Nagasaki

We decided to go to Nagasaki for the second long weekend in September. So did Typhoon Tapah. Luckily that was only half the story of our trip. We managed to visit most of the sites Nagasaki is famous for except Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), because the ferry services had ceased for safety reasons. Plus, given that this was my first time being caught in a typhoon we at least had water and electricity unlike in Hokkaido when the earthquake struck.

Nagasaki, the other city after Hiroshima to be struck by the atomic bomb. Naturally, there is a museum about it and that was the first stop on our itinerary.

 

It was not a big museum, but it was poignant with many anecdotes and pictures of survivors and the aftermath of the explosion. Whatever your opinion is about World War II and the atomic bomb strikes, you should visit either of the cities to learn about WMD and its effects before you make an opinion about them.

In the evening, we went to see the famed Nagasaki Chinatown. Nagasaki, before being known for the atomic bomb strike, was the only port open to foreigners in Japan during its period of isolationism (1641-1858). Thus, the city’s Chinatown was the first of its kind in Japan. However, as far as Chinatowns go, this was tiny and deserted. Just two main streets making a junction in the centre and barely any Chinese or locals. Perhaps they were watching the Rugby World Cup…

We also tried a local dish born out of the rich diversity of foreigners (actually just the Chinese) to Nagasaki : Nagasaki Champon.

If this looks like noodle soup to you, that’s because it is. It was prawn mee noodles, with fishball noodle soup, Chinese veggies and Japanese fishcake (naruto) -_- I’m not saying you shouldn’t try it, just don’t get too excited over it. It’s Chinese-y noodle soup.

Couldn’t go to Gunkanjima, couldn’t go anywhere really, so we ended up watching the Rugby World Cup matches between Scotland and Ireland, and England and Tonga 😀 We also watched a bit of Sumo and got acquainted with the sport as we are probably going to watch the Grand Tournament in November. Pretty good use of the time being stuck in a hotel.

When the weather cleared the next day, we went to Glover Garden. The whole district has special significance as the place that started the Industrial revolution in Japan, again because it was a port open to foreigners, who imported the technologies and ideas from Europe and UK. The Garden is a collection of houses built by different, notable foreign merchants who came to Nagasaki to trade.

 

This next statue is NOT Thomas Glover. I was corrected by my wife who bothered reading the text next to the statue. This is Giacomo Puccini, the man who composed “Madame Butterfly”, a noteworthy opera set in Nagasaki. I found it necessary to include this because I read the text after being corrected and now you also know who this guy is.

We had to climb a hill, but the views of Nagasaki made it worthwhile.

   

That was our trip. We could have gone to see one other attraction, the Confucius Shrine, but we had to pay to go in and it looked like one of those Taoist temples back in Singapore so nahhh. I’ll just leave a picture of what it looks like from the outside.

 

 

 

Fukuoka

Our Singaporean friend whom we met in Tokyo said that we MUST go to Fukuoka. And so we did. He didn’t exactly tell us why though, and after returning from the trip I’m still wondering. To be fair, it was not bad for a short trip. We definitely ate really good food and saw some nice places, but the city felt like a smaller version of Tokyo without the famous tourist attractions. Maybe we didn’t stay long enough and it was hot.

I also finally have a camera! So I aimed to take as many pictures of the sights of Fukuoka. I took 40 in the end and they could be grouped into 3 types. Not many, but we will be back soon hopefully for the big Sumo Competition in November and perhaps when the sakura bloom in spring. 

Streets and Shrines

It was hot, over 30 degrees. In fact one of my Senseis mentioned that this year, the summer is exceptionally long and humid. Probably because of climate change -.- Not the best weather for exploring the city. We even decided not to go to one of the parks because we didn’t want to walk in the heat. We did however visit some of the more well-known shrines of the area.

  

And when it wasn’t so hot, we checked out some of the busier streets and shops.

  

Food

If you have ever tasted the delicious, rich flavour of Tonkotsu broth and wondered which magical place concocted this amazing soup, it is a place called Hakata, which is part of Fukuoka City. The internet recommended Ichiran Ramen as one of the better places to eat. Don’t always trust the internet, especially when it is about Japanese things written in English. I shan’t say too much about it since it was nothing special. You can see the snapshot of my face before I was let down.  

  

At night, we decided to go to a district called Nakasu Island for dinner. It was packed and we were hungry so we decided to look for a restaurant that wasn’t full and had decent food. THEN we stumbled upon this:

It’s called Yatai and when we saw it, we knew we had to try it. So we sat at one of the stalls and ordered the food that they served.

 

It was all VERY good. Best surprise find for Japan thus far.

…

So just as we were about to leave, I decided to go for one last bowl of ramen. Just cuz we were in Hakata. What can I say, this was one of those hole-in-the-wall, unsuspecting little shops in the train station they tell you about. There were no reviews or ratings. I don’t even know the name of this place. It just says “Hakata Ramen” in Japanese. It doesn’t matter, maybe it’s meant to be like this. For 500yen, it was simply the best bowl, in terms of price, I have ever had. ‘Gochisosamadeshita‘ I said when I finish. I don’t normally say thanks, but this was really worth it. Also I was three beers in.

  

Uminonakamichi Park

In between the shrines and the food, we took a trip to Uminonakamichi Park. This place wasn’t what I expected at all. Firstly, I thought it was a park with large fields of flowers. It wasn’t (it was a zoo, water park, aquarium AND a large field with SOME flowers. I also thought it was free. Nope (450yen). And I thought it was small. Not at all (we had to rent bikes to get around).

 

There were lots of kids running around and yes again, it was really hot. The park was nice, spacious and there were activities you could do like go-kart, but I think generally it is more suited for families with children. It was also an hour by bus from the city centre so I think going once to see it would be enough, at least for us.

Overall, the trip was short but we got a taste (literally) of what Fukuoka was about. I think we’ll be back to see the city again, when it’s NOT so hot.

 

Arubaito

When I googled the word for part-time work, I didn’t quite get it… a…ru…bai..to… isn’t that German? It seems strange that out of all the foreign words that they have adopted, mostly from English, they chose ‘Arbeiten’ to mean part time work. Could someone explain please?

Anyway, after much difficulty, I did manage to find someone to hire me. I now work part-time at a Bento Shop. I have an arubaito. Yes, it would seem like I’m a bit over qualified for this job, but there are pretty good reasons why I took it. One, my work hours are short, flexible and only on working days so I get to do other things like cook learn Japanese and travel; two, its a job and it pays. Otherwise I’d just be squatting at home; three, I actually work in a Japanese place so I’m forced to learn the language everyday; and lastly, since I work at a Bento shop, I get free Bento everyday. Their food is Oishii.

Off to Fukuoka for the long weekend!