momocheri

may 2005

time for another posting from beautiful fukuoka. . . .
life has been treating us well. we've really gotten into the swing of things here, and are always finding new places to go and things to see.

we've been spending lots of our free time with our friends aiko and gareth. gareth is a brit from kent - the county that the leats lived in back when amanda and i were brought into this world. his girlfriend, aiko, is from oita, kyushu. she went to england to study abroad and met gareth there. they moved here shortly before we did, so that they could be near aiko's family for a few years. they're a lovely couple and we have lots in common. aiko makes our lives and adventures a little bit easier since she is bilingual. gareth and john and i are all trying our best to learn japanese and are getting along a little easier, too.


two weeks ago the four of us took a ferry to nokonoshima island in the harbor. it was only a fifteen minute ferry ride to the island. it is a small and tall island with some houses, restaurants, orchards and beaches. we rented bicycles at the bottom and rode all the way to the top. it was quite exhausting and hot, but there is a beautiful garden at the top with a view of the whole harbor and the city. (we got great pictures.) we walked around the grounds and then lounged in the grass and ate ice cream. the ride back down was wonderful. the day had started to cool and the breeze and decline were perfect.

b.k. and lynne - it reminded me of our trip to see amanda in the keewenaw. remember riding our bikes on brockway? remember how my bike sucked? yeah.

so, becuase of that little trip, i've overcome my fear of riding. john and i are going shopping today for bicycles. yay. we're going to get granny bikes with big baskets for shopping and exploring. we've been walking so much the last two months that we're both getting quite slim! although the city is quite pedestrian friendly, we both agree that we'll be able to explore a lot more on wheels. and, as john says, we're sick of being bi-peds. hee hee.