This morning, I got up, packed up, and headed for the bus station to travel to the seaside town of Fukuoka. My journey started with a was nice, a little tram ride. It was packed, as I imagine most Japanese public transportation is on a weekday morning. I walked around the Nagasaki bus station for a little bit. Much to the chagrin of my infrequent traveling companions, I like to get to my travel hubs ridiculously early. There were some interesting shops with different wares and some model ships signifying the city’s place as a nautical power. I jumped the bus, without issue, and got to Hakata Station in Fukuoka. The reason I had traveled to Fukuoka was simple. I had seen everything I wanted to in Japan, and this was the simplest (and cheapest) airport to my next destination. I was just planning on spending one full day here to check it out, then continue on my journey.
After arriving at Hakata, it took me a little bit to get oriented to my surroundings. My mapping program needed wifi to calibrate, so I just walked in larger circles around the station until I was able to connect somewhere. With my bags in tow, I headed in almost a straight line to my accommodations. I arrive too early to check-in for the night, so I asked if I could leave my bags.
Very close to where I was staying was another Shinto temple. They had some very interesting sculptures, including the smartly dressed stone foxes like from Fushimi Inari. Killing enough time, I then headed to check-in.
The place was in the Japanese equivalent of a strip mall, a long, multi-city block, indoor market with actual streets with traffic dividing the blocks. It was located on the far side of the Naka River. After getting some dinner, I did a little administration work with some of the hostel’s free tea, found some busses for when I will be in the Balkans, and catching up on my writing. When cooking my dinner, I forgot that the Japanese use 15 flavor packets in their Cup o’ Noodles and found one when I was eating. As a nightcap, I had a little can of hot sake and went to bed.
I woke up the next day with a few messages from a client. This required me to do a little work to make sure everything was up to speed. I walked to find a post office to mail home a few things, including information for one of my friends. When I was in Nagasaki, I found an AFLAC office and sent a picture of it to my friend as he is an agent. Ecstatically, he asked me to grab any pamphlets or brochures I could. I walked in, used my Google Translate app when speaking to a lovely lady, and she filled my arms with literature. Surprisingly, Japan is a gigantic market for AFLAC insurance. I guess because everything is so expensive here, people need to make sure they and their families are protected in case of an accident. It is also the reason Gilbert Gottfried got fired from his second lucrative job of voicing a cartoon bird.
After this, I headed to the beach, as it was suggested as something to see. Taking the subway there, I got outside to a beautiful early Spring day. I found a little store selling Japanese goods where I bought a few postcards then headed to the beach to write them. It was very tranquil. Postcards in hand, I traveled to another post office by the beach and mailed the cards.
Walking around this district of Fukuoka, I was amazed by the expanse of the passages. Not some bustling boulevards, but rather, they were surprisingly small streets. Not believing that actual cars could fit down them, I stood astride this street and took a photo. Being a man of 6ft, I almost straddled the entire rode. Had I been more limber, I could have done the whole thing. I guess that is what island life is like with a population of almost 130 million people; space becomes a premium.
Back at the strip mall, I walked around some and found a great store selling prints of Japanese works, including Hokusai’s The Great Wave. Thinking ever ahead, I bought some for Christmas presents, some eight months away. I went to a drug store and got new inserts for my shoes as I had already traversed over 1500 miles on foot. Finally, I stopped at a 99 Yen store. Yes, that is the actual name. I purchased a few things that I would need for my continued journey. I then got dinner and settled in my bed for my big trip the next day to Korea.
