Hotel Jal City 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。 ; Gut dann ...

I spent a great couple of nights last weekend at THE BAR. Its a bar in Miyazaki above the Pauls Smith Clothes shop not far from the main Miyazaki Station.�@The owner, Sean, from New Zealand has a great little establishment there. Its only been open for less than a year but its the night spot of choice for all the foreign community in town and most of the Japanese people too if the crowd on Friday and Saturday nights ...

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 ...

... us into it. Japan consumerism wasn't overwhelming either because it was all so new and different then what we had at home. Also, I have to admit, I am enjoying being a full blown consumer again. I'm tired of the same three shirts and two pants I've been wearing for 42 weeks. I'm happy to be listing to what I want on the computer while tying these thoughts down. However, I am freshly reminded of exactly how luck I am ...

After enjoying the big city of Kyoto, we got back on the bicycles for the last two weeks of our bike adventure. First big city was Hiroshima which has quite a nice park, memorial and museum for the August 6, 1945 atomic bombing. I was impressed how neutral the museum was, reminding the viewers of Japanese provoking acts leading up to the atomic bombing while also pointing out the complete devastation that the atomic ...

... to the north coast. The route was not as violently hilly, or scenic as crossing Shikoku, and the weather had turned very fall like - cool, grey, but fortunately not raining. All the same, we had a very cold morning dropping out of the mountains into Tsuwano, a touristy town in the hills known for the 1100 gate Shinto Shrine, and.... carp. Really. The town a long time ago (1600's) was a feudal fortress and to prepare against siege, hit on the bright idea of interlacing the ...

... were extremely proud to walk me around the factory. Several young Japanese girls were following us around the factory taking pictures and getting us tea and coffee. Needless to say, the male dominated society is different, but I`m enjoying myself! :) I`m exhausted and going out to dinner tonight which probably means more karaoke. Peace.

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!

... Oh yeah, you would believe it! Who was the first person I met? A bloody doctor! He was sitting outside reading and watched as I hobbled in and then out again after dropping my bag off. His English was perfect and he asked if I was ok. He then took a look at my feet and told me to stop walking so much and to spend a ...