Glimpses of Japan Local - in JEnglish

  I don't know if someone forgot to pick them or intentionally left them as charms on the strawberry tree, but ripe fruits were visible among the green leaves. Although they are fruits the size of my index fingertip, they have quite a presence when taking a close-up shot. Some of them are slightly out of focus, but still emit a dazzling radiance. 　 Now, Since my memory is becoming unreliable, I use this blog as a memo to jot down my thoughts and capture spur-of-the-moment ideas with photos. While organizing the pictures, I found some that I had forgotten to feature. People living in  Fukuoka  might say, "Hmm, so what?" But while driving down National Route 3, past  Kurume , and on the way to  Yame , I came across an enormous Buddha statue. I deviated from my intended destination and parked my car in the parking lot. In Okagaki-cho,  Narita-san Fudo Temple is  located on a high hill overlooking the  Hibiki-nada  Sea . The parking space th...

When I arrived at the initial destination, Shiranoe  Botanical Garden, it was already well past 2:30 PM. The parking lot was only available until 5:00 PM, which posed a bit of a challenge for the pottering to the next end. A large number of tourists disembarked from the tour bus, seemingly visitors from Korea. Even for us locals who live nearby, this is a place we rarely visit, and it doesn't seem like a typical tourist spot. So, why are people coming here?  Where are they getting the information from? I haven't fully recovered from the previous ups and downs of  Takatou-yama  yet, so let's take a break before exploring. At the entrance, a staff member asked me if I were a resident of  Kitakyushu  City or  Fukuoka  City. Replied, "I live right in the middle of nowhere, in  Onga  District." "Well, then you'll need to pay the entrance fee..." she said. Although it was obvious that I was far over 65 years old, I wasn't eligible for any disc...