TAKING THE SHINKANSEN (BULLET TRAIN): July 6th was the day we left Hakone. We took the Shinkansen (the bullet train) south to the southern island of Japan, Kyushu. The kids' great grandmother (we call her Obaachama) lives in Kita-Kyushu, the northern part of Kyushu. The bullet train took about 3 hours to get there. On the train we bought and ate o-bento's for lunch; they are premade lunches of sushi and vegetables in nice neat boxes.
JAPANESE MONEY (YEN) : While we were waiting for the train, we enjoyed looking at the money of Japan, the yen. Their money is so different and beautiful! Different bills are different colors and in the middle there is a circle which has a water mark of a face. When you hold it up to the light you can see the mark. Here is a 1000 yen bill. It sounds like a lot of money but it is approximately equal to US $10.00.
NEW TAGAWA HOTEL IN KOKURA: Well, we finally made it on the Shinkansen from Odawara Train Station (near Hakone) to Kokura Eki. Kokura is a pretty large city. Lots of banks, departments stores and malls, hotels, and restaurants. We took a taxi to the hotel and were there in 5 minutes. Would you believe that in a large city like Kokura (See photo of Kokura Train Station at night, and photo of Ruby getting off an escalator in Kokura) that there would be such a tranquil, relaxing, beautiful garden (see photo of garden with pagoda and water)! The hotel was a nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city!
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