Pre-summer update 4, This and That.

This post has a collection of This and That Pictures.

Memory moments of Pre-summer 2018

Once a week I ride my bicycle along Muromi River.

Goal: Shikata Elementary School.

Always fun going there, always fun being there.
This year the kids i teach=entertain are 3rd and 4th graders.
Fun, fun and more fun and they call this work......

As seen from the classroom on the 3rd floor:

Kids playground (front)

Yap's playground (back).

A sight seeing trip with Karin and Leo, 

our dear friends from Hawaii.

The above are pix taken at Sakurai Jinja in Itoshima.

Want to go?

Next was a trip to O-ike and surrounding.

All part of Mt Kuju land in Oita prefecture.

Nice area for birding, hiking and/or 
a relax Stroll into the Green.

200 Yen help yourself hot spring in Oita.

Special experience, but sadly..the water was too hot for us during summer.!!

Exploring Kyushu.

Always flowers, flowers and more flowers to spot.

Next a never boring visit to Sennyoji temple at Mt Raizan.

A few months ago we were here when it had just snowed, 

see previous posting.

http://syalishan.blogspot.com/2018/01/mt-raizan-in-snow-january-2018.html

Nori-kun trying to pose like a kitten.

The boy turns 16 this autumn.

Bush strawberries, yummy.

Great finds when hiking around in spring.

We had motor vessel A 

(yes that's its name)

for a couple of weeks here in Hakata bay at anchor.

Good for many a discussion: What the heck is That?

Part of my J.O.B. life is crewing on board of fishing vessel SUMIE MARU.

 The catch of the day before landed well and alive at the fish market.

Always exciting...what will be the sales price.

Not all departures are accompanied with an awesome sunrise.

This morning start of our day at seas was delayed by 1 hour because of a tremendous downpour.

Will the rain stop soon...?

Moment to catch up on SNS. 

Our first typhoon of the year. Not too bad. As always, typhoons are A Lot of Stress and A Little Trouble.

Still don't believe in ghosts?

And then suddenly: Summer is here.

It all started with a huge firework display at Momochihama.

Salute

Pre-summer update 2

Indeed we did make quite a few outdoor trips 

this pre-summer of 2018.

And boy, did we take heaps of photos.

A lot of them are of course dedicated to 

Drive N See

Check it out if you like to rent a camper.

And for birds, flowers and insects, 

please see Marijke's Blog.

This is a picture update of some of the outdoor places we visited.

                                        

Like the sea, the mountains are calling us:
Come, please come!!

My favourite hike in Fukuoka: Mt Raizan.

This all stone jinja is almost at the top.

A special mood it is vibrating.

The trail is superb at all seasons and has lots of variety in nature, path and scenery. It's easy to get to by car, and from our location, it's even doable by bicycle.

Mt Raizan.

Today there is nobody else around, 
just 
The top, this flowering beauty, my backpack and me.

A few weeks later an outing was to Mt Aso area, Kumamoto.

Rolling green hills next to smoking wild volcanos.

If you know where to look, 

you can see Mt Unsen near Nagasaki.

Peak to the right is Mt Aso, active volcano.

(yes, at moment of writing you can access the rim).

To the left is Mt Nekko ...

nekko as in cat, as the peaks look like cat's ears.

Mt Aso has it all. Even rolling plains.

Birds and evening flowers nearby,

rain and thunder clouds far away.

Oops, oh hello Mr Anaguma.
You are so cute.

We shared a trail with this fellow. At one stage he passed us through the high grass as close as 2 meters away.

Also a trip to Oita prefecture was made.

Always fun to explore new countryside.

We stopped for a couple of hours enjoying the 

koi-nobori, flying carp flags.

at Tsuetate Town.

Next stop was:

Nabegataki Waterfall in Kumamoto.

Things to see around this Nabegataki Waterfall.

Honesty Stall.

Take what you like, drop the money in the coin locker.

This is Japan.

Then it was time for a hike at Mt Kuju while the tsutsuji (azalea) was flowering.

Know your Way....

The hot spring/ryokan hotel in the center of
 Kuju National Park.

The only way to get here is..... on foot.

Last year i hiked these peaks when the tsutsuji was at 98%.

This day it was maybe at 60%.

Still awesome.

Not all is pink.

Some is active volcano at Mt Kuju 

and hikers are warned not to linger too much at this spot.

Down there...Marijke is waiting ;-)

Waiting? 

There is always a bird, a flower or an insect to be photographed.

Driving home we passed some neat looking

& just planted rice paddies.

Magic countryside indeed.

More to follow.

Salute.