Where we Lived
	We lived in a small town called Hondo city. If you look at a map of Japan you have to look for the a big southern island called Kyushu. The word Kyushu means 9 states and that is exactly how many there are. One of those states, or prefectures as they are called, is Kumamoto. Within Kumamoto there are a number of guns, or counties. We live in a rather conspicuous one called Amakusa. Amakusa is a group of islands that are to the west of mainland Kyushu. There are 120 islands connected to the mainland by five famous bridges that were completed in the 70s. The area is full of natural beauty and has been designated as a National Park. While there are 120 islands in total, most of these are very small. There are two main islands, Upper Island and Lower Island, that account for most of the land area in the region. The two islands are connected by a bridge in Hondo, which means True Crossing, or the The Crossing, for the obvious reason that it connects the two main islands. Because of its strategic location Hondo is the main city of the islands and kind of is a central meeting place. People come from the surrounding towns to shop, and to be entertained.. Hondo boasts a lot of restaurants, a bowling alley, a single screen movie theater and a recent addition, a small airport.