Day One (27 Oct 2008)
Sorry for the severe lack of updates on this blog. There has been no internet access for the past few days in the places where we've been staying. Please check back here regularly, as we will be uploading the full "stash" of pictures and photos once we return from Kyushu!
Entries for subsequent days in the trip will be posted whenever we have the opportunity to do so, or as soon as possible once we return from Japan.
Thank you!
*
DAY ONE
At 1.10am, 27/10/08, the 24 of us students, plus Mr Khoo Kay Yong and Mr Ron Tan took off for Fukuoka International Airport in Kyushu, Japan, on flight SQ656.
After the 6hr journey, we arrived at Fukuoka International Airport! Following that, we boarded our coach and had a 3hr bus ride to our first stop - Izumi City.
At Izumi, we proceeded to a "crane observatory"after lunch (we had a traditional Japanese meal). At the observatory, we were able to view around 200 cranes lounging in the surrounding fields. These cranes are in Izumi as part of their annual migration. Once the temperature rises at the start of spring (around mid-February), the cranes will fly back north to the island of Hokkaido.
As a side-note, Izumi is one of only three places in Japan where wild cranes can still be seen. This is due to extensive deforestation, which has destroyed the cranes' natural habitats and driven them away.
Our second stop of the day was the Tsukinoura Centre, where we learnt about Japan's methods of waste management. Similar to Singapore's NEWater scheme, Japan also recycles sewage, albeit in a slightly different way:
Japan converts solid human waste into a virtually odourless fertilizer for plants.
We visited their RBS (Reactor Bio Systems) plant to view the various stages of this process.
After our visit to the RBS plant, we proceeded to our hotel for the night, the Yunoko Sankaikan ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), where we were grouped 4 to a room. The inn is a beautiful structure overlooking the Yatsushiro Bay, and offers stunning seaviews. Yunoko Sankaikan also provides hot spring/spa/communal bathing services to its guests, and some of us entered the hot springs to experience the customs and practices of Japan.
In the evening, we ate a traditional Japanese dinner here, and even wore Japanese yukata, or robes!
We spent the night in the ryokan on futons (mattresses) laid out on each room's tatami mats. Despite the mattresses being relatively thin compared to those we usually sleep on back home, it was very comfortable, and most of us managed to get a good night's sleep.
Entries for subsequent days in the trip will be posted whenever we have the opportunity to do so, or as soon as possible once we return from Japan.
Thank you!
*
DAY ONE
At 1.10am, 27/10/08, the 24 of us students, plus Mr Khoo Kay Yong and Mr Ron Tan took off for Fukuoka International Airport in Kyushu, Japan, on flight SQ656.
After the 6hr journey, we arrived at Fukuoka International Airport! Following that, we boarded our coach and had a 3hr bus ride to our first stop - Izumi City.
At Izumi, we proceeded to a "crane observatory"after lunch (we had a traditional Japanese meal). At the observatory, we were able to view around 200 cranes lounging in the surrounding fields. These cranes are in Izumi as part of their annual migration. Once the temperature rises at the start of spring (around mid-February), the cranes will fly back north to the island of Hokkaido.
As a side-note, Izumi is one of only three places in Japan where wild cranes can still be seen. This is due to extensive deforestation, which has destroyed the cranes' natural habitats and driven them away.
Our second stop of the day was the Tsukinoura Centre, where we learnt about Japan's methods of waste management. Similar to Singapore's NEWater scheme, Japan also recycles sewage, albeit in a slightly different way:
Japan converts solid human waste into a virtually odourless fertilizer for plants.
We visited their RBS (Reactor Bio Systems) plant to view the various stages of this process.
After our visit to the RBS plant, we proceeded to our hotel for the night, the Yunoko Sankaikan ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), where we were grouped 4 to a room. The inn is a beautiful structure overlooking the Yatsushiro Bay, and offers stunning seaviews. Yunoko Sankaikan also provides hot spring/spa/communal bathing services to its guests, and some of us entered the hot springs to experience the customs and practices of Japan.
In the evening, we ate a traditional Japanese dinner here, and even wore Japanese yukata, or robes!
We spent the night in the ryokan on futons (mattresses) laid out on each room's tatami mats. Despite the mattresses being relatively thin compared to those we usually sleep on back home, it was very comfortable, and most of us managed to get a good night's sleep.
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