Hakata Guran Suisho Hotel Fukuoka

... ducks that were living in the carp pond. It is amazing how sometimes the simplest things can bring the greatest pleasure -- I really enjoyed feeding those animals.

We then proceeded to the ocean and a cliff-filled area known as Manza-mo. There were some spectacular sights here. It was a very windy and rainy day but this did not dull the spectacular view. No wonder this was a favourite place of Ryukyu kings.

The Churaumi Aquarium was indeed a sight to ...

... was only completed during the early 1990's. This was another interesting spot to take in. Okinawa was for centuries influenced by both China and Japan. Before becoming a vassal of feudal Japan, Okinawa was largely a vassal of Imperial China. The influence of both cultures can be seen in the castle -- there is definitely lots of Chinese influence here from the layout to the colours.

The Gyokusendo Cave was another stop along the way. Unfortunately I don't ...

... 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.

On Sunday, we woke up early again to drive to Shuri Castle, down in Naha. Shuri Castle today is a recreation from memory of the 14th century castle that was destroyed during the battle of Okinawa. Chinese envoys used to come to the castle to crown the Ryukuan king, and there are many portraits and artifacts from these kings inside. You have to take off your shoes to walk around in the museum. We were happy to do so, since it ...

... not just Okinawa but many other Pacific islands such as Micronesia, the Philippines, Tonga, and Yap. There were a lot of really cool things to see there, like the stone money tablets of Yap and recreations of ancient fishing vessels. I was mad that there was no gift shop! After that, it was still hot out and we came across a flat fountain with a water show. Riley went over to investigate and got nailed in the face by a jet of water ...

... but we did snag some Anpanman gummies.

When we got home, it was definitely Riley's bedtime, but then Mom, Julia, and I watched UP!, which I got for about 90 cents in Beijing. It worked, but since it is such a new movie, of course it was bootlegged and thus had a laugh track from the movie theater and also some of the writing was in Russian. It was still a good movie though. Afterwards, I fell asleep in about a second, despite this really not very action-packed day.

... toilets of any shopping centre I've seen. So much so that I had to get a photo. The other exception was the fast food chain Wendy's. Far from the Australian Wendy's franchise, this one is like a hungry jacks, but the burgers were absolutely fantastic. Veronica described it as the best burger she has ever had, which I had to agree with. I tried Mos burger yesterday, and it was ok ...

... lo que parece una competición para ver quién hace mayor número de reverencias o quién se agacha más bajo. Ya me he acostumbrado a saludar así también, a inclinar la cabeza y la espalda numerosas veces. Lo que no he cogido muy bien aún es cuántas veces es necesario, y parece que depende de la situación y de la persona con la que estás hablando. El otro día, saliendo de una tienda en la que habíamos comprado algo, el tendero nos acompañó a la puerta e hizo un perfecto ...

... things are always better when they are not planned or expected" It was GREAT! While in Japan, I actually did miss Korea though. That was a weird feeling. I missed hearing Korean. I finally got used to hearing Korean, and now I had to get used to another language. When I got back to Korea, I wanted to be back in Japan. I had no desire to go to work on Thursday. Thank goodness it was a short week and Friday came. Saturday I had to go to this MANDATORY orientation. It was supposed to be ...

... was standing around somewhere and waving his magic wand, making the buses fly through the air and land softly on the street below. That was really the best explanation that I could come up with. That just had to be the way that the Japanese handled this problem. The other theory that I thought about, that they would just let the buses circle down on a circular road to street level, was out of the question, as all the ...