Omeazaki, Kobi, and Kochi

 Sorry about no pictures yet.  I will post them as soon as I figure the technology out!

Our first port of call was Omeazaki.  This area is known for growing a superb type of greeen tea.  The tea is grown in long narrow bush rows, very attractive!    Our guide told us how Cherry Blossoms are a big deal here, a national emblem.  There are over 200 varieties of cherry blossoms, many pink but also some white.  None of these trees produce cherries. 😢

While in our tour we visited a fish market.  So now I've been to a fish market; don't need to visit another. 😂

The next day our port was Kobe.  Kobi was the site of a devastating 1995 earthquake. After every earthquake they develop better ways to build and protect.  Construction is of wood, because it has "give."  Long ago they learned to build rock walls in a certain way that moves with the ground and does not crumble.  They used this method for construction of their castle walls.  

Misc. info about Japan:

Wildlife: mainly rabbits, monkeys, fox, wild boar, deer, goats, but mainly BEAR, which are getting squeezed out of their habitat due to climate change.  Their habitat overlaps with human habitat, resulting in increasing attacks and human deaths.

Geography:  Japan consists of 4 main islands, with about 6,000 islands total.  66% of the land is mountains and forest. 5% is residential use.  It is about the size of Germany, and at the latitude of North Carolina.

Manufacturing:  Southeast Asia has been the manufacturing capital of the world for decades.  Most clothing and furniture comes from here.


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