The Fukuchan Diaries

The Fukuchan Diaries – 秋の旅 part IV

Today was farewell day!
First, we said goodbye to the wonderful people of Minshuku Takayoshi. I really love this place and always feel like at home!
Then, we took a long distance bus to the airport of Kagoshima. After 2 hours under pouring rain, I said goodbye to my customers, who flew back to Osaka. They were really nice and uncomplicated; I enjoyed the tour with them und hope to stay in contact!

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The Fukuchan Diaries – 秋の旅 part III

Now, the 3rd but not the last post of the autumnal diary. First, the end of the trip with my customers in Kyushu and then, in a few days, my great 3 days stay in Yakushima, the subtropical paradise!

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The Fukuchan Diaries – 秋の旅 part II

The schedule was as follows: Arrival at our hotel at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and then stroll on the coast admiring the Mount Fuji. What really happened: 15 minutes after our departure from Matsumoto, the train suddenly stopped in a deserted station and stayed there for 3 hours due to a signal breakdown…

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Over the clouds…

…caught in a time bubble. Cradled by the conversations of my co-passengers, I’m sipping a cranberry juice and eating Finnish chocolate while admiring the city lights of some remote Siberian village.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Country Road to Hell

Time flies! So much work to do (translations, preparations for Japan, etc.) in the last two weeks… But now I finally could spend a few hours to continue the Finland Diary. At the end of the week, I’ll then try to publish the last part of our Scandinavian journey.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Shades of wet green

08:30 – It’s so quiet out there! We just wake up. Although yesterday’s fire is long extinguished, it’s still warm in the whole house. Outside it’s all grey, no light, and about 10°C… As it’s not raining yet, we’ll try to go hiking in the nearest national park, Leivonmäki.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Call of the wild

10:30 – everything is packed, it’s time to go! From today on, we’ll stay for 5 days at the cottage of our friends, about 200 km north of Helsinki, without electricity or tap water!

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The Fukuchan Diaries – A Finland summer tale – Part I

10 days of wet nature beauties, heart-warming hospitality, new friends and great Nordic food, that’s resumes pretty well our 3rd Finland trip.
Here you’ll find the story of the first 3 days. Despite the bad weather, it was once again a great experience. Finland is definitely my favourite country in Europe!

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Next trip & latest news

After a few weeks in Germany, tomorrow begins a new journey, this time to Finland! After a birthday party near Helsinki, we’ll spend a few days in the wild, in the cottage of our friends (many thanks an Anna-Leena & Sauli!) and go for hiking in the several national parks around.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Oceanic gourmet trip & heart of the Japanese spirituality

Last week, after only one day of rest in Osaka, I started a new journey, a 3 days’ trip between the islands of the Aichi Archipelago and the Ise peninsula. This peninsula houses the most sacred places in Japan for all Shinto believers, the Ise Shrines. In a few weeks, Ise will become famous even internationally, being host of the next G7 meeting.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Shodoshima

Two weeks ago, I travelled to Shodoshima, literally “the island of small beans”, during 5 days. This island, the second largest of the Seto Inland Sea (between Honshu and Shikoku), is famous for its several soy sauce makers, for being the first area of Japan to successfully grow olives and is home to a smaller version of the 88 Buddhist temples pilgrimage.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – New highlights of the first two weeks

04.18 – Business day in Sakai
Last monday, I spent a whole day in Sakai, an ancient town south from Osaka, famous for its many handicrafts. In order to optimize my tours around Osaka, I visited various craftsmen (cutler, incense sticks manufacturer, seal maker, etc.) together with a Japanese friend.

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The Fukuchan Diaries – A Letter to Momo

A few days ago, we’ve seen this very nice anime, the moving story of Momo, a little girl whose father just died and who moves with her mother from Tokyo to a small island of the Seto Inland Sea (between Honshu and Shikoku).

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The Fukuchan Diaries – Preparations

Beginning of the journey in 2 weeks. All the novels are bought, I familiarized myself with my new camera, I now just have to cure an “Easter cold” and pack the bags!

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