We set off the next morning (our wedding anniversary) for a little bit of Holland on the coast of Kyushu, Japan. Who would have thought?
Huis ten Bosch is a recreation of 17th century Holland. The Dutch were the only foreigners allowed to trade with Japan for over 200 years, from 1608 to the mid-1800's, and this theme parks celebrates that special relationship. Since I am 100% Dutch-American and Bonnie is therefore 50% Dutch-American, this was special.
This Disney-like theme park was opened in 1992, and is a lot of fun. The rides were sometimes amazing and sometimes silly. Our favorite was a space movie, which all the spectators 'starred' in. On entering, you have a 3-D facemapping and then your face appears as one of the characters in the film. John was especially prominent as a "Ranger"...you couldn't miss him.
There is even a special train to take one there from Hakata Station in Fukuoka. You can see my reflection in the train window, as I take the photo:
The place is gorgeous! And we were there for the Tulip Festival. You walk in and see this!
We really enjoyed the incredible floral display. Can you tell that I adored all the tulips? Here are some of the things we saw. You really almost felt like you were in Europe...except for all the Japanese employees, speaking Japanese...
Oh, and Happy Anniversary!
Posted by: Barbara | Monday, April 20, 2009 at 08:13 AM
I started glancing through the photos before reading the text, and thought, "Wait a minute. Didn't she say Japan?" What fun.
Posted by: Barbara W. Klaser | Monday, April 20, 2009 at 08:12 AM
How fun! I never would have expected to find a 'little Holland town' in Japan.
A belated Happy Anniversary to you and your husband - what a great way to spend the special day.
Posted by: tinker | Friday, April 17, 2009 at 11:05 PM
My goodness, it's gorgeous. I really would have thought it was Holland, which I've visited by the way! Lovely place with very good beer and very tall people.
Posted by: Margaret | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 07:51 PM