Kyushu!!!!

Posted: February 20, 2011 in Japan
4

Me attempting my best Sebastian Bach impression. Skid Row - 18 & Life.

After a version of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a prayer” that momentarily made me jealous of the deaf (sorry Tom, it was really bad.  When you hit that high note in the chorus, it sounded like 10 dying cats were let loose in the karaoke room), I made my way to the city of Fukuoka on Valentines day.  I was presented with chocolate upon arriving at the hostel.  A nice treat.  The chocolate was accompanied by a paper that read “I (heart) Fuk”.  Undoubtedly, they have no idea what this means in English, but nonetheless, it was good for a laugh.
I contacted my friend Makoto that I had met in Tokyo and he introduced me to the city of Fukuoka with a dish of the famous local food (ramen) and a night at a traditional Japanese pub.  The ramen is absolutely incredible here.  I won’t even bother to try to explain the taste of it, because I almost certainly won’t do it justice. 

At the Izakaya. After a number of beers, Makoto helped me find the train station and track that would take me back to my hostel. He instructed me to buy a ticket and walk to track #2, where my train would be along shortly. After a couple minutes of waiting, Makoto came sprinting up to track #2 with a look of complete shock on his face. He was completely out of breathe and I couldn't help but think that the kind of urgency he was showing could only be indicative of a huge emergency. When he caught his breathe he explained "Jason... (gasp).... I am so sorry..... (gasp)....I have had too many beers..... Your track is the next one over........" hahahahah that's Japanese dedication for you. He literally bought a train ticket and sprinted in the train station just to tell me that. Once again, the Japanese people have outdone themselves 🙂

The next day I set out to explore the baseball scene in Fukuoka!  The Japanese league home run champion is named Sadaharu Oh.  He retired with 868 home runs (more than any MLB player) and is the most famous baseball player to ever put on baseball cleats in Japan.  I headed to his museum and had a blast.  Here are some pics taken at the museum:

"Sadaharu Oh" Museum

Sadaharu Oh practicing at his house. Look at the size of this dudes legs. Unreal....

At the museum they had a radar gun to clock the speed of your pitches. I couldn't pass that up.

 

Fastest pitch of the day! Saweet!

 

 Leaving Fukuoka, I was an hour early for my train.  I found a small bar in the train station and decided to wet the whistle with a couple sake’s before embarking on my next journey.

I have no idea what's going on......

Naturally, every person in the bar had to have their picture taken with me.....

Next stop:  Nagasaki!
Arriving in Nagasaki, I discovered that a “Lantern Festival” had just ended.  The entire city was covered in lanterns of all shapes and sizes.  An amazing sight.  The city of Nagasaki is, for the most part, very old looking.  The atom bomb that hit Nagasaki did much less damage than the one in Hiroshima due to the topography of Nagasaki.  The city is built amongst a series of hills that would be comparable to size of Wapiti hill near Grande Prairie.  My 2 days in Nagasaki were absolutely awesome.   Again, I visited the memorial and museum dedicated to the atom bomb that struck Nagasaki.  The more I am in Japan, the more I get the feeling that this once agressive, militant country doesn’t want to touch war with a 40 foot pole.  Nagasaki pics:

This clock was 4 blocks from the bomb when it struck. You'll notice that the hands of the clock are stuck at 11:02 - The exact time that the bomb hit.

They make note of Einstein's strict opposition to nuclear war after the atom blasts in Japan. The caption explains how Einstein teamed up with Bertrand Russell to rid nuclear weapons from Earth entirely.

The local dish here in Nagasaki. I asked the waitress in broken Japanese what the purple stuff was. "Koray wa nan des ka?" She brought me a japanese dictionary and pointed out the words "fish paste cake". Fish paste cake?! Clearly it must be part of any balanced diet....

Japanese Lantern Festival in Nagaski!

This pic of Nagasaki was taken from a famous hot spring above the city.

 

"NO TATTOOS ALLOWED!" reads the sign. I wasn't supposed to get into this hot spring but luckily they let me in. In Japan, tattoos are looked down upon because Japanese tattoos are reserved strictly for Japanese mafia members named "Yakuza".

Today, I’ve arrived in the former home city of my friend Jeff, Kumamoto.  Admittedly, I’m slightly intoxicated writing this update because, once again, Japanese people have taken me under their wing and paid for my dinner and drinks.  Not only did they pay for the drinks, but every time my glass gets below half, they insist that it be topped up.  The generosity I am experiencing here in Japan is nothing short of amazing.
Until next time, keep fit and have fun!
 
Comments
  1. Neal's avatar Neal says:
    February 20, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Your blog is amazing. Just got on the other day. Glad to hear you are having a fun adventure. I read this last one and the “purple stuff” in your soup intrigued me. So I looked it up and this is what I found:
    Kamaboko (蒲鉾?) is a type of cured surimi, a Japanese processed seafood product, in which various white fish are pureed, combined with additives such as MSG, formed into distinctive loaves, and then steamed until fully cooked and firm. The steamed loaves are then sliced and served unheated (or chilled) with various dipping sauces or sliced and included in various hot soups, one-dish meals, or noodle dishes. Kamaboko is typically sold in semicylindrical loaves.

    Sounds to me like you were eating Japanese spam.
    Take care. Loving the blog.
    Neal

    Reply
  2. Ian's avatar Ian says:
    February 21, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    Quit selling your Western Body over there for booze and hotels! Josh says you will pay for straying off the path of goodness! Love the Blog…….see u when ur back

    Reply
    • jasonmichaelgreen's avatar jasonmichaelgreen says:
      February 22, 2011 at 2:39 AM

      I think you and me strayed off the “path of goodness” a long time ago….. Josh should focus his energy elsewhere.

      Kidding Josh….. If you’re reading this, don’t kill me with a thunderous left hook when I get back….

      Reply

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