Karatsu

Ena and I went to Karatsu today with some friends. We had a great time. I went there with my parents in March but the place looks different now that its May and all the leaves are out.

First we went to the castle:

There are some great views of the ocean, city and islands from the top:




There is a big wysteria vine that we just missed seeing in full bloom:
After leaving the castle, our friend Judit's car (she gave us a ride) suffered a dead battery. Fortunately we were able to get a boost:
After that we went to a park to have lunch and cake. It was Judit's birthday:

The park was on top of Kagami Mountain, which offered some spectacular views of the sea around Karatsu:


There was an interesting souvenir shop near the park with a bunch of dolls in it:
After that we went to a small town called Keya for dinner at a restaurant:
And we could see the sunset on the coast:

Mom and Dad visit!

My mom and dad are in town for a visit, they arrived on March 12 and we've been travelling around ever since. This is them with Ena in our place playing cards:
We took them downtown and took in Canal City and the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum. This is Ena and Mom at a shrine near the museum:
Unfortunately all 4 of us have been sick so we were not able to get a lot of the fun stuff into the first few days they were here, but after I recovered we headed out to Karatsu, a small city on the coast west of Fukuoka that is known for its castle, its pottery and a festival it holds each October. This is mom and dad in front of the castle:

Dad and I went up to the top of the castle, which had some fantastic views over the sea and Karatsu city: