Hotel Route Inn Hakataeki Minami Fukuoka

... it in my previous entry) was the original name of the Okinawan archipelago (it used to be known as the Ryukyu Kingdom which was a tributary state of Imperial China). Although commercial in almost all respects, this village was a very beautiful place to visit. We even saw numerous examples of the local poisonous snake (the "Habu") as well as a mongoose. Unfortunately there was no mongoose/snake fight today! I did get to feed a large number of carp as well as a couple of very ...

... 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 ...

... next couple of days as we go on two guided tours. One will be up to the north end of the island to an aquarium and a pineapple farm. I am sure that once we get outside of Naha City that we will see the true tropical paradise aspects of this island. We will also be spending some time outside of the city on the south of the island. There is a lot of World War Two history here as this south end of the island is ...

... 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 ...

... it was a hot day made even worse by humidity.

The aquarium was very cool (especially since it had A/C, ha ha). There were lots of little exhibits to look at in addition to several big tanks that were chock full of fish. Since we were in Japan, everyone had a camera and crowded around to photograph every fish. Luckily, I was taller than almost everyone there, so I got some pictures too. The big tank with the whale sharks, rays ...

... that. But she still let us shop for a nice long time, during which I got to experience the Japanese toy section (full of bizarre toys such as Anpanman, the superhero with bread for a head, Mameshiba, the puppy-faced edamame bean, and various other sad-faced adorable animals). I also perused the candy section but was disappointed- isn't it supposed to be shiny and colorful? There wasn't even a good selection of Haribo- not even fizzy colas! There weren't a whole lot of exciting ...

... nos souliers en entrant dans la maison. Personnellement je fais ça à la maison habituellement. Je n'ai aucun plaisir à me promener à l'intérieur avec mes souliers. Ici, à la maison de Junko-san et même à l'école, nous avons de multiples pantoufles, gougounes, sandales etc. Qui ont différentes utilités. Des pantoufles confortables et jolies pour la maison, des pantoufles différentes pour aller à la salle de bain, faire un tour dehors pour accrocher le linge ...

... and entertainment complex of Canal City, through the busy center Tenjin, down past the former castle and on out to the new western district of Momochi out on the waterfront. Apart from some intriguing modern architecture and a few remaining Meiji era buildings, Fukuoka's not much for specific sights. Really, the attraction of it is the overall atmosphere and energy about the place, not to mention the friendly people. The nightlife is also fairly potent as well ...

... range. Practicing in the range, and golf in Japan, in general is prohibitively expensive, yet golf is a necessary obligation for each "salary man", as they call male office employees, especially those that deal with clients. The practicing has to be done on their own time on weekends. The employees have to pay for the sport themselves. Their companies don`t pay them for the sport. As Mr. Tanaka explained, it is the ...

After the unscheduled and 'ultimate' man's night out in Japan, we boarded the aeroplane for Fukuoka, of which I remember and recall almost nothing. The only experience I have ever had similar to such a brain-dead moment was the first 30 seconds after parachuting with a rip-cord on my first jump. Bozzo the bump on my shoulders just would not function. I have an 18 minute uh, 18 hour, gap about what happened in that city.