A country drive.

 We set off looking for the largest prone Budda. We saw it first when we were several kilometres away but then we had to get there. GPS and road numbers came i n handy.

Parked the car and headed to the entrance first problem, several stairs and no shorts or sandals, that excluded two of us.

I wandered down the street narrowest footpath I have ever been on, I guess they used an old single track to bitumenise not realising in years to come it would be a tourist attraction, both sides was only about two foot wide.

I discovered another smaller Budda and a nice shaded road to walk up, several tiny shrines along the way. I didn't loiter for long as the others were only going to take some photos and go back to car.

Tiny footpath

Standing budda

Cooling waterfall with the pipes sending the water back up the hill again

Another smiling budda

Stone steps up to this one

Nice shady area

Baseball.

 We got interested in baseball while we were in Hiroshima, we were having dinner at a pub and it was on the TV. It was the local team playing the Hakatta Hawks. We discovered that they play three games in three days often Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Hakatta Hawks were from Fukuoka our next stop. Most of the TV we couldn't understand but scords etc were displayed so it was easy to follow. 

Warren follows the Hawks in AFL and he was interested to visit the Hawks store. He researched how to get there and we caught the bus with several people wearing baseball jumpers.

Chips with tomato sauce and mustard and melon soft drink.

We stopped and went to a cafe. It was a bit early for lunch but it was nice to sit down. No problem to get a table. Different story when we came out as there was a line up, by then it was about 11.45am and the crowds were building. I asked when the game started, it was to start at 3pm and a sell out. Old games were being played on the screens and the wait staff were dressed in their favourite teams shirts.

 This is the dome called the Pay Pay Dome. We went up the escalator it was like two flights and were able to walk all around the dome. We counted six stores all selling merch.

Shrines

 Shrines are in abunance in Japan, large and small, they could be set on large plots of land or nestled between houses.

We had the opportunity to visit this particular one in the old city of Hakatta/ Fukuoka.

Houses one side and there were office buildings with the steel staircase going above it on the right.

Across the road, there was an old traditional post office, still in operation although closed for business when we were there as it was after dinner.

In the same area was this large shrine which covered the block from one street to the next. This was the front entrance and a couple of days later, we went to get a cache and came into it via the back entrance. People were stopping by, I assume on their way to work to light a candle or a quick prayer and then off they would go again. 

 He? Was near the front entrance with gilded face.

Three hundred year old forest

 This forest was planted as a windbreak for the castle on the hill.

We couldn't see the ocean from the road but we walked across the road following the GPS and suddenly there it was.

Of course there was a cache here and another one by the sea. Can't quite remember the name of this one but it was something like man's butt upside down, with a name like that we just had to stop.

Cache was at the base of the tree to the left of the guys.

Many of the trees were twisted but given  that they were so old and had been used to counteract the winds, they were doing alright.

An English pub in Japan.

 We were looking for somewhere to eat dinner, Warren did a search on Google and found this about 750 metres from the hotel. Interesting so we decided to check it out. 

It was a tiny place.

Our first sight of it.

The inside, we were early for dinner, I think we were the first to order dinner, there was another table occupied with a group who looked as though they were having a drink after work.

I had fish and chips like you do in an English pub, I enjoyed mine. Warren ordered chicken and chips but said the chicken was a bit dry.

We had been asked if we had booked a table so when we decided to go back with friends, we thought we should book but we couldn't get a table until the following Tuesday. 

Ahh, the penny dropped, we were there on Thursday night and Friday Saturday and Sunday, the local baseball team, the Hakatta Hawks were playing on those three nights and the pub was closed on Mondays.

As we left, the wife was outside drumming up business.

Finding relatives

 In one of my nights of not sleeping I was thinking about a cousin of mine. There had always been a glossy photo of him and I at home. He looked about 24/25 dressed in a suit and I was dressed in a lacy dress and bonnet (I know, hard to believe but I was about eight months old. Mum had always said that cousin Bill was only about 16, I decided to use Mr Google to see if I could find him and his age. I do have his brother and sister as part of my Facebook family but that would be too easy besides I wanted to know then, at 2am.

He was named after his father William and also had his maternal grandmother surname as a second name. His father had been given his mother's maiden name as his second name. Why I know these things and remember them, I don't know. It did make it easier to locate him, he was the first William Riley Wilson to surface. 

Lo and behold he had written a book, in two parts, I was able to download and read it, finishing the first part at 5am, then I slept.

Some places I do remember going to visit them, they had a farm in Kennedy's Creek Victoria. We visited for a few days and it took so long to drive there, distance now is about three hours, then it would have probably taken twice the time and a bit more, I told my teachers at school that we had been to England. My reasoning that it took so long to get there, it must have been England, I was about eight at the time.

This is the web site and a little about his book but I can't seem to make it bigger.

Yes, I can and yes he is fifteen and a half years older than me.

Castle by the sea

 Another day of driving took us to a castle perched up on a hill. 

Didn't take any photos looking over the side, probably because I didn't want to go too close.

We had to park across the road and go down stairs, through an alleyway and up the other side. Fascinating murals on the walls under the road.

Once we got to the other side, we could see lots of steps, groan, I hate steps but a sign pointing to the left advising of a lift 100 metres away. Ah, just the ticket.

The lift needed to be paid for but because we were over 70, it was free. We must have looked old as we didn't need to show ID, cost was 200yen about $2.20 and it didn't go straight up it went diagonal.

Before we got to the town of the castle we drove through a forest of very old trees that were very twisted because they were planted as a wind break for the castle.

Actually I did take some photos over the side but I didn't get too close to the edge.