Okura Fukuoka Luxury Hotel in Fukuoka Japan

The Okura Fukuoka Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel, located in the heart of the Hakata Riverain complex on the banks of the Naka River.

Set within this elegant entertainment area, complete with designer shops, restaurants, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, and the Hakataza Theater, the Okura Fukuoka Hotel is perfectly placed for both the business and leisure traveler to Fukuoka.

Accomodation and Facilities in Okura Fukuoka Hotel Japan

Setting new standards in service, the Okura Fukuoka Hotel embodies the Japanese tradition of warm hospitality in a stylish and sophisticated atmosphere.

Combining simplicity with elegance, each of the 267 guest rooms at the Okura Fukuoka Hotel is beautifully furnished with a selection of high-quality amenities, with an emphasis on comfort and convenience.

Hotel facilities at the Okura Fukuoka Hotel include a fully equipped gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool, saunas. Experience the time of your life at the Hotel Okura Fukuoka Japan.

Okura Fukuok Hotel Japan: 3-2 Shimokawabata-machi Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0027 Japan

Japanese Plum Early Start to Spring

The Japanese plum or ume (sometimes referred to as Japanese apricot) has played an important role in Japanese culture for many centuries. It was originally introduced from China.

The plum is associated with the start of spring, because plum blossoms are some of the first blossoms to open during the year. In the Tokyo area, they typically flower in February and March. The event is celebrated with plum festivals (ume matsuri) in public parks, shrines and temples across the country.

Like cherry trees, plum trees come in many varieties, many of which were cultivated by humans over the centuries. Most plum blossoms have five petals and range in color from white to dark pink. Some varieties with more than five petals (yae-ume) and weeping branches (shidare-ume) have also been cultivated. Unlike cherry blossoms (Sakura), plum blossoms have a strong fragrance.

The most popular processed form is the umeboshi, a sour, pickled plum, which is usually enjoyed with cooked rice. The umeboshi has one of the most typical Japanese flavors. Umeshu, a sweet alcoholic beverage made of plums, is also very popular.

Some popular plum spots in and around Tokyo

Kairakuen (Ibaraki Prefecture): Mito Station, JR Joban Line Ranked as one of Japan's three finest landscape gardens, Kairakuen features over 3000 plum trees of 100 varieties. A plum festival is held annually from February 20 to March 31.

Koishikawa Korakuen (Tokyo): Korakuen Station, Marunouchi Subway Line A beautiful Japanese landscape garden in central Tokyo with a few dozen plum trees. A ume matsuri is held from February 10 to March 4, 2007

Hanegi Park (Tokyo): Umegaoka Station, Odakyu Line
A small park with about 700 plum trees of many varieties. The Setagaya Ume Matsuri is celebrated here on weekends and holidays from February 3 to 25, 2007.

[Source: japan-guide.com]

Spa Chocolate Valentine's Bath in Japan

A Japanese spa is offering the perfect aphrodisiac for Valentine's Day chocolate baths. Those who just can't get enough of the sweet stuff can immerse themselves in water mixed with cacao and fragrant bath powders. Twice a day, staff pour creamy chocolate over the bathers, who smear it over their bodies or lick it off.

This bath is my Valentines Day gift for him this year, said Mayumi Uekusa, who traveled more than two hours with her boyfriend to the Yunessun spa in Hakone, north of Tokyo, to soak in a mixture of warm water, cacao and aromatic bath powders.

"Life ain't as sweet as this bath, darling," quipped her boyfriend Yuichi Omata. Japanese women have long been the ones to give their guys gifts on Valentine's Day.

While couples shared romance in the bath, families with grandmothers and babies in tow also spread chocolate over their faces and bodies. Everybody wore a bathing suit.

Confectioner Morozoff is widely credited with introducing Valentine's Day to the country in a 1936 advertisement for chocolates. Some two decades later, Mary Chocolate used Valentine's Day as a sales promotion in what is generally seen as the first such commercial endeavour.

Now in Japan, as in many countries, chocolate and romance go hand in hand and for many lovers, Valentine's Day just wouldn't be the same without these sweet treats.

The Aztecs believed chocolate was an aphrodisiac that invigorated men and made women less inhibited, and when it came to Europe, it quickly became the perfect gift to inspire lust.

Modern research shows that chocolate helps release "feel good" hormones in the body, which trigger reactions that mimic the feelings associated with being in love.

The Japanese spa resort offers dozens of other "amusement" baths, including a wine bath, a coffee bath, and a sake bath. In the past, it has even offered a curry dip. A ticket that allows access to all these baths costs about 3,500 yen, or $29.

[Source: news.aol.com]