Miyako Hotel Hakata Fukuoka

Here we go again, off to lands unknown (to us, anyway) with our lives stuffed into luggage. The last time we do this will not be too soon! I suppose it's the price of an adventurous lifestyle. <br><br>Speaking of which, we are currently in Nogata, Fukuoka which is probably the *least* adventurous town ever. It consists of rice fields and... rice fields. My grandparents live here though, and it's also where we ...

... has helped provide "free rental of therapy robots to nursing homes for the elderly," specifically, Paro, a lovable, consoling seal-type robot.<br><br>-----<br>ROBOTS AHEAD!...<br><br>I made it to the TNC TV Building next to the Marizon Fukuoka Tower before 4 pm. Still looking for the place, thinking it was a couple streets south, I looked up to see a large sign that displayed four futuristic-looking humanoid robots. It read simply, "ROBOSQUARE www.robotsquare.org." I had arrived ...

... Mojiko also became an important terminal for both the railroad and cruise ships. So it's full of Meiji-era Western-style buidings, mostly built in grand style between 1910 and 1920. The view of the waterfront and the bridge across the strait is just beautiful. There's a nice little railroad museum, a couple of small shopping plazas, and a new hotel with a striking modern design. I think Mojiko deserves everybody's ...

... get off the train by looking at your watch rather than the station signs! Last week, when a typhoon hit, there were unavaoidable weather delays--my train was 35 minutes late. That would be just a normal day for most U.S. train systems. This was a typhoon that was the main story on the tv news! <br><br>And nobody takes cell phone calls while in their seats. If you get a cell phone call, or need to make one, you head for the area between ...

We stayed in Fukuoka for one night as we were getting the Beetle at 9am in the morning from the port here. We knew it was a bit of a party town and had many street stalls so went out in the evening for a wander. We walked for miles but ended up back at the first street stall we saw as it had a good view and seemed busy enough that it was ok to eat in!! Sat down and got noodles as we couldn't decide ...

... varios pisos que se plegaban y desaparecian. <br> Los hombres que cargaban las carrozas llevaban un pano parecido al de los luchadores de sumo, que cubria sus partes pero dejaba el culo al aire. Interesante.<br> Antes de que saliera cada carroza, era anunciada por el megafono y un tambor empezaba a sonar, al que se unian los gritos de la muchedumbre. Cuando las carrozas salian, lo hacian a gran velocidad. Los hombres que las cargan se van turnando, asi que cada carroza esta ...

... that I had a quick look around in Yokohama, but because it was raining I quickly returned as well. So the next day I took an early bus to the so-called fifth station of Mount Fuji near Kawaguchiko at about 2300 meter in altitude. That still leaves more than 1400 meter to climb. It was drizzling when I arrived, but it soon started to rain heavier. I changed into the best rain-protective gear I had (just a cheap raincoat) and left my big backpack and my laptop in a coin ...

... up getting some warm apple-flavoured sake. It was brought to us in a hot bottle wrapped in a towel and we drank it in tiny porcelain cups. It was actually quite tasty. However, I recommend drinking it while it's hot because its flavour seems to diminish as it cools. On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend trying to shoot it either, since that tends to burn the throat a little. You'll just have to trust me on that one... A few drinks and several thousand yen later, and ...

... than to myself I seemed to be far more bothered by it than he was. She also informed us that there was a park and some castle ruins that I had wanted to see near where we were going. We decided to stop in there and then said our goodbyes. On the way to the park we passed a neat looking Buddhist temple. On the other side of the street from it we found a giant orange and black bee on the ground feasting on a green stalk of something. I put my Leatherman Swiss army key chain next to it ...

... and have my breakfast, essentially consisting of two rice balls filled with slightly sweetened pork meet. That was a special creation by the houselady for Germans. Japanese eat the rice balls without anything in it. And I will have some cold tea with it. Actually, I enjoy it. But just to ensure that I am getting good food balance, I have also been buying mandarines and kaki.