I have been living in Fukuoka for more than 10 years. Fukuoka is the biggest city on the Island of Kyushu, which is the southernmost of the four main Islands that make up Japan (not counting the Okinawan Islands which are further south still).
If you want to find out more about that go to http://kyushu.com/fukuoka/
I get to go out and about a lot with my Japanese partner and so I see a lot of the smaller places that don't make the guide books but are incredibly beautiful, nonetheless; places that often seem to be frozen in time.
I'll introduce some of these places, as well as other aspects of living and experiencing Japan that interest, intrigue and delight me.
I hope that you can find something that interests you too. Please feel free to make suggestions as to what you'd like to find out more about and if I can, and if you don't mind a non-expert, completely subjective and biased opinion (remember, I'm here because I love it here!) then I will try to address those ideas.
It has recently been Tango-no-sekku, or Boys' Festival. At this time of year families fly huge, carp-shaped streamers hoisted high on a bamboo pole, capped with a pair of gilded pin wheels. A carp is flown for each son in the family, a very large one for the eldest, the others ranging down in size. Here are some in Miyazaki prefecture.
The Japanese consider the carp to be the most spirited of fish; so full of energy and power that it can fight its way upstream even in the strongest flowing river. Because of its strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals.
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