At Odo, Fukuoka's public marina.

Fukuoka's public marina is named Odo Yacht Harbour.

21 Years ago we arrived here with Jan Haring after the yacht race: Auckland~Fukuoka.

At that time this marina wasn't super, and it still isn't.

Limited water, No Power, 

No protection from the swell when a NW gale is blowing.

And ...... Not Cheap 

(unless you stay for a month: Pay 10 days --> get 20 days free).

But our friends on Tweed and Sea Rover decided to stay here for the winter.

Nice for us!

This is Tweed....

And this is Sea Rover.

Digging In

Ehh, well it is still getting cooler (or should I say colder). A sign: Wakame likes to sleep (with us) under the blankets these days. What a change from this time last year when we were traveling the Kinabatanga River in Borneo. In the mornings we wake up to the sound of the generator: Making AC for the hot water kettle, the boiler, the toaster and ....the heather. Of course in the meantime recharging cameras, computers and boat batteries. And we run the air-cooled fridge to warm the aft cabin! So far the day-time temp is still above 10C, so it is not yet too bad. Yesterday we even had a top of 19C & little wind making it very comfy to sit in the cockpit. BTW, for our daily shower/bath we have the option to go to the gym, the biggg sento ( public bath) or our friend's house. Alishan has found her official spot here in the harbor and, as said; We are Digging In. Sundays of course helping out at the Morning Fish market: 5 AM Daily we meet up with friends from the past, go for runs ( yes i've signed up for a marathon in January), read books, go birding and do the odd boat jobs. Up till now, we have found the skill to avoid paid-jobs ;-) It's good to be here. Good friends Jon and Pam of sailing yacht Tweed have re-surfaced from their trip to Australia, and so .....we are "flat out". They are in ODO city marina, 10 minutes by Giant bicycle from here. Also there is Anton, from South Africa, on board of sailing yacht Sea Rover. Luckily, we feel we are still in a cruising-mode. Salute

Autumn Drive

Autumn leaves in Japan are something special. We were lucky we could borrow a car and went for a drive in the mountains around Fukuoka.

Every corner of this winding road showed us a new "painting".

Ha, this tree is loaded with orange fruit: "KAKKI" =persimmon.

Yummy fruit, and well know by crows and other birds, hence those umbrellas.

Just a nice spot at one of the many mountain temples.

We never get tired of visiting those places.

TOMBA tralala

The other day.....

We had to celebrate something....

Of course The Way to do so is with 30 (!!!) TOMBA.

Small fish, caught here in Fukuoka Bay.

Loaded with fish-fat, so the best way is cooked in soju and sakeh only.
YUMMY.

We are looking forward to our next anniversary.

Salute.

Meinohama News.

The weather really turns out to be autumn stuff. That Tee Thing (typhoon # 14) made a nice sweet turn away to the East and didn’t affect us at all. And as you can see, there are some sunny moments. But we do have cold N winds with a bit much rain. The cockpit enclosure is so nice to have, esp. with those extra 2-leggers on board.

Guess who is very happy to be back home again. Within 30 minutes of arrival Nori had scored his first fresh fish.

As ever before, Japanese calendar has many festivals. This one is for kids of preschool age and it is held at “our” temple here in Meinohama. Edwin and Melissa’s cameras are loaded to the rim with pictures!
Tomorrow is D-day for E & M. It will be quiet on board again.
And for us?
Well, start prepping for the winter.
And…J.O.B. hunting??