Hotel Twins Momochi Fukuoka

... I've been to a couple of other aquariums (most notably the Vancouver Aquarium and the New England Aquarium in Boston) but this place definitely took the cake. Not only was there a good dolphin and whale show but the massive shark/ray/tuna/whatever-else-kind-of-fi sh-you-can-imagine tank was unbelievable. Apparently the main viewing area houses one of the largest single panes of plexi-glass in the world. There are a couple of pictures that I've posted here that should ...

... yourself in a sub-tropical paradise surrounded by beautiful trees, beaches, and ocean. Yet, nearly 70 years on, the history of World War 2 and the horrendous events that happened in this place still weigh heavy on the minds and consciousness of the people here. When one considers the scale of what occurred during the Battle of Okinawa (around 13,000 Americans killed and over 200,000 Japanese killed), how can it not? It is mind boggling to consider the scale of ...

Today we arrived at Naha City in Okinawa. We flew from Tokyo in an ANA 747. It has bee a really long time since I've flown in a 747 and (other than landing which I hate with a passion) it was a pleasure. The service on ANA is impeccable and the 747 (despite Airbus' development of the A380) is still the granddaddy of all airplanes. It was a pleasure to once again be on a 747.

Upon disembarking from the ...

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

Chaque vendredi, à l'école GenkiJacs, il y avait une soirée organisée; un souper, une sortie, etc... Mon premier vendredi, il y avait un souper au restaurant Kushiya Monogatari. 3000￥pour environ 1h30 de souper à volonté (tabehoudai), boissons alcoolisé aussi à volonté (nomihoudai). Le Kushi Age est en fait Kushi : Brochette et Age : Friture. Donc nous pouvions manger à volonté des brochettes de toutes sortent, légumes, poisson, viandes autres et les faire frire nous même ...

... decisamente buoni, in piu' si trova un ristorante praticamente ad ogni angolo. Oddio, se siano veramente i migliori del Giappone non saprei; credo che i migliori poi siano in Cina, visto che i giapponesi hanno semplicemente rubato la ricetta o qualcosa del genere. La seconda, la vita notturna: essendo giovedi' non e' stata proprio entusiasmante; abbiamo trovato un quartiere stracolmo di bar e discoteche, ma non molta gente. Diciamo che c'erano piu' bar che persone! Oggi e ...

... not-so-touristy place was a massive coincidence. We chatted for a few minutes, but he was getting the bus somewhere...would you believe he was visiting Hiroshima and Fukuoka as a day trip from Osaka?? Oh to be able to use the Shinkansen... I went to the futuristic Canal City shopping complex that evening which had some great architecture, plenty of bright lights...and some illuminous flowers! It was a fun place where water would spurt out ...

... me out. I didn't like the prospect of how much work and time it would take to learn the language. But I also thought that loneliness was what occupied me most, that even my friendship with Josh didn't do much to sooth me. I wondered if maybe I had too much baggage in that regard, if my loneliness was amplified by past scars to the point where it was nearly unbearable. As I was thinking these thoughts (among many others) I moved away from the bench that I had been sitting on and over to ...

... not have any breakfast. Her mother had recommened a newly established restaurant that served washoku and yoshuku, the former being the term for Japanese food and the latter for European or western food. It was plain, yet very beautiful inside. The items in the menu were few, yet it had everything that I desired. A sushi plate. It also showed a chicken dish and a daily recommended dish, and a few other dishes. The sushi plate was not ...