Visiting Kyushu: Kurume

Over the weekend Sarah and I went to visit one of our high school friends who lives in Kurume, a small town in Kyushu.

Reunion!  We're all blonde now.

Kurume was really interesting to see, since I've only been to a very few locations outside of Tokyo. The streets and sidewalks are much wider, and it felt like I could see farther because the buildings weren't nearly as tall. The town had a very warm friendly atmosphere, and Hunter has friends all over, and is also acquainted with all the neighborhood cats.

Small Town Japan

The chickens slide back and forth on the hour!

It turns out that Bridgestone Tires was started in Kurume. I had no idea, but Bridgestone is a Japanese company. The name comes from the Ishibashi family whose last name means "stone bridge."

Hunter with the Tire

We didn't actually go in, but Hunter took us past a karaoke place that looks crazy!  It's actually based on Gaudi's architecture, but it sort of looks like a hallucination.

Creepy, right?

But everything was really beautiful while we were there.  There were still some Sakura blooming (though they're not the normal kind - these remind me a little of carnations), and the carp flags are out for the Boy's Day celebrations.

Sakura Lined Canal

Carp Flags

Stay tuned for a post about all the food we ate there!