for me to walk around Fukuoka without knowledge of this language. Impossible. And then to do business here? Well, I need to go ...