Kyushu-New Home
Sorry for the delay, it took us awhile to acquire internet for our computer. But now we have so much to update!
One of the recent excitements is our first ride on the famous Japanese Shinkansen trains. That’s right, for those of you who may not know, we recently moved from Toyohama to the amazing city of Fukuoka, and along the way we got to ride on the bullet trains. These babies can reach up to 300 km/hr! And just recently, Japan Rail expanded the Shinkansen onto Kyushu down to Nagasaki city; so we got to ride it all the way to our new home. To travel 1,000 kilometers, it took us only 2 hours! The ride was amazing, super comfortable, and so so fast. We barely even noticed that we had passed through Hiroshima, and already we were on Kyushu. These trains are also quite fancy. Throughout the ride, food attendants come through the cabins bringing drinks and treats to the passengers. They also have observation cabins with huge windows, for passengers to stand and enjoy the beautiful Japanese countryside whizzing by.
We’ve now been in our new place for a week, and have spent the entirety of the week getting to know the streets, shops, and transportation system. Talk about a whole new world! This is the Japan we had envisioned prior to coming here. Where to even begin? The train system here is incredibly convenient. Trains run every 15 minutes (or less!) unlike the once a hour and a half in our old rural city. It’s so so good! Not to mention, the trains are in great condition and they are so cheap! We have two different trains lines in our city and! a subway system, so getting around is a piece of cake.
Another thing we had come to really miss in countryside Toyohama were shopping centers. But here? No more exhausting bike rides to the nearest grocery store, mall, or train stop! (It’s funny the things you really start to miss… but did I mention, we now have a COSTCO? Yes, please!) And department stores galore. If there is one thing the Japanese people loooove, it’s shopping! Designer Brands are huge here. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel, Bvlgari, Coach… They are everywhere! Fukuoka is also prized by South Koreans and Japanese as an amazing shopping city. There is a place here called Canal City, that is a 4 level department store, that I swear takes up more than 4 city blocks. There is a canal that runs throughout the entire mall. It’s very beautiful. It has an IMAX theater, too! Let me not forget the below ground malls. At one of the subway stations, there is a large underground shopping mall with more beautiful goods to buy.
This city is the size of Seattle, Washington and Auckland, New Zealand; so it’s big but not too big. Architecturally, it’s got a very distinct flair. It’s still very much Japanese, but at the same time it has a lot of beautiful Parisian architectural traits. A lot of the windows have cute little French-feeling balconies and railings. All of the streets are quite wide, and lined with trees. A lot of the time I feel like I’m walking around in San Francisco or Washington DC. In comparison to most of Japan, this is very unique. The island of Kyushu was the first island of Japan that was opened up to foreigners to travel to and do business, so early in the cities history it developed an international feeling. It’s quite a foreigner friendly city, so we have already made a lot of great, interesting friends. We have befriended some Aussies, Kiwis, and Brits. It’s been very fun!
Some other cool facts about the city of Fukuoka that it has been consistently rated in the top 15 cities of the world to live in. And now that we are here, it’s no wonder why. This city truly is somewhere we could live for the rest of our lives and be completely happy. We are quite close to the ocean in one direction, beautiful mountains in another, and a buzzing metropolitan city in the middle. It’s definitely one of my favorite cities that I have been to.
Not only is the city absolutely wonderful in every way, but our new jobs are just as amazing. The management is unbelievably kind and generous. One boss is the son of the family owned business, and is completely opposite of our past school’s management with which we’ve had many difficulties and problems with. He is so extremely helpful with all our living and employment conditions. It’s a 180 degree difference. The school buildings and supplies are all sparkling nice, clean, and up-to-date. And the children are sooo amazing. We have both started training this past week, and it’s been a great experience. We can’t wait to fully start.
We truly love this new place and are so excited for our real Japan life adventure to now begin!! Thank you for reading, dear family and friends!