Accidental drunkeness

The highlight of my day was accidentally getting drunk at an outdoor food stall, while eating ramen and watching the afternoon light fade. The food stalls are set up along one of the many small rivers in Fukuoka. I had walked through the food stall area a little nervous about accepting the shouting men's offers of various kinds of food. There were no picture menus, only small glass cases crammed with what looked like random meat and seafood.

I stopped at the end of the stalls to take a picture and realized that the man at the last stall was saying "ramen." Yes! I know ramen! Fukuoka is known for its ramen and I hadn`t had any yet.

I still hesitated for a bit.

The shouting man watched me watch him. We watched each other for a moment. Finally I realized I was being ridiculous and walked over to him.

"Ramen?" I said.

He gestured to the table which was just a narrow piece of board suspended over a bench surrounded by stools. After placing my order he came back and asked if I wanted something to drink.

"Drink? Beer?" He said.

I nodded yes. I assumed he would bring a regular sized bottle of beer.

My communication skills were really soaring at this point.

He brought back a massive bottle of Asahi and a glass. I had no choice but to drink it.

The ramen was delicious. It was a very simple ramen. The noodles were firm, the broth a bit greasy, though not too greasy. There was a slice of what I assumed was pork floating in the bowl along with some sliced green onions.

As I ate and drank I watched two families eat beside me. I love watching people eat in other countries and trying to imitate what they do so I can fit in. I think I`m perfecting my noodle slurping as a result.

After dinner I continued my walking and mainly "eye shopping" as they call it in Korea. Although things are cheaper in Fukuoka than they were in Kyoto, they still aren`t affordable.

On a side note, I`m sharing my room with a girl who I said hello to at the top of the mountain near Aso San. She`s one of the quiet people in my room. It`s strange how things work. She was in Korea for a month before coming to Japan. I also shared a room in Nagasaki with a woman who I first met in Fukuoka. And Jill, who I spent a day with in Nagasaki, stayed in the same hostel as me in Fukuoka. Kyushu really is a small island.

I`ll have a little time to run around tomorrow morning and then it`s back to Korea and work. More importantly, I`m going back to Ajay!

This place never sleeps!

I was hoping to sleep in this morning, but I couldn`t since my roommates were speaking at full volume while two of us still slept. I`m still amazed at how loud people are here! What gives?

When I arrived at the hostel last night the guy at the front desk greeted me by saying, "Welcome back! Where are you coming from?" I responded, "Beppu and Usuki." "Usuki? Why?"

Usuki is this tiny, tiny town that only took 2 hours to tour. I had intended to see the stone Buddhas that were near by, but buses to the Buddhas were few and far between and I wouldn`t have been able to make my train back to Fukuoka had I gone to see them. I`m so glad this happened because I had a fantastic time walking around the sleepy town. I saw former samurai quarters, old temples, historic neighborhoods and ruins of a castle. Most of the attractions in the city were free also! I was most impressed by one of the houses because it was beautifully restored and I was able to actually walk into the rooms. This is not the norm. Most places like this have to be viewed from behind a rope. Above all, I loved the castle ruins. They were set high on a hill over looking the town and the ocean. The ruins had been turned into a public park where children were catching tadpoles at a pond in front of a shrine and even more children were playing baseball.

Last night I was determined to come back to the hostel and rest because I was exhausted. However, as soon as I got into the train station I was energized by all the people walking about. The streets were so busy and people on bicycles were zooming by. Everyone seemed to be off to do something fun and exciting.

After dropping my stuff off I walked around Tenjin, the main shopping and entertainment district. I didn`t stop anywhere for coffee or a drink, but rather enjoyed watching all the people socializing around me.

It`s my last full day On Kyushu, so I think I`m going to do a little shopping and site seeing. I was going to go to Arita for a ceramics festival, but I think I`ve done enough train traveling. Besides, my train pass has expired.

Aso San and my final day in Beppu

I`m back in Fukuoka typing at 12:20 am. Why? Because everyone at this hostel is so loud! Who talks at full volume at 12 am in a hostel of sleeping people! Ugh! Even though I was a little lonely in my lovely room in Beppu I miss the silence.

I set off for Aso San, the largest active volcano in the world, on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, the first train wasn`t until 8 am. Then, I had to wait for the bus. Then, I had to sit on the bus for 30 minutes. By the time I got to the caldera it was already after noon. Although it had rained the past few days of my trip, the sun was shinning and there was a nice breeze. I planned to do a really long hike, but then I realized it was going to be more rigorous than I had hoped and that I didn`t have enough time. I started my hike before walking around the rim of the volcano because I thought I should preserve my energy for the hike and I was right! Although I have become more confident about traveling alone I am not that confident about hiking alone. There weren`t　many people around and I was practically rock climbing at one point. I twisted my ankle early on and am still paying for it today. Even though I kept second-guessing myself and thinking I should turn back, the view from the top was worth it. I have lots of pictures that I will post later.

After cursing most of the way down and realizing that there was an easier path up the mountain that I didn`t see (the bright yellow arrows didn`t catch my eye!!), I walked around the rim of the volcano. I was surprised that the water(?) was a greenish-blue color.

I`ve never hiked around or near a volcano so it was a wonderful and almost unearthly experience. My hike was only 2 and a half hours, but when I looked up from the caldera to where I had hiked I was quite impressed with myself.

The train ride back to Beppu was beautiful. The sun was setting and the trees in the forest had a velvety appearance. The train went in and out of tunnels as we left the caldera. Lights twinkled in the distance until all I could see was my own reflection in the window.

I finished my day by going to the public bath (no sand this time) and scrubbing down and soaking my very tired and sore body.

I have to say I really enjoyed the baths in Beppu. I didn`t like the town and "The Hells" (which are the hot springs that are too hot to get into) were too touristy for me to enjoy, but I`m glad Although I`m not a total convert, I`ve become more comfortable with public bathing. The most uncomfortable moment is getting undressed, but when you turn around and see all the other naked female bodies it`s okay.

My favorite bath was my final bath. It was an outdoor mud bath. It was a pretty small hot spring. There were several older women there who happily guided me through the process of bathing, soaking in the regular bath and then soaking in the mud bath.

It`s finally quieted down in the hostel, so I think I`ll go to bed.

Beppu

Sorry the other posts didn`t make it until today. I had been posting each night, but the site was in Japanese and I wasn`t publishing I was saving the posts as drafts. Well, at least you all have a lot to read.

Today I had a long, yet lovely train ride to Beppu. Upon arrival I checked into my this fantastic ryokan. It is the nicest place I`ve stayed in. I`m glad the cheap place was booked up!

I took a very long walk to a place that is closed the last Wednesday of every month then walked all the way back to my area of town. I then had myself buried in sand.

Buried in sand? Yes, buried in sand. It was fantastic! After getting over the initial moment of being uncomfortable while naked in front of people in the changing and bathing room, I put on my yakuza (robe) and moved into the sand room. There were two older women there who, using gestures, instructed me to lay down in a shallow trench of black sand. The room was rather large, had high wooden ceilings and large windows. I would say they could bury about 50 people in that room. The woman started by covering me from foot to shoulders with hot heavy sand. As soon as the woman put sand on each limb, I could feel blood pumping to that area of my body. The only moment that was uncomfortable was when she put a huge pile of sand on my stomach. She tucked some sand under my shoulders and head and then left me to sweat. My limbs were pulsing and I was sweating while wondering how long I could take the heat. Just when I felt I couldn`t take it any longer, I would become comfortable again, then uncomfortable, then comfortable. The second time the woman came to check on me I decided it was time to get up. Getting out of the sand was a very ungraceful maneuver. I think I spent about 10 minutes in the sand.

A man had come in while I was being buried. He was wearing his glasses. It was a pretty comical sight to see his head sticking out of the sand and it made me miss Ajay simply because I imagined he would have to wear his glasses as well.

For the final part of the ritual I took a shower and then bathed in a very hot bath. All the while the women in the sand room were talking and talking. I was fortunate to have the bath and shower room to myself. It was a quite afternoon at the bath.

After hiking around Aso San, a volcano, tomorrow I`m hoping to go to the mud and outdoor baths in another part of town.

Nagaski take 2

Oh boy am I exhausted! When　I`m on vacation I end up walking so much that not only do my feet hurt, but the back of my knees and my back hurt as well. I push myself until I`m near the moment of breaking so I can get as much in as I can.

Last night I shared my room with a girl from the Bay Area in the U.S. She was really cool. We ended up spending most of the day together. We went to Glover Park. It`s an area near the bay where this Scotsman used to live. He built a western style house that over looked the ships coming into Nagasaki. He was responsible for building up trade in the area and started what is now known as the Kirin brewing company. The grounds were beautiful and the views were stunning as well.

The night before I went up on the tram to look over the city at night. It was freezing and windy and a little creepy. There were only a handful of people up there. When I looked at the city, I was okay. However, when I looked out at the sea it was so black that I felt like I was going to fly off the hill into the darkness. Needless to say, I felt a little queasy. I`m happy to say that I got to see views of the city at night and during the day.

My time is almost up, so I`ll end with some more fashion observations. Leggings are in. They`re popular in Korea as well, but I`ve been shocked to see the mid-calve leggings with lace trimming. It was raining most of the day, so I would say that 50% of the people were carrying clear umbrellas. A strange military look is in. Camo pants or shorts with brown work boots with the tops folded down. I`m not too keen on the look. Overall, those in Nagasaki have a more layed back approach to fashion.

Ah, one last thing...I went to the art museum and saw three lovely exhibits. The first was on Norwegian design. The second Japanese knit arts, dishes, etc. The final, Spanish art. Wow! I`m so glad I stumbled into that museum.

Sorry I haven`t posted up anyone`s comments yet. This page is all in Japanese and I can`t figure it all out yet.

Off to Beppu tomorrow!

Nagaski

I started my day with a train trip to Nagasaki. I love the train. I wish more people in the U.S. would take the train so we could develop the train system. I spent the entire 2 and a half hour trip looking out the window at houses and green fields and the ocean. It was such a nice break from the concrete scenery in Seoul.

I only have 3 more minutes left to type, so I`ll say this...it`s been a sobering and depressing day. I spent most of it in the Atomic bomb museum and looking at monuments and statues dedicated to the victims.

Well, that`s all for now. They are very strict about the internet and this place!

Fukuoka

Greetings from Fukuoka!
It`s been a long day and it`s bound to get longer because the Japanese keyboard is strange and it`s going to take some getting used to.
I arrived in Fukuoka late yesterday evening. Getting to the airport in Seoul is always a hassle and to make matters worse my flight was delayed. I was really excited because I was flying Korea Air, which is the best airline in Korea. Hmmm, could be the only one. The flight attendants wear snazzy outfits and we were fed dinner even though it was only an hour flight.
Getting to my hostel was a snap although trying to get out and see some of the city before bed was not. The bus I wanted to take stopped running so I walked around for an hour or so. At 11 I finally realized I wasn`t going to get anywhere anytime soon so I headed back.
I`m beginning to realize that my hostel days may be over soon. There is no way to afford Japan without staying in a hostel, but I found it annoying that one of the women in my room kept coming in and leaving and the other woman answered her cell phone two times and spoke in a regular volume telephone voice. Also, the woman in the room next to me had a very loud voice and a very long conversation that lasted until about 2 in the morning.
So, it`s been a bit of a rough start and to make matters worse it rained most of the day today. I managed to get most of the business part of the trip done this morning: train ticket, Fukuoka maps, accommodations for the rest of my trip. By about noon I took a long soggy walk to the Fukuoka Art Museum to view mainly Japanese contemporary art and some early Japanese art including ink drawings, pottery and ceramics, and screens. They also had a nice collection of contemporary art from arts around the world including Lichtenstein, Warhol and Dali.
The rain had stopped by the afternoon, so I took another long walk to Tenjin, one of the main shopping areas. I searched and searched for a ramen restaurant I wanted to eat at, but never found it. I`m always amazed at my poor map reading skills and my terrible sense of direction. My book is three years old, so maybe the restaurant has disappeared.
After having a wonderful lunch of soba noodles and donkas (fried cutlet) I rested my feet at a coffee shop and enjoyed my first cup of coffee for the day. Fortunately I was sitting outside, so I got to people watch. Japanese fashion is certainly something that fascinates me. I`ve noticed that women in Kyoto seem more fashionable than women in Fukuoka, but maybe I`ve been in all the wrong places. Here are a few things that are in: really nice brown leather knee-high boots, dresses worn over pants, big purses, long sweaters and big sunglasses. I feel like I`m not giving the fashion justice here, but I`ll have to write again when I`ve had a night of uninterrupted sleep. A very strange trend that I`ve noticed is how girls with longish bangs wear their hair. They use a clip or bobby pin to pin back their bangs, but they don`t pull the hair back all the way. Basically, although the have a clip in their bangs, the hair still hangs on their foreheads. I`ll have to try to get a picture of it.
I`m going to have to leave details about the guys until later, but I was surprised to see some guys wearing really baggy sweatshirts and pants.
Ohh, one more thing...most women in Korea don`t dye their hair. In Japan, most women have dyed their hair some shade of red.
I rounded out the evening with some shopping. It was still raining, so I had no choice. I was surprised to find some somewhat reasonably priced shops in the department stores in Tenjin. I eventually made my way to Canal City which is a very new shopping center in the city. It has a nice courtyard with fountains. Many of the shops face out into the courtyard. It`s mainly a high-end shopping mall. I was delighted to find The Gap. I think I`ll visit the shopping center when I`m back in Fukuoka next weekend.
Tomorrow I`m off to Nagasaki. I`m ready to get out of the city and see some sites. I hope it`s not raining tomorrow.

April 14, 2007