Miyazaki Kanko Hotel

Since this island is so small, we decided to do it again and this time go on a tour of the north today. This was a much less sobering tour than the one that we did yesterday given that it was more contemporary and less focused on the tragic past of Okinawa. Our stops today included of all things a pineapple farm and the world's second largest aquarium - apparently second in size only to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.<br><br>The bus ride today was a longer one as we had to ...

Today we decided to do something that I don't normally like to do -- go on a guided tour with a bunch of other people and get caught up on a commercial racket. Given that neither of us have ever been to Okinawa and don't know our way around, we decided to go on a bus tour and are we ever glad that we did.<br><br>The tour took us to a number of historical and interesting spots, most notable of which was the old Imperial Navy Underground Headquarters that served as ...

... this though, I probably would not have noticed this at all -- the signs that this prefecture is a bit behind others are subtle. A shabby building here, some litter in a river there -- things that one tends not to see to such a degree in other parts of the country. Nonetheless, this is quite a nice place and definitely a sub-tropical paradise.<br><br>We will definitely see a lot more of rural Okinawa over ...

... dann noch ne halbvolle Packung Zuckerln. Dafuer hat andi seine schokomakadamia mit ihnen geteilt. So Fotos und Videos gibts ein anderes mal. bin schon hundemuede. Morgen gehts nach Nagasaki und es ist ungewiss ob wir da ein quartier mit internet kriegen. Also muesst ihr vielleicht da ein quartier mit internet kriegen. Also muesst ihr vielleicht auf neue infos warten. <br>&#12376;&#12419;&#12354;&#12354;&#1 2354;&#24453;&#12387;&#12390;&#12397;&# 12290;

On Sunday, we woke up early again to drive to Shuri Castle, down in Naha. Shuri Castle today is a recreation from memory of the 14th century castle that was destroyed during the battle of Okinawa. Chinese envoys used to come to the castle to crown the Ryukuan king, and there are many portraits and artifacts from these kings inside. You have to take off your shoes to walk around in the museum. We were happy to do so, since it ...

... from the Chinese Fu dogs. They are a pair or lion-like dogs that sit on top of houses or in front of them. The one on the left, the female, has its mouth shut to keep in all of the good things. The one on the right, the male, is roaring to scare away the bad. Shisa dogs are everywhere; many of my souvenirs are shisa-themed.<br><br>After walking through the village, we made a pitstop at the Oceanic Cultures Museum, which ...

... but we did snag some Anpanman gummies.<br><br>When we got home, it was definitely Riley's bedtime, but then Mom, Julia, and I watched UP!, which I got for about 90 cents in Beijing. It worked, but since it is such a new movie, of course it was bootlegged and thus had a laugh track from the movie theater and also some of the writing was in Russian. It was still a good movie though. Afterwards, I fell asleep in about a second, despite this really not very action-packed day.<br>

... through the sports section, through a giant kids section, and into a cruise terminal, without finding the place we first explored the day before. We had to leave the mall and walk around the exterior to get our bearings, and by that time I had about 20 minutes to shop before I had to head home. Nat and I said our goodbyes, and I hit the road. It instantaneously started raining when I stepped outside, and I managed to get good ...

... a blast. Aaron and Estaban, students of mine, helped me out a few times watching the kids and keep them close. On Mother's Day I also ran into a few spouses at a brunch that was held at one of the clubs on base. They invited me to eat with them and then to a new park, Round 1. It was a really neat place with, I believe, 3 floors of fun stuff for the kids to do. They had a blast! We had our usual hangouts with the neighbors and our ...

... and no shoes on. How multi-skilled am I! Tomorrow I've decided to leave and take a big rest on a train for the day. The journey will take me from where I am now in Miyazaki on Kyushu to Kochie on Shikoku. It's a hell of a journey but someone's got to save my feet from their Slave Master! If I'm not going to do it ...