Fukuoka Sunset Sailing

In case you haven't FBed or heard about it.....

The Talk of the Town in Fukuoka is that

from this spring Fu Kyo the Cat is gonna be

Fukuoka Sunset Sailing.

For that reason we've gone "overboard" and

made an FB page.

(comes with headaches, tell you)

Anyway see and read it

here in English

& here in Japanese.

Thumb-it-up, spread the word.

And even better, come along for a ride.

salute

1100 Ks in 4 days

That's right.

        1055 kilometer by Esther the Car,

  and the rest (42K) by Asics Kayano. 

Some great "tradition" to start the New Year with.

One tradition also is a visit to Paparin's Shibaraku restaurant where all customers drink a Happy New Year toast from a decent size sake bowl...

Piece of cake for Marijke as you can see.

 rest stop at the Kyushu Express way.

So, the next day( Friday)...

with some of us still Happy on Sake ...

we dropped N & W off at their Favorite Cat-Jail...

and climbed on board of Esther to drive down to 

Sunny Kagoshima.

As you can see, that day.....No cloud to be found.

Perfect weather....

....for some bird-watching around Makurazaki Area..

Hmmmmm , something happening there?

 Oh yes, there it is!!!

All Hands @ the Nikons.

See It?

Well, for Way Better Shots, (and info) you'll have to go to Marijke's Blog, of course.

The following day (Sat) was more bird-watching and after that, 

driving down to Base Camp 1.

Yep, time to settle in and prep for the 

Yearly Nanohana Marathon.

See the weather? Still perfect.

Ooji-san enjoying the sunshine and...

deliberating what shoes to wear the next day...

Blahhh....just 1 hour before the Sunday 9 Am start...

the rain-cloudS found Ibusuki.

And did it rain!! for the rest of the day.

Can you find Waldo?

The guys and girls up front...

Their duty is to explore the route for us...

We, the slower ones, can just follow them ;-)

(borrowed from my short HHH career).

 The Nanohana Marathon is named so because of

....flowers!

 Some runners even took some time out for a quick
 New Year Prayer..

and then moving on again, in the ever pouring rain. 

By now there was also a howling wind...

Like other years, the Man with the Wheel.

Even with these lousy condition it was

amazing fun to do the Nanohana Marathon together with

18.000 other participants!

To all the people running and along the course 

and @ the aid stations ...

ARIGATO!

(Some of these pictures i have borrowed from the internet. Thanx).

On Monday the sky was empty and so...

we drove back to Makurazaki area where some more great bird-watching took place.

Again, see Marijke's Blog.

Salute.

Waking up to a White World

Today we woke up with a white hat...

See Wakame?

Not sure if she likes this cold stuff.

 Esther in Winter Mode.

Noko Noshima, the island in the bay, with a White Toppie.

 

Fu Kyo, on the other side of the river, got a shock: First time to have its deck loaded with that white stuff.

This is our neighbor-boat.

.....thinking it is HOT, but....today....it's Not.....

Fukuoka is nice. Once/twice a year we have a white world.

The mountains we can see from our location will be covered under snow for a few more days.

But here, as we live so close to the sea, it won't last.

Still: stay warm,

salute.

And what's the plan for 2013??

Aim your QR reader and shoot!

....don't forget to give it thumbs..

BTW, mention this blog and you're in for a discount.

Salute

First Fun in the New Year

Happy New Year to you All.

i think that's also written @  this decoration.

A New Year and new toys.

 Wakame is enjoying her new house. 

But as you can see....

Nori also wants a roof over his head.

Now we have 2 of these units @ Alishan and N&W are truly living a LAT.

New Year's Day!

In the morning it was still Sunny, i even went for a run to the 3 temples.

(Odo, Meinohama Sumiyoshi and Atago).

But in the afternoon.......the odd snow fluffies.

BTW, in the middle of this pix, you can just see the mast of Alishan.

This shot was taken from the aft deck of Fu Kyo, parked @ Marinoa Marina.

Oh yes, she is back in the water and the Onan is running Smoothly.

Now, why is Fu Kyo back in the water?

Right!

Party Time!!

??

Well, remember Fu Kyo sailed down to Okinawa last year?

And that we had stopped at Amami Ohshima?

Anyway, 1 night Mr Mitsuda and i went out for dinner in Naze, and at that restaurant i had asked a question regarding a Scroll on the Wall. 

Turns out the daughter of the owners had made the scroll. 

Now fast forward, due to Mr Mitsuda's company, he suggested that the daughter (Miyuki chan) should contact his eldest son. 

Kazuya is living and working in Tokyo and is involved with promoting artists.

 ......

So, Son and Daughter meet in Tokyo....

and

.....

  Ta-ta-ta-ta

.....

They are gonna get married!

So this New Year Party is the first time all the(2) family members(12) are together.

Including Marijke and Jaap (because i asked that question!!).

 Pa Amami Ohshima runs a meat restaurant, so he looked after the main dish for the night.

And what-a-meat!

Now you know us: we are no-meat-luffers.

But tell you: this was good. 

Pa and Pa were in charge and they made sure the steak was cooked perfectly.

Of course it couldn't be done with-out a good glass of wine.

(or 2).

Fu Kyo has a great cockpit area and with the All Around Tent it was nice and comfy...

But a bit smokey as you can see (smell??)

At one stage we all took turns with a speech for this 

Special Happy New Year Party.

In fact the New Year is the only time Mum doesn't have to run around in the kitchen making food for hubby and kids.

So see here (part) of the New Year Food Box....

it is made in the Old Year and all items are cooked and prepped so they are 

Pleasing for the Eye and Last for a Few Days. 

Don't eat, just look;-)

The next day it was photo-session for the 2 families in 

Fancy Outfit.

Of course,again, it couldn't be done with out some serious food, afterwards...

This time at a tempura restaurant (see New Year's display), 

Marijke shows she's enjoying the delicious deep-fry.

 Kazuya and Miyuki.

Like other years, Jan 3rd was Tamaseseri.

About the 14th time i took part in it, and it was indeed the coldest! 

Once in the "fight" it's okay, no sence of being cold.

But when it was over....didn't have any contact with my feet anymore...

 it was scarry walking back to base.

And base was as usual the Bath at Miyoko's house where i soaked for 45 minutes.

For more pix of this year's Tamaseseri see also 

Marijke's Blog.

A Thing to do in Japan is to see and watch 

the First Sunrise of the Year.

Due to our busy, ahum, schedule, 

that F.S. had to wait till Jan. 4th.

And What a Beauty it was.

This location is a small lake, more or less down-town in Kumamoto city.

It's freezing about 5 degrees and/but...the lake is steaming!

Perfect conditions for a F.S.

Told you!

Salute