Yes, we live!

In fact, beyond not having internet access at our past few hotels, we have been so busy living that we haven't had time to stop into an internet cafe either. Everyone is having a wonderful time (really!)

Following Beppu, we spent a lovely day at Mt. Aso (nothing like a live volcano with sulferous gases to emphasize our "place" on the planet) (L&G, Father misread it as "sulfurious," which was just as hilarious as you might expect :-D ).

Then we headed to Kumamoto where we were dazzled by the local castle and the former residence of the highest ranking shogun ... I am so building a house like that one, one of these days, if only out of toothpicks.

We took a ferry to "somewhere on the coast on the way to" Unzen, enjoyed the pungent aromas of the onsen there, and took lots of pictures as we zipped through OBAMA (hooray!) on the way to Nagasaki.

Yesterday (Saturday) we arrived in Kitakyushu-shi, Kokura to be exact. We visited all day today with family - Chizuko, Tsurue, Mr. Ilie (Shichan's son), his wife, Michiko, Miyoko, her husband, Masaharu, and more cousins. [will respectfully add names later!]

It is now Sunday evening and we are headed off to dinner. Itadakimasu (sp?) !

Out of computer time - much more to come! xoxo to all!

Quick notes

Saturday
- Oita
- people painting a van
- "youth" in need of a loincloth
- lunch at Tokiwa - pancakes actually = CAKE!
- train ride
- tiny, hungry yellow kitty (shared pancake)
- old grocery store - no Mr. Tamada :(
- family bathhouse
- house where Lyn lived as toddler
- Camp Chickamaugua
- bats

Mother english to nihongo-o hanashimasu

It is a beautiful Saturday morning in Beppu. Sunny, bright, a little chilly, but beautiful. As with yesterday, breakfast was a small feast. We think today's fish was swordfish (yes, overfished, but I felt only tiny guilt about this 2x2 portion). Now we are full of energy to start the day.

We are heading to Oita to exchange our Japan Rail pass vouchers for the real thing. After one too many exciting moments with plane tickets and boarding passes and luggage claim tickets, I decided that I will be in charge of carrying everyone's rail passes. If lost, you are simply out of luck and cannot buy them in country, so it is a little like carrying a few loose diamonds in one's pocket.

After Oita, we are going up into the hills of Beppu to see if the folks can recognize any of their old stomping grounds. While driving yesterday, we passed a green, lovely park that used to be Father's military camp. He recognized the location, and is looking forward to seeing what else may bring back memories. For my part, I am looking forward to the stories that will come along with them. For instance, I learned how Father and Dickie Lee Poole got tickets for riding their bikes too quickly downhill on main street. Picture that for a moment :)

All right - off to adventure!

We have arrived!

We are in Beppu．Ｕｈ－ｏｈ．Ｉｔ　ａｐｐｅａｒｓ　Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ａｃｃｉｄｅｎｔａｌｌｙ　ａｃｔｉｖａｔｅｄ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　．．．　ｗｅｌｌ，　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈａｔ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｄｏｉｎｇ。　Ａｎｙｗａｙ，　ｗｅ　ｓｐｅｎｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｄａｙ　ｗｉｔｈ　Ｈｉｋｏ，　Ｋｕｎｉｋｏ　ａｎｄ　Ｆｕｃｈａｎ．　Ｔｉｍｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｖｉｓｉｔｉｎｇ．　Ｓａｙｏｎａｒａ！

Long time

It has been a while. We are getting ready to head back out into the world.