Day 4 Japan
I slept really well in my bed. It was great. I even rolled over and went back to sleep after getting up for a pee. Very unusual for me.
I woke again and couldn't get back to sleep so I went for another soak in the onsen. As promised the baths had switched so I got to see the other one. I preferred the second one. I don't know why it was just a more pleasant environment I thought.
And it started to rain lightly while I was in there so that really added to the experience.
Eventually though I had to get out and go pack and leave my nice little retreat. I was very happy with my decision to stay here. While it would be nice to do this in winter (which I'm sure I'll do in Scandinavia later this year) the heat during summer wasn't really an issue.
It really started to bucket down when I was leaving so I got a cab back to the train station and went to Fukuoka for my unplanned night. The train ride down the mountain was just as scenic as the ride up. And my Shinkansen rides to Fukuoka were very nice as well. Japan (like Mongolia) continues to deliver beautiful scenery.
I got to Fukuoka in the afternoon sometime and didn't really feel like being a tourist so after checking in I went in search of beer! Fukuoka is a pretty big city so they had plenty of craft beer options and I had a couple of bars in mind.
That said - they had this pretty famous Ramen place at the train station that I was determined to try. Fukuoka Ramen is different in some way to other ramen. It took me ages to find the place in the labyrinth that is the underground tunnel system in Japan but eventually I got there.
You order your ramen via a vending machine at the front and it spits out a ticket. Then someone shows you to a 1 person cubicle (think a library) where you fill out a form customising your ramen. Noodle firmness, soup strength etc... You then hand this sheet to a person behind a curtain who you can't see and they run off and make it then bring it back when it's ready. They then close the curtain and you're left in your little booth to scarf your ramen as messily as you choose. Interesting dining experience!
The ramen itself was really excellent but so far most things have been excellent so I'm not surprised at this point. I'm not sure what made this different to other ramens but I'm sure it's a very key part of the ramen experience.
The hostel I stayed at was really nice! It was almost brand new and it was in a multi-storey building. The dorm rooms were huge ... something like 40 beds in a dorm and each bed was a little box with a curtain. Almost a capsule hotel. I was a bit worried with 40 people that it would be noisy but I forgot I was in Japan. It was so quiet except for the snorer below me.
After check-in and a quick shower I headed out looking for beer.
On the way I heard some shitty music being played down a street so I went down to check it out. I stumbled onto the last hour or so of a street party in downtown Fukuoka. They had 2 stages going (one with a boy band (the shitty music) and the other with a DJ), a bunch of vendors (food, drink, other junk) and a shitload of people. One of the stalls was selling craft beer from the area and the dude zeroed in on me as I was walking past and asked if I wanted one. It must have been tattooed on my head ;]. Of course I had a beer (a Hefeweizen) and it was actually pretty good.
Love this drinking in this street thing in Japan.
I walked the length of the street party then headed back and watched the DJ for a while. I only stopped because he was playing some really really terrible music and I wanted to take a recording of it. But after a couple of minutes he transitioned into some decent music and started to get a crowd to gather. I ended up watching the set until it finished and he had really built up a crowd and people were starting to really get into it. He needed another half hour I reckon and he would have started a rave on the street.
Once he finished and my beer was empty I took off and went in search of a bar. I went to a place called Craft Beer Creek I think. Odd place for a bar. Was in some high rise building on the third floor. You'd have to be looking for it to find it.
It was actually a pretty cool little bar. Room for maybe 6 people at the bar (I got the last spot) and half a dozen small tables. They had about 12 taps and maybe 20 bottles with a mix of Japanese and international beers. And they had an English version of a Japanese craft beer industry magazine.
So I grabbed the magazine, some cow liver thing for a snack and worked my way through a couple of beers over a couple of hours. It was great and just my kinda thing. I have found so far that Japanese craft beer is probably more expensive than Australia ... even the local stuff.
After that I got a bus back to the hostel and did some blog updates and bookings for the next couple of days. They were playing Ocean's 11 (the remake) in the hostel lobby in Japanese with English subtitles so that was amusing while I was typing away. I'd had a good day and I kind of wish I'd spent a couple of days in Fukuoka instead of Kumamoto. Next time!
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