Chatting on the handphone today with my previous host family, Mrs Kyoko. I am very gleeful today because her family always made me feels at home when I am in Japan. By the way, their home. Itami city is three hours drive from Kyushu. Back to my trip in Kyushu. One leg of our journey in Kyushu, Japan was by bus. That portion of the trip really opened my eyes and new appreciation for the power of nature. The highway was peppered with beautiful roadcuts where mountain and hill were blasted and chopped away to create this thoroughfare. For a little while at least, the shifting of the scene from rock to trees to field occupied my eyes and brain. There was something almost exciting about not knowing what would next be coming into view. I also took in the lesson I'd learned from this bus ride: always keep at least one eye on the window. If you don't, you'll miss something. And you'll wind up being a lot poorer if you do miss what's out there waiting to be seen. It was their kindness and love for their own culture and traditions made me realize what I really love about Japan.The Japanese are warm-hearted people, always ready to help and aware that foreigners have language and navigating troubles.

Today's learning journey was a fun-filled and exhausting one. From today's experience I learnt that shrines in Japan brought about great history .Dazaifu Tenmangu is a shrine built over the grave of Michizane Sugawara venerated by the Japanese throughout the country as the Tenman-Tenjin (the deified spirit of Michizane), or the God of literature or calligraphy. Our resourceful tour guide explained that Michizane, who had been a high-ranking government officer, was demoted because of the slander and political chicanery of his rivals, the Fujiwara clan.We were told that he died in 903 at the age of 59.

His funeral procession was a melancholy occasion, attended only by his faithful follower Yasuyuki Umasake and a few neighbors. The coffin was carried on a cow carriage led by Yasuyuki, according to the legend the ox suddenly came to a halt and refused to budge despite threats and entreaties. A replica of the ox still remains today and it is found at the the entrance of the shrine to commemorate the legendary ox. The burial therefore took place on the spot, and this became the site of the Tenmangu's main shrine visited today by so many admirers. Michizane is celebrated as a man, pure in heart and deed, and after his death he was deified and worshipped as a God. The wishing well in the shrine caught our eyes and we were encouraged to make a wish. We took turns to throw coins in the well and prayed for the well-being of others and in education.

After making our wishes, we made our way to the Kumamoto Food Pal centre to have our scrumptious lunch (Hirugohan). The place was picturesque and the whole landscape was filled with colourful carnations. We had our lunch in the garden and soon it was time to visit the biscuit factory. The mini factory was fascinating and a wide variety of of assorted biscuit were sold at a discount for us students. We saw how the biscuits were made and many of us were convinced how fresh these biscuits were. My friends and I took the opportunity to taste the mouth-watery muffins and cakes. The muffins were moist on the inside and crunchy outside. We bought biscuits and made our way to the next destnation, the Kumamoto castle.

Upon reaching the beautiful castle, we were seperated into two smaller groups for better guide explanation. Kumamoto Castle was built by samurai lord Kiyomasa Kato between 1601 and 1607. He was known as a ferocious warrior under first Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later Ieyasu Tokugawa, Japan's first shogun at the start of the reclusive Edo Period. For his fealty, Kato was rewarded with sizable property in Kumamoto, in those days called Higo, and from Kyushu he led Japanese forces on military expeditions into Korea. After being recalled from Korea, he began constructing Kumamoto Castle in the year after the famous battle of Sekigahara. Our local tourguide was indeed very clear in explaining the history of the castle. We had to climb flight of stairs to reach the peak of the fotress. Once we reached the peak, we were welcomed by the gentle summer breeze that brought smiles across our exhausted faces. We took photos and sat down to take a break. The mood was set for and enjoyable day ahead…

Zaki