Maruko Inn Hakata Fukuoka

... like? I have no friggin' idea. I've been trying to research it on the internet but have come up with very little as to what kind of life we'll be living there. Which is one of the reasons I've decided to revive the travel blog and maybe somewhere down the line, someone else is moving to Salalah and will actually have some idea of what it's like before they get there. Here's hoping it's good!<br><br>-M<br>

... see some robots afterall!..."<br><br>-----<br>ROBOSQUAR E MISSION &amp; VISION:<br><br>According to its founder, Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, "ROBOSQUARE does not simply refer to a physical space but embodies all the aspects involved in robotics."<br><br>The official website (http://robosquare.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/e nglish/index.html), states that ROBOSQUARE was created with the aim of:<br>"<br>1) Providing vision and understanding of the science and technology of robotics.<br>2) Offering ...

... will have to wait for my next trip! <br><br>What better way to finish off my retro day than to stay at the Comfort Hotel in Hakata. The carpet in the rooms has a pattern that could be Polynesian art, a Rohrshoch ((?)) test, or an artifact from a well-preserved 1950's American living room. It's located across the street from the Hakata railroad station. Compared to the other hotels where I've stayed in Japan, this ...

... factory store was 30% off the usual price. Amazingly, there were sidewalks for the entire route, which included some very rural areas. In Arita, street furniture included exhibit cases with pottery inside. Then it was over the river, through the hills, and under the Nishi-Kyushu Expresway. I passed some rice fields that were being harvested. <br><br><br>IMARI<br><br>Imari is the third major pottery town in Kyushu. By the way, Kyushu ...

... and experience was worth it!<br><br>The next day we boarded the Beetle - a high speed Jet Foil Boat which lifts out of the water and skims on ski-like foils. It took less than 3 hours to do 120 miles across the sea to South Korea which is pretty quick. It felt like you were on a place or a train but was even smoother, so no sea sickness, even after having an early morning beer - well, it was free!!

Voila notre derniere etape au Japon, nous y sommes accueillis chaleureuseument par Hiro (une couchsurfeuse). Elle nous emmene avec elle dans une izakaya (pub japonnais) ou elle avait rdv avec des amis , representants de la communaute des profs d'anglais (britanniques et americains). Hiro est japonaise, elle a vecu en France, Australie, quelques mois a Oxford et a ...

... Decidiamo per par condicio di usare l'inglese, a parte quando non vogliamo farci capire da altre persone, in quel caso passiamo allo spagnolo / italiano. Salta fuori che, manco a farlo apposta, Victor sta per fare esattamente lo stesso mio itinerario, ovvero Corea del Sud, poi Cina per finire nel sud-est asiatico. Dopo due mesi ho trovato un vero e proprio compagno di viaggio. Credo sara' divertente, anche se mi preoccupa un pochino la partita di domenica (visto che ...

... the next day, beginning with a trip to the Momochi district to see the Fukuoka Tower. It seems that every city in Japan has a tower of some sort, and I usually get roped into paying to go up it, but on this occasion I used my initiative and headed for the nearby Hawks Park Hotel. I conveniently ignored the signs saying "Guests only beyond this point" and boarded the elevator to the 35th floor, where a couple of attractive Japanese ladies ...

... visa, grabbed a few sandwiches at Family Mart (they put wasabi in the mayonnaise, which gives it a nice kick), and then took a taxi back to the ferry building. There we had the option of waiting around for a little over two hours for a jet ferry or to take a regular one. Josh said he wanted to walk around a bit on the boat, and since the regular ferry was much bigger and looked walker friendly we went with that. We bought tickets and I made my phone call to K.L.I. They said that I had ...

... Japan was completely honest it seemed. The train stations were clean and well signed out, and the frequency of trains passing through was high. Takamiya station was only three stations from the centre, or about an 8 minute trip. The trains looked like in the London tube. Unlike in Tokyo, where many people are said to have their eyes shut during the commute trips, in order to avoid having to look at what other people were doing ...