The ubiquitous Pachinko parlor. This one is in Fukuoka.
Nathan and I got a laugh out the the various ways you might pronounce this.
The left-side view from my room at the Hotel Centraza in Fukuoka.
The right-side view from my room. You can see a Shinkansen train in the station.
One of my more enjoyable pasttimes in Japan is to watch how the taxis work.
This building was nearby to the place where we worked.
A local train between Kasuga and Fukuoka (Hakata).
We're dining at a Ramen shop. You make selections at a vending machine and it tells you what it costs and you pay the machine. Then you get a ticket, which the kitchen takes from you and prepares your soup.
Tom has selected seaweed, pork, and some kind of green. I think the spirally thing is always included.
Nathan's was similar to Tom's.
I included corn in mine. The slotted spoon allows you to skim the fat from the top.
In Hakata station, getting ready to head to Hamamatsu.
One of the Nozomi trains (fastest and fewest stops). We'll be taking a slightly slower Hikari train because we need to stop in Hamamatsu. If we were going to Osaka or Nagoya or Tokyo instead, this is what we'd have taken.
Storytime with Tom.
In Hamamatsu for Sukiyaki. Yum!
Group shot, and still about 2 years removed from Weight Watchers!
Everyone's favorite German restaurant in Japan.
Where the beers are tall and the ginger ales, not so much.
These guys look weary and the home-bound travel has only just begun.
Take a ride on the Shinkansen!
