good morning 4am. yes, still jet lag in my body and it’s all my fault for watching 3 movies instead of sleeping on the airplane coming to japan. when i fly home tonight, i’m going to try to sleep as soon as i get on the flight. i have a busy day tomorrow in hawaii so i better be wide awake. have to run around town doing things followed by a big celebration party tomorrow night for my niece. but for now, i’ll just toss and turn in bed waiting for the sun to come up. have breakfast, go shopping, and then catching a flight to fukuoka. it’s been a long 3 days here but i’ve had so many great experiences. in fact, something happened to me in tokyo that i’m still in disbelief. i’m either dreaming or something but once reality sets in when i get back to hawaii, i’ll probably run down kalakaua avenue screaming my head off just like how a guy would do if he just won the lottery. but for now, it’s just too surreal to me.
there is an island off kobuchihama where there are more cats than humans. and since matsu and toco-can love cats, kimura-san had us jump on his boat and we crossed the channel to Neko Island. riding on the boat exploring the deep culture in japan is amazing. to see the seaweed, oysters, and nori growing is amazing. life is back!
there are less than 70 people living on this island with the youngest resident being 55 years old. and the myth is that there are more cats than humans.
when we got off the boat at the harbor, there were no cats around. then once we walked up the mountain, they all came out. cats everywhere! big fat healthy ones!
these cats use to hang out near the harbor eating the left over fish scraps but ever since the tsunami, they never came back. now they hang out up on safer ground. i forgot the island name but if you are a cat lover looking for a cool place to get away from the rest of the world, this island would be perfect.
i just wanted to say Merry Christmas to Kimura-san’s 2 beautiful daughters Shiori-chan and Miho-chan. seeing these 2 girls smiles yesterday brightened up my day.
and if you seen what i’ve been eating in these past 3 days, you wouldn’t like me. in fact, i don’t even like myself. so i’ll just keep it a secret for now.
and the signs of the tsunami are still everywhere. i remember pulling up to this parking lot in kobuchihama in april 2012 and seeing this HELP painted huge in the parking lot. it’s still there today and it reminds me that there is a long road ahead for some people in japan. a road that we will follow forever. We Are One!
