Nakatsu City

　　In April this year, the mid-Kyushu centering Kumamoto Prefecture was hit by a huge earthquake and fourteen people were killed. The damaged regions are even now struggling to restore themselves, and so in addition to their efforts, the Government decided to issue discount tickets for accommodations in Kyushu to boost their reconstruction. Hotel charges in Kyushu are 70% off at most by the Government fund.
　　Contributing toward the recovery from the devastating blow, my wife and I made it a point to go for a drive to Nakatsu City, which is located at the northeast of Kyushu facing the Seto Inland Sea. We've been to the inland region of the city about 20 years ago with our whole family, but it was the first time to visit the center of the city. This city is known as the hometown of Yukichi Fukuzawa. You can see the face of Yukichi Fukuzawa on the 10,000 yen bill. We visited his museum and Nakatsu Castle, at which we learned lots of things. He was great as I expected.
　　Then we dropped in at two historic folk houses, which were used as clinics from about 1800 to 1950, before the dawn of the modern medicine. Precious stuff was exibited, but the visitors weren't permitted to take pictures. It was really regrettable.
　　BTW, the ferryboat in the following picture is connecting Shikoku and Kyushu.