Hakata Green Hotel Tenjin Fukuoka

... presence by the locals was very evident everywhere that we went.

We will miss Okinawa and hope that perhaps someday we can return to visit again. It was well worth it to make the trip down to this place not only for the warm weather and the friendly people but also to learn that, where we come from in Canada, we haven't known (and hopefully will not know anytime soon) the horrors that the ancestors of the people we visited experienced and still feel the pain from today.

... of the Japanese Navy's main command posts during World War 2. What an interesting and spooky place this turned out to be. Two things really struck us. First of all, these tunnels were dug from the rock by hand using pick axes -- there are thousands of metres of tunnels here. Secondly, many military officers committed suicide here after it became apparent that the battle with the U.S. was lost. The scars from exploding hand grenades can still be seen in some of ...

... the US invasion forces landed near the end of the war. Apparently this was one of the most difficult and bloody battles of the Pacific War. It is hard to believe that this beautiful place was once a WW2 killing ground. Thousands of Americans died here and hundreds of thousands of Japanese died. I'm sure that the war memorials here will be very sobering.

It will definitely be an interesting couple of days.

... a stunningly hot day and the indoor area was air conditioned. After Shuri Castle, we went to Kokusai street in Naha City. This is a palm-lined street with tons of small souvenir shops, with a surfer atmosphere. I picked up quite a few gifts here! My favorite purchase was a red coral necklace for myself. The store's owner was so happy to see me for some reason that she gave me free shisa keychain. Riley was getting restless, so ...

... other fish was definitely a favorite. There was a diver in scuba gear cleaning the inside of the glass, so that was funny. Riley did not particularly care for the exhibits, but she did like running around.

Outside, we visited the turtle pools and the manatees, which were interesting because they were spacious and had cartoon character mascots (like most Japanese advertisements!) Our next stop was the native Okinawan village ...

... soorten! Lekker! Doe maar de eerste (goedkoopst dus waarschijnlijk gewoon lice) en de derde. Al met al heerlijk gegeten. Gelukkig was het meeste ook nog wel te bedenken wat het was. (tomaatje met bacon, kipgehaktballetjes -hoop ik-, kipstukjes afgewisseld met kraakbeen, zalm -of ander visje?-). Genoeg avontuur voor deze avond. Bij gebrek aan trams (de laatste om 23.11 uur) hebben we een taxi genomen. Over de automatische taxideuren had ik al geschreven ...

... school, which had all his money. After that, he drank Chris' water. Chris again, currently, Alice and I are waiting for our host student to finish their classes. Everyone else left because their junior high students. We are paired up with high school students. Ok! We're done now. We would like to shout out to all the HMS families. We hope to see you soon! See ya! Alice, Chris T.

... to avoid spreading germs while having a slight cold. No, it was to keep the face from drying out in the dry environment of an airplane. This mask did not cover only the mouth, it covered the entire face. In Japanese beauty shops, such masks can be bought. They are treated with some type of moistering agent, that keeps the skin moistened while in a dry environment, and prevents skin from wrinkling at an early age. This is how ...