Parcly Taxel: Written Japanese has a very well-defined standard form, with little variation allowed even in informal contexts; it can be taught to secondary school ponies. Spoken Japanese, however, has so many acceptable variations that courses focusing on it are only offered as level-6000 modules at the National University of Equestria. Even the highly regulated registers required for newscasting can differ in the finer details from one source to another, though all are based on the Tokyo dialect.

Spindle: One variation prevalent in spoken Japanese is the yotsugana (四つ仮名): (じぢ)(ずづ). Theoretically they should have four separate pronunciations, but in most Tokyo-and-west dialects they have collapsed into two, the left ones in each pair listed here, and north of Tokyo all are pronounced like じ. Kagoshima is one of the few places retaining all distinctions.

Parcly: Fortunately, buffet breakfast in the Baishokaku was not fraught by any language difficulties – the food spoke for itself. We also had ample time to explore a bit more of Nagasaki after checking out, those parts we deemed not interesting enough at first glance.

Spindle: However, a heavy rain then descended upon the city, its pitter-patter audible even at the receptionist’s desk. We waited to allow those rainclouds to dissipate, then hiked a short way out of downtown to Mount Inasa (稲佐山).

Somnambula: Windigos, for me, are the antithesis of hope. They are born out of ponies lost in snow, with nothing left to sustain themselves, choosing to fade away rather than persevere in search of grass or berries to chew on. They neigh exclusively at high frequencies, devoid of life’s warmth and blending (together with their distorted lower bodies) into unforgiving mountain winds. Spindle, with her ability to generate warmth, is a lone candle in the darkness…

Spindle: When we arrived at an open plain on Mount Inasa, the outdoor stage and walkway to its observatory were both bereft of activity. “It’s redundant,” I suggested to Parcly, “we already had great views from the Baishokaku.” Parcly nodded and we left for Kyushu’s largest city of Fukuoka (福岡).

Parcly: Electronic expressway signage was now exhorting travellers to beware of slipping on these wet and foggy roads, especially in tunnels. Said messages were accompanied by an umbrella, following general practice of using icons over kanji or even kana in places where rapid recognition of information is critical.

More rain greeted us approaching the Tosu Interchange (鳥栖IC), requiring Spindle to stay in my heart and me to erect a force field umbrella. Japanese co-opted the English word “slip” to refer to slipping, so its katakana were what I saw on the electronic signs; I chuckled every time I passed such a message because “slip” is also a loanword in French meaning “briefs” (in the underwear sense).

Princess Luna: Dark skies did not deter my cuddly genie from reaching the Tosu Premium Outlets, where she bought a lot of gifts for the common ponies back home in Canterlot, mostly clothes and shoes. She had a ramen bowl for lunch in the accompanying food court.

Parcly’s shopping list was assembled from Hearth’s Warming wishes she had received that she couldn’t immediately grant; as soon as the items were purchased I teleported them to their respective recipients, keeping her saddlebags light.

Parcly: Between Tosu and Fukuoka I stopped by Tenmangu (天満宮) in Dazaifu (太宰府), where students who haven’t studied for exams pray for good results by various means, one of which is to rub various bronze bull statues scattered around the temple grounds. Obviously this is a silly idea – rubbing does not impart knowledge – but I get rubbed a lot in my bottle anyway so I rubbed five bulls and one kirin.

Cinder Glow: I wish that kirin statue was, well, a kirin. Right now its body suggests a lion. [Parcly turns Cinder Glow into a bronze statue]

Spindle: There, a true kirin statue!

Rain Shine: What an interesting prank. I’ll revert her to normal by sunrise.

Spindle: Thus, after a week of touring the entire island of Kyushu in a roughly clockwise pattern, from volcanos to hot springs and shabu-shabu to sweets, we came full circle and settled down at Grand Base Fukuoka, a modern city hotel with few rooms. Those premium outlet “villages” across Japan pale in comparison to the great swathes of land we explored.

Parcly: While we rested in our assigned room, Luna unloaded the Kyushu map data from my brain, seeing as I could rely on local transportation for the rest of my holiday. I went to sleep, dreaming of a library containing those maps, then she dreamwalked inside and emptied the bookshelves, leaving a pond shaped like the island.

Spindle: For our first dinner in Fukuoka we tried out a local special: “street ramen”, prepared in very small carts with dainty seats around a counter and cooks working at the bare minimum of food safety standards. The ramen we ordered got paired with yakitori and other assorted “meats-on-a-skewer”, a common side in the city. We also had our backs to the river against passers-by, which made for a greasy, rough and raw experience.

Parcly: Breakfast had to be bought in advance now – no buffets or host preparations to rely on. I walked to a supermarket and bought some cereal that would last me a few days, perhaps until my flight to Osaka and beyond. In the process I lost myself in narrow alleys, so a taxi took me back to the hotel, where I wound down the day and slid into the lifestyle I would follow for the next week or so.