Fukuoka, Japan

Another large city today - 1.5 million people. Fukuoka is known as the gateway to Asia since we are so close to Korea, where we are headed to tomorrow.

It is a vibrant city with lots of downtown condominiums, but we took a trip out of the city to the much smaller city of Karatsu. Each of our guides are continually commenting on how hot and humid the weather has been in Japan this whole summer and now well into fall. Today was no exception and the only descriptor I have for the day is steamy, I felt like my glasses were steamed up more than not. It’s looking like tomorrow may cool down a bit so there is hope on the horizon.

We visited a traditional pottery maker and then a traditional home built in the early 1920’s that has been turned into a place for visitors. The house is very austere with mostly traditional rugs for sitting on the floor. There are many beautiful and serene places in the house, incorporating outdoor views, subtle paintings on the walls and lovely textures throughout. Photos were not allowed inside, but hopefully you can conjure up an idea. All the glass was old and wavy, and, as most houses of this age do, has a stage for productions.

We were allowed to take pictures in the traditional Japanese garden outside the house and that is what I’m sharing today, The Japanese have a way of considering a couple of items, setting them together in just the right composition and then letting them mellow and absorb the environment on their own time.

One of the nicest things about our excursion today was that we were the only ones at these 2 sights. It seems like everywhere we go, there are hundreds of tourists, so it seemed like a quiet day.Read more