Visiting the Preustings
02 May 2005
Here I am, on the couch with the laptop, after another near overdose of sushi, it is time for an update. It is "golden week" in Japan. Friday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are national holidays, so with 2 extra vacation days, one can enjoy more than a week of vacation. This means high season, where flights and hotel accommodation are priced accordingly. It is busy at work, so Carlos and I will enjoy our golden week some other time. Nagasaki has the tall ships weekend, and Saturday it was raining cats and dogs. Last night we had heavy thunderstorm, with lightning and heavy rains. We had to close the windows, since the rain was coming in. The gods were clearly not happy about something. What a pity for the organizers of the tall ships weekend and for the tourists that came to visit Nagasaki. Sunday the weather alternated between rain and drizzle.It is so misty, we can't see the station from our appartment, which is less than 200 meters away. On the internet we read that temperatures in the Netherlands are in the high twenties...
Gerard celebrated his birthday on 16, April, a good reason to head over to Kumamoto. Since Isahaya is on the road to Kumamoto, we decided to leave straight from work on Friday night. Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy the scenery for very long, it gets dark around 7:30pm, something I can't get used to. Thanks to the car navigation system and the clear directions from Karin, we find the temple opposite their house without any problems. Gerard is already waiting for us to guide us to the parking lot. We cannot park in their street, it's too narrow.
The Preustings live in a cosy house, with a big kitchen and of course a garden, a must if you have kids. It is very quiet, and that quiet only gets interrupted by the sound of the drums in the temple across the street. Quite a difference compared to our appartment, where the horns of the departing ships and the breaks of the arriving trains seem to go on for ever. Saturday is Gerard's birthday, so presents at the breakfast table and birthday songs in Dutch and English.
Indra speaks quite a bit of English already. Although Karin and Gerard are not supposed to speak English to her, she doesn't like that, we do get to play word games. She knows the Dutch word for horse and dog, and "chicken" is translated as "McNuggets", well, you can't say she's wrong...
After breakfast we went to Mt. Aso, a vulcano close to Kumamoto.
You can go all the way up to the crater and have a look inside the vulcano. Unfortunately thevulcano was too active, so the road to the crater was closed. We did walk around a bit, but a view into a live vulcano is something special, so we will definately come back some time.
The kids are an attraction for the Japanese, they didn't come to Mt. Aso for nothing, they saw two cute blond Dutch kids. "Kawaii", is what you here them say all the time, which means "cute", and we can only nod our heads, yes, we agree.On the way back to Kumamoto, we stopped at a typical Japanese place for tea. We were given a private room, which you see quite often in Japanese restaurants. Ours was with a view of a beautiful Japanese garden with a pond with colorful fish.
Back in Kumamoto it was time to go shopping. Gerard got a barbecue for his birthday and today was a perfect day to use it. We bought meat, but also shrimp and salmon. Japanese love fish, and so do we.
Sunday we visited the castle in Kumamoto, something you have to see when in town. It is the third biggest castle in Japan and one of the more beautiful ones.
Traditionally dressed warriors and samorai walk around the grounds, something to bring out the kid in you...
The castle is beautifully restaured, with all the modern conveniences like drinking fountains and public restroooms, clean public restrooms.
Trash cans are rare, but that is typical for Japan, you are supposd to take your trash home with you...
Gerard celebrated his birthday on 16, April, a good reason to head over to Kumamoto. Since Isahaya is on the road to Kumamoto, we decided to leave straight from work on Friday night. Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy the scenery for very long, it gets dark around 7:30pm, something I can't get used to. Thanks to the car navigation system and the clear directions from Karin, we find the temple opposite their house without any problems. Gerard is already waiting for us to guide us to the parking lot. We cannot park in their street, it's too narrow.
The Preustings live in a cosy house, with a big kitchen and of course a garden, a must if you have kids. It is very quiet, and that quiet only gets interrupted by the sound of the drums in the temple across the street. Quite a difference compared to our appartment, where the horns of the departing ships and the breaks of the arriving trains seem to go on for ever. Saturday is Gerard's birthday, so presents at the breakfast table and birthday songs in Dutch and English.
Indra speaks quite a bit of English already. Although Karin and Gerard are not supposed to speak English to her, she doesn't like that, we do get to play word games. She knows the Dutch word for horse and dog, and "chicken" is translated as "McNuggets", well, you can't say she's wrong...
After breakfast we went to Mt. Aso, a vulcano close to Kumamoto.
You can go all the way up to the crater and have a look inside the vulcano. Unfortunately thevulcano was too active, so the road to the crater was closed. We did walk around a bit, but a view into a live vulcano is something special, so we will definately come back some time.
The kids are an attraction for the Japanese, they didn't come to Mt. Aso for nothing, they saw two cute blond Dutch kids. "Kawaii", is what you here them say all the time, which means "cute", and we can only nod our heads, yes, we agree.On the way back to Kumamoto, we stopped at a typical Japanese place for tea. We were given a private room, which you see quite often in Japanese restaurants. Ours was with a view of a beautiful Japanese garden with a pond with colorful fish.
Back in Kumamoto it was time to go shopping. Gerard got a barbecue for his birthday and today was a perfect day to use it. We bought meat, but also shrimp and salmon. Japanese love fish, and so do we.
Sunday we visited the castle in Kumamoto, something you have to see when in town. It is the third biggest castle in Japan and one of the more beautiful ones.
Traditionally dressed warriors and samorai walk around the grounds, something to bring out the kid in you...
The castle is beautifully restaured, with all the modern conveniences like drinking fountains and public restroooms, clean public restrooms.
Trash cans are rare, but that is typical for Japan, you are supposd to take your trash home with you...