Fukuoka- Land of Blessed Hills

Fukuoka 福岡- Land of Blessed Hills

The mountain range surrounding the city of Fukuoka- image taken from Fullthangka

We are now living in Fukuoka City, literally meaning "Blessed Hills" in Japanese.  Here we have a place to call home and though it still feels foreign in many ways we are becoming acquainted with it daily.  Fukuoka city was shown to me as I sought the Lord in prayer last year. God's Divine Wind- Call to Fukuoka

We have fought our way to get here and through many trials and sufferings that seemed to hold us back we have come. I cannot fully detail all of them in a single post, so I will leave it for a later time.  What is important is that we have arrived and we are grateful to God and the many who helped us along the way.

Fukuoka City is one of the oldest cities in Japan. It has a rich history and has been ranked as one of the most livable in the World according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuoka

However, I have yet to come such a conclusion seeing I have been here less than two months.  There are certainly a lot of things to explore.  With time I hope I am able to see and understand the reason we are here.

Reasons and purpose give us hope.  If we only exist in space and time merely for the purpose of existence hope begins to slip away.  Hope is an enduring virtue that the apostle Paul writes about saying,

"Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."

I Corinthians 13:13

Hope keeps us going in the midst of our sufferings and difficulties, being bonded with faith and love.  It is a bond not easily broken, nor a bond that will fade away.

Looking into the future,

There are many challenges ahead of us and we are challenged daily as we settle in this land.
We look forward to the blessings to come as we labor and work for the Kingdom of God.

Two women wearing kimono stroll down a street in Daimyo, downtown Fukuoka City.

It is clear to see that in Fukuoka there is great attention and resources spent of fashion and aesthetic pleasure but something is missing.  In the midst of all the glamour and decor there seems to be a loneliness, a hollow vanity.  So many people dressed up in their best but the look of searching is still on their faces.  There is a wanting that is hard to describe.  I admire the many wonderful and interesting things I see in Fukuoka, but I hope that these searching souls may find rest and peace in the Gospel of Christ.

Of course like any metropolitan city there are urban characteristics that leave the heart longing for the beauty of nature, which is only a half hour drive away.  It is a city that seems to have sprung up in middle of the wild.  Surrounded by mountains and accompanied by a beautiful bay area it makes for quite a unique place in Japan.

Fukuoka City night skyline-image taken from wikipedia

This is the place of the Divine Call and we marvel that we are here today. I cannot pretend that I knew it would work out this way, I merely believed in the One who can make such things possible.


Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”


Matthew 19:26

When I am tired and confused, lost and hurt He reaches down in the way only He can to revive me and put me back on the path He has made for me.


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11


It is an amazing experience when you actual experience the Word of God through living by faith and seeing events come to pass that mirror the experience of those in the Bible rather than study them as academia or as a root study.

Be blessed as you live your life, May you see the and experience God in great ways.

Only in Japan: Noodles of Longevity

Photo taken from popartichoke

In Japan it's a tradition to have soba noodles on New Year's Eve.  In Japanese it is called Toshi Koshi Soba, 年越しそば. (End of the Year Soba) While many in the West are gearing up for party time, the Japanese have a more quiet tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the Edo period.
Most of these seasonal traditions in Japan are rooted in superstition.  The long noodles symbolize a long life, so as the New Year starts you have in a sense the promise or blessing of a long life with you as you partake of the food. It certainly isn't something Japanese take too seriously, but it is something to ponder. 

As it is with many Japanese customs, behind the superstition there is a pearl of wisdom to be found that people long ago discovered and passed on. Using the form of superstition or tradition the Japanese preserve the wisdom and memory of their ancestors. In Japan the fall harvest time is a festive time of feasting and eating while the food from the harvest is still good.  As the year comes to an end in December, there are still gatherings in the form of feasts and merryment in order to forget all the troubles of the year gone bye called Bo Nen Kai 忘年会. After all the gorging and drinking, it most have seemed the healthy way for the Japanese to embrace the New Year in sober and simple fashion with a bowl of buckwheat noodles (soba).

So as I sat and took in the warm bowl of noodles and soup, I did feel a comfort at the simplicity of the meal. There's something special about taking your time and practicing a custom with proper reflection. So will I live a long life? Well, on a cold New Year's night a bowl of warm noodles sure couldn't hurt.

Tales From Japan: The Coming of the Great Tokai Earthquake in 20??

Captured as one of the most startling images of 2011 from National Geographic.  Lighting sparks as volcano erupts in Kyuushuu Japan.

An image of an erupting volcano in Kyuushuu Japan. Mt Shinmoedake is the most recent major volcanic eruption on the island of Japan. It erupted in January 2011 and subsequently a few more times afterward leading to the evacuation of a few hundred local residents. The department of Japan's government who handles such issues raised the level of emergency to a level 3 out of 5. Level 5 is a full blown eruption requiring the immediate evacuation of all local residents and subsequent areas of danger.


Japan Metereological Agency explanation of levels and safety measures




































Looking at the history of Japan and its seismic and volcanic activity reveals a harsh and fearful reality.  It is difficult to accept that many will die, many more injured and scarred for life by the trauma of it all.  Yet the earth continues on without malice nor a whim of our concern. The truth of the matter is that the earth has a schedule to keep and our presence will simply not detour it.  A great earthquake is always brewing, especially in Japan where seismologists have upped the percent of a magnitude 9+ earthquake hitting the Kanto region in the next 30 years to 87%, though some put it even higher into the upper 90th pecentile.

While Japanese are confident in their building technology and prevention measures, as March 11, 2011 demonstrated, nature can exceed human preparation and expectation.  The Great East Japan Earthquake devastated Japan but not nearly as much as a potential M9 earthquake even closer to the highly populated capital and metropolitan area of Tokyo.

More info here
Researchers raise level of great Earthquake to hit Japan

Although scientists do not exactly know when an earthquake will hit they have a clear understanding of their cyclical nature and early warning technology is still advancing.  In fact, the Great Tohoku Earthquake was actually detected 1 minute in Tokyo before the earthquake began.  This perhaps gave some people a moment to find a safe area or take cover.

Below is a video in Japanese that explains the sure inevitability of the Great Tokai Earthquake that will come in our lifetime.  The scary thing is that on this 300 year cycle as before Mount Fuji is bound to erupt.  That means that this next Tokai quake will most likely be 1000 times stronger than the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923.



(The video is in Japanese but needs no real translation just watch the visuals and you will get the idea. Plus if your studying Japanese there is some motivation for you).

Beside Japan there is also talk of a great earthquake and tsunami that will hit the west coast of the United States. Many experts are concerned with the continued high activity on the pacific ring of fire and some believe that another great earthquake will occur in 2012 somewhere along it.

 

Some experts see the potential for another Great Earthquake along the Juan de Fuca plate devastating Oregon and triggering massive and destructive tsunamis along the west coast of America.  This earthquake like the Tokai Earthquake in Japan is due to occur this century.

More info here
The Great Coming Cascadia Earthquake

The population of the world is increasing and people are naturally drawn to live in places near fault lines which tend to have properties conducive to human settlement.  This is the conundrum that humanity faces as civilization evolves and progresses.

For an island people like the Japanese there seems to be little but no choice to invent, improve, or adjust to drastic living conditions in order to survive.  This is their fate and many of them affirm it and have strong resolve to prepare for great disaster because...

The next Big One could be tomorrow!