Another email to folks in the USA:
Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2013 3:52 AM
Pictures - Nozomi Train & June 7 in Fukuoka
It’s been a busy weekend! I hope everyone is doing well!
I’ve attached 2 pictures of the trains - one of the front of the train and one of its power supply. How do you get an electric train to go 185 mph between Kyoto and
Fukuoka? Lots of power! The connector in the picture is the real deal. Don’t touch! :>oYesterday (Saturday) was a free day, so we hung out with Mike’s advisor/boss, his wife Lisa, and fellow graduate student, Dan, in Fukuoka. The outing started at
Canal City. It’s a giant multi-building mall built around a canal. We started with lunch in "Raumen Stadium" - an area on the 5th floor of the mall that had 8 different
kinds of Raumen shops. We selected one that had pork raumen with thin noodles - the kind that is local to Fukuoka. We also had some very tasty fried dumplings. After lunch,
we went to the arcade across the hall from the Raumen stadium. Mike and I had fun playing a 3D zombie game, and I’ve got some great pics of Mike, Dan, Ryan and Lisa playing
air hockey. At 1 pm, the mall had a "dancing fountains" show - kind of like the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but set to the music of Abba’s "Dancing Queen". (Seriously, I can’t make
this stuff up) The show was followed by a juggler/performer from Canada. I have video of his act - it was so cool to hear the typical street performer gags in Japanese.After Canal City, Mike headed back to the hotel (which was his own adventure in bus travel) and I wandered through the city with Ryan, Lisa, and Dan. Our first stop
was the Kushida Shrine. I attached one picture - I somehow figured ya’ll didn’t want all 117 pics that I took on Saturday via email. It had beautiful gardens all
around it, including a koi pond.After Kushida Shrine, we saw someone operating a loom at the folk museum and stopped briefly at the Ryuguji Temple. No pictures attached since the Tochoji Temple
was just too cool. Tochoji Temple was the last place we stopped before heading back to the hotel. One of the main attractions was a giant wooden Buddha - and by
giant, I mean roughly 3 stories tall. I had the privilege of walking through the Buddha butt. Under his left foot was a doorway. The doorway led to a hallway that
went under the Buddha. Much was the hallway was dimly lit and lines with interesting paintings. And then you get to a spot where there are no lights. The walls were
carpeted, so you just follow the line of the wall while walking around curves in utter darkness. I am sure the walk is shorter than it seems. You emerge in another lit
portion of the hallway where there is a little Buddha statue, and then you come out under the other foot.Well, I’ve got about another half hour til dinner, so I’ll try to sort through the 153 pics I took today while travelling with the research group from Kyushu
University. The tour they gave us was really quite generous. We’ll have to put something nice together for them the next time they come to visit Mines.kari sue
Lunch at the Ramen Stadium with Ryan O'Hare and his wife, Lisa Wong, me, Mike, and Dan Clark:
Time for some video games!
Wandering around the mall:
MOVIE!
Dancing Fountains. AVI file, 5.2 Mb
Dancing Fountains - Part 2. AVI file, 6.5 Mb
Dancing Fountains - Part 3. AVI file, 3.5 Mb
MOVIE!
Street Performer at the Canal Shops. AVI file, 20.1 Mb
Street Performer at the Canal Shops - Part 2. AVI file, 7.4 Mb
Street Performer at the Canal Shops - Part 3. AVI file, 44.1 Mb
Street Performer at the Canal Shops - Part 4. AVI file, 6.9 Mb
Street Performer at the Canal Shops - Part 5. AVI file, 26.4 Mb
Window shopping can make you hungry....
These guys were pretty good, but it was time to wander on!
Ryan, Lisa, Dan, and I went to a shrine near the mall:
A museum for traditional craftmanship with a live weaving demonstration.
We went through the tunnel behind/under him -very cool!
Lisa took this picture:
Dan:
Back at the hotel!
Dinner with Mike, Jianhua Tong, Lisa, and Ryan:
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Last updated 25Jan2015