Kagoshima Trip (Part Three)

 One problem with this trip was the weather, or rather, the forecast.

On Thursday, when we checked the weather for Kagoshima, rain was forecast for all of Saturday, so we changed plans and decided to visit museums on Saturday and the cat shrine on Sunday.

But when we woke up on Saturday, it was cloudy, but there were patches of blue sky. Checking the app again, we saw that it had rained earlier and no more rain was forecast until late afternoon. Great, back to the original plan.

We had breakfast and headed out to get a city tour bus. This bus stops at all the main tourist sites, a great service. There's a day pass, which we didn't know about, so you can hop on and off the bus. If I ever have a chance to go to Kagoshima again, that is something I would do.

A few places we stopped at.

The Kagoshima City Museum Of Art

The Kagoshima City Cultural Hall

We passed a lot of interesting places. 

After the city, the bus went up the mountains, as there are a few historical places to visit there. The whole time, the places we were passing were explained in Japanese and English. I was very impressed by the driver's ability to handle a bus on the narrow, steep mountain roads.

Hannah took this video.

Unfortunately, as we were getting close to the stop that we planned to get off at, it started to rain. Hannah checked the bus route and saw that it would stop at an aquarium a stop later. We considered staying on the bus, but the guy behind us was making us feel sick; he kept hacking and burping- really disgusting. We got off and went to Starbucks to wait for the rain to stop.

I love how Starbucks can make their stores blend into the area; they never seem to stand out.

This was the Starbucks. 

Really beautiful building that looks similar to other buildings in the area.

This is only the second time that I've been to Starbucks. I never know what to order, so I got a Matcha Latte; Hannah got some kind of coffee and a scone.

Starbucks order.

The rain finally stopped, so we went to the Sengan-en Gardens. These gardens belonged to the Shimadzu family. They have a wonderful view of Sakurajima, the volcano and Kinko Bay.

Near the entrance of Sengan-en Gardens, Sakurajima is in the background.

Part of the gardens had the ruins of an iron foundry. 

Apparently, this area was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Japan during the Meiji Era.

Part of the old iron furnace: a reverberatory furnace. 

A few more photos from the gardens.

Souvenir shops and cafes.

The old gate.

These were fascinating; how did they manage to balance the stones?

Hannah, with Sakarjima behind.

This pavilion was a gift from the Ryukyu king, now Okinawa

That's all I have time for today!

I hope to write more tomorrow.

Kagoshima Trip (Part Two)

 We got a taxi to the hotel. We did plan on using the trams that run through the city, but I couldn't be bothered with figuring out which one to get, where to get it from and which stop to get off at. The taxi was only a few hundred yen more than the tram would have been.

The hotel was nice but messed up the reservation. According to the hotel computer, Hannah had booked for one night; her confirmation message said two nights. Soon sorted, and we got to our room.

Nice room, not very big but big enough for a couple of nights. One problem was the water system; every time somebody ran water, we could hear it in our room. It wasn't very loud but rather annoying.

After a little rest, we went for a walk to get some dinner. 

The area we stayed in is called Tenmonkan, the central shopping area with a lot of restaurants, cafes and bars. Even though it was about 7 o'clock, it was very busy.

This is the view back towards the station. The Ferris wheel is on the 6th floor of the shopping mall!

We came across Don Quijote, a discount store that is very popular in Japan and with tourists. 

This is the front of the Don Quijote store, which is usually shortened to Donki. I was wondering if Japanese people understood the meaning of the windmill and the knight on a horse. I explained it to Hannah; she had heard of the book Don Quixote but didn't understand the concept of "Tilting at windmills".  

We finally made our way to Moss Burger, a Japanese fast-food burger place.

This was our dinner.

The green drink is melon soda that Hannah loves; I had iced tea.

Hamburger for Hannah, fish burger for me.

Sweet potato dumplings.

We ate, then slowly made our way back to the hotel. 

We stopped into Donki to have a look around; that was nice but very dangerous, too many good things, especially cosmetics and hair care products.

We picked up some breakfast at the convenience store connected to the hotel and got back to our room at about 9:30.

Sorry, but that's all for today!

It looks like both Hannah and I have a cold.

Hannah called earlier; she had a slight fever and sore throat. I feel a bit rough. 

I think we are both tired from our trip, and the sudden drop in temperature hasn't helped at all.

Yesterday it was about 18℃ in the morning; this morning it was only 8℃. A big difference!

Kagoshima Trip (Part One)

 Hannah and I left Friday afternoon and arrived back Sunday evening. Even though it was only one full day in Kagoshima, we managed to squeeze a lot in!

From Hannah's apartment to Kagoshima, we used a bus, train and the Shinkansen. 

We arrived early at the train station and decided to have a late lunch. There's a really nice cafe called Ufufu; the name comes from a Japanese onomatopoeia for a soft, feminine giggle. Somehow the cafe has that kind of atmosphere.

We weren't very hungry, so we got a pizza and some chips to share.

After eating that, we decided that we should get a little something else, so we ordered a pancake. We thought that it would be rather small, but it turned out to be very big!

That's my phone next to it, that's how big it was. I got maybe three mouthfuls, Hannah, who said she wasn't hungry, managed to eat the rest! It was very nice and fluffy and not overly sweet!

We then got the train to the Shinkansen station.

In the Shinkansen station is a model of the area showing the station and how the tracks come into the station.

These were our tickets.

We found the platform alright. One thing with in the train stations that I like is that the informations comes up in English. With the places I'm used to I can read the Japanese but with places that are new to me I'm not sure of the Kanji!

As we were waiting the Shinkansen bound for Osaka, I think, pulled in.

The Shinkansen is very comfortable to ride but very nosiy when waiting on the platform. 

The view from the station shows where I usually teach. There are two pink signs, the one on the left hand side says Diaso, the community centre I teach at is just behind there.

Hannah on the Shinkansen

We got to Kagoshima at about 6 o'clock! The trip on the Shinkansen felt very fast, it took about an hour and a half but felt a lot faster!

I thought I could write more but I have to get ready to go and teach now!

Part two tomorrow, I hope!

I'm Back

 I wanted to write about my trip to Kagoshima, but I'm still very tired and have to work this afternoon,

I had a wonderful time; it's a really beautiful city with a lot of fascinating history.

We walked a lot; we ate, maybe not a lot, but certainly very good food; we laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

As always, I regret not losing weight and getting healthier. By the end of the trip, I was in agony with my back and legs!

Just a few photos. I hope tomorrow I can write in more detail about this trip.

Our tickets for the Shinkansen.

Near our hotel

Sengan-en gardens and cat shrine.

The Meiji Restoration Museum

From the Shinkansen on the way home.

I really hope I have a chance to write tomorrow!

Changing Plans

 I don't really like change. I prefer routine, so I know what I'm doing and where I'm going. But of course, life is not easy; it tends to get messy and being able to go with the flow really saves a lot of stress.

This month I've had to let go of my routine and really learn how to go with the flow.

Mikey and I use a community centre to teach in. I go every Tuesday and Wednesday, same place, same staff, same group who uses the gym, judo club one day, karate club the next. I'm used to seeing them, using my basic Japanese to greet them. It's nice; it's routine. A few shops nearby are within walking distance if I have a bit of free time. This month, however, we can't use that community centre as there's a big festival at the end of the month and the centre is being used for preparation and practice. 

Mikey spent most of the last week calling other community centres, but most are already booked up. We had to reschedule Tuesday's class as there wasn't any place available. That meant that my Tuesday felt strange; I'm used to doing everything in the morning and getting ready to leave by 2:30. This week I could relax, take more time with the chores and spend time designing T-shirts and reading; I actually enjoyed myself.

On Wednesday, Mikey found a community centre that we can use for this month. It's an older building but still nice. One problem was that the toilets are at the other end of the building. You have to go through the kitchen and down a corridor to get to them. When we arrived, I could find them alright. My problem was trying to find the light switches in the dark. As it's an older building, there were lots of creaks and strange noises, which seemed a lot louder in the dark

Different community centre.

I've also had to go with the flow as I'm staying at Hannah's for a couple of days before our trip to Kagoshima.

I have a very set idea as to what a good breakfast is. My idea of breakfast is eggs, some kind of meat, either bacon or sausages, toast (recently I don't have toast every day) and some fruit and yoghurt. In the cooler weather, I make a more Japanese-style breakfast: miso soup, rice, some kind of protein, and some vegetables.

This was breakfast at Hannah's this morning.

The gold pack is Calorie Mate, a Japanese bar that gives you essential nutrients. Quick and easy. I like Calorie Mate but would never consider it for breakfast. And yes, that is a pack of Pringles!

Another change that I have to deal with is our trip to Kagoshima. Hannah and I planned to visit a cat shrine on Saturday, but the weather is refusing to cooperate; it's going to rain! As much as I don't mind walking in the rain, I don't really want to traipse around a shrine in it. I want to take photos and video, which isn't easy when balancing an umbrella. We changed our plans and are going to go to the shrine Sunday morning; we will spend Saturday at a museum and aquarium.

Going with the flow really does help. I guess life is never perfect, and all the plans we make can be changed without notice.

I don't know when I can post again. I'll have a lot to share after our Kagoshima trip.

Confused

 Does anyone else confuse themselves, or is that my own particular talent?

Daily life can be confusing because I have to deal with things in a language that I can barely understand. If it's anything important, I get one of the kids to help out; otherwise, I try to muddle through on my own.

Today, however, I got myself so tied up in mental knots that I'm now exhausted.

It all started with a video about making money from Pinterest. 

I've had a business Pinterest account for years but have never figured out how to use it. I've read blog posts on it, but I never figured out what to do with it!

I've put a few of my T-shirts on there, but it didn't really help.

Then I came across this video, an answer to all my prayers: a simple, easy way to make a bit of money from Pinterest using Amazon Associates.

I already have both Pinterest and Amazon Associates set up, so I just had to follow the steps for making pins to promote Amazon products.

I always thought that you had to use the products to promote them, but apparently not.

The video showed how you go to Amazon, find a product in your niche, take a screenshot of the product photo/description and go to ChatGPT and ask it to make a pin for you and create the title and description.

So easy, so quick....NOT!

I decided on cat goods as my niche, so I changed the name of my Pinterest account. I found a nice cat climbing tower that, if I had money, I would buy.

Then the fun started! How to use a snipping tool; what is a snipping tool? I had a little chat with AI, who I think is slowly judging me as I keep asking very obvious questions. Found out how to do that, not perfectly, but it's a start.

ChatGPT made me a nice pin.

The pin that ChatGPT made.

It made the title and description. I did another couple of products last night, but I was very tired, so I stopped after three pins.

I checked my Amazon Associates account, and I had two clicks; it's a start.

Encouraged by this, I decided to make a few more pins today. I did two more then realised that the link was going to Amazon JP, the Japanese Amazon page.

But the pin is in English. When I clicked on the link after making the pin to make sure it works, it took me back to the product page set up in English because that is my setting. I don't know if anybody else would get the product page in English or the default setting of Japanese. If they get the default setting, there is a way to change it to English, but would people bother? It's not hard but I think if people saw Japanese, they would just click away without seeing if the language could be changed. 

So I decided to be clever and set up an Amazon UK account. Another 40 minutes of filling out forms, trying to find my phone number and the postcode for this address.

On my UK site, I want to promote books, but it doesn't go with the cat theme on my original Pinterest account. Brainwave: create another Pinterest account- so easy....NOT.

Each Pinterest account has to have its own email address, so I had to set up another Google account. Another half hour of messing around, mixing up passwords and swearing at the computer (I hope the crows weren't listening), I finally got everything set up and made one pin for a book that I would love to read.

I then realised that I should have used my new email on the UK Amazon account.

That's tomorrow's problem to solve.

All I want to do is make money!