Today I´m going from Nakama in Fukuoka prefecture in nothern Kyushu to Kushikino in Kagoshima in southern Kyushu to visit a friend for a about a week. I have already managed to take the wrong train. I was surprised when the conductor asked me for 500 yen extra when he checked the tickets, only to realize I had gotten on the express train instead of the regular one I was supposed to get on. But the morning was great. I spent the night at Emma´s house and her parents were really sweet. They had set up a guest room and everything. I felt like a prince. And in the morning they made me breakfast and a bentou (lunchbox) to go! The only bad thing was that it is colder than I thought. It even snowed when I arrived at Fukuoka Airport last night. 

It is probably much colder in Sweden, but Japanese houses don´t have the same heating as Swedish houses, so it is much colder inside here even if it is warmer than in Sweden outside. Not the ones I´ve been in anyway. The isolation is not as good and instead of electric radiators in all rooms, keeping a constant temperature, they have heaters or (air...?) that gets real hot just around it and in the same room. Or kotatsu (heating under the table) at old style houses.

Unfortunately I haven´t been able to contact Petri, the friend I´m going to visit, so he doesn´t know when I´ll show up so that he can pick me up. Maybe I should have planned this trip a little better. I guess I´ll have to wait at the station until someone answers the phone when I call him... 

Um... I just heard this from the speakers: "blabla... Erik Andersson-san blablabla..." I didn´t hear what they said except my name and I had to think for a minute if it was my imagination or not. But I´m sure I heard it. And it´s not very likely that they meant somebody else with the same name and Swedish pronounciation, is it? But my train was about to come and I didn´t know who to ask about it so I just stood on the platform and looked silly. Then I got on my train and now I´m sitting here wondering what happened.

Right now I´m sitting in the station at Kushikino, freezing my fingers off writing this. It as supposed to be warmer here in Kagoshima!!! The worst thing is that a cat is lying next to me sleeping and it seems warm and cozy. 

Two older men sat down next to the cat and petted it but it didn´t react very much. However, when one of the men opened a beer can the cat stood up and meowed and looked cravingly at the can and the man. Then it got over there. But he didn´t give the cat any beer. Instead they teased it with some food so finally it gave up and ran away. But it returned later so I guess it thought it was affected by the cold outside too.

I finally got hold of Petri and he came to pick me up and I learned that it has been some of the coldest days right now so I hope it will get warm and nice the following days.