Southern Japan is really tropical with bamboo and orange groves. I visit a little island called Shikanoshima which happend to be the focal point of the Mongol Invasion in 1280 AD at the port of Hakata. The original gold seal that was a present from the Emperor of China to the Emperor of Japan in 600 AD was recovered from a rice paddy on the island. It smells of orange blossoms.
Very historic with beautiful old temples and gardens. When I was there, I lived in an 800 year old house with a traditional Japanese family, father was sumo promoter and mother was classic koto concertist. I was 20 years old and became very Japanese in my outlook. We had the fireplace in the center of the living area and solid treetrunks holding up the corners of the room. There really is another way of living besides the USA model and it works very well.
I'm still planning on retiring in the area on a part time basis at some time in the future. Sweet dreams.
http://www.fukuoka-now.com/features/...fn_code=431843