The interesting people of Fukuoka

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Well today was interesting I can say that much! No really it was jam-packed and very good. I woke up early to make the most of my day, indulged in the free breakfast once again and set out for the day. It was still too early to go to any of the attractions so I went to a big park in the centre of the city called Ohori Park first. It has a big lake in the middle and a bridge that connects both sides through the middle and also a walking path around the whole park. It was very pretty, a really nice way to start the day, it was yet another beautiful day in Japan, it was windy so even though it's still hot it's survivable. The park has a running track around the outside aswell, and there were heaps of people jogging round, and although I say it was survivable weather I wouldn't be doing that! Those poor people looked like they were going to die, they had sweat everywhere, what are they crazy?

Anyway after a nice stroll around the park I headed to the centre of town and went to a temple that has the biggest wooden structure of Buddha in the world, about 10 metres I think. It was cool to see it but I think that the big bronze statue I saw in Nara at Todaiji temple was more impressive. After that I went to a museum called Hakata Machiya folk museum. Hakata is another name for Fukuoka, years ago the city used to be in two sections, one called Hakata and one called Fukuoka. It all got put into one city called Fukuoka city now but the name Hakata is still used, although it usually refers more to the culture that the people who live here have. So anyway went to the museum and learnt a bit about the history and culture of olden times Hakata, quite interesting actually, once again it had some interactive sections so that always makes for fun times. I met a guy from Belgium there, he thought I was American (again!) and started to talk to me and when he found out I could speak some Japanese he got me to explain some things for him. He lives in Korea and is just here on holiday so we talked and walked around the museum. In the museum you could see a guy making old fashioned dolls and also a guy weaving the tradiontional Hakata cloth. Hakata is famous for its weaving and this type in particular, its very lovely. The old guy that was demonsrtating it wanted to talk to us, although he spoke no english, so I had to translate for the Belgian guy. It was fascinating what he told us about the weaving, they used to do it completely by hand and it used to take 3 people to do it, now they use a machine, but when I say machine I don't mean the big metal tye. It's a really tall wooden machine that you still have to power through turning a wheel or something like that. This type of fabric has been around for 400 years and they used to use it for kimonos and samurai clothes, I would have liked to buy a sample but it was really expensive, as you would imagine!

Anyway, after that said goodbye to the Belgian guy and caught the subway out to the edge of the city to a place called Marino, which is basically a big shopping outlet. It was huge, and I know I said that today I would window shop but it was factory outlets and the clothes were so cheap! I couldn't resist! They also had a ton of restaurants there aswell, it was set on a wharf and the view of the water was nice, so I had lunch there. The place also had a huge ferris wheel, which I did intend to go on because it is the biggest ferris wheel in Asia and I imagine the views are spectacular but I spent so long shopping (again!) that I decided against it, and it was quite expensive too. I did take a photo!

Ok one of the more interseting parts of the day, on my way back to the subway station I walked past a bunch of guys, around high school age I think and they all stared at me, which I paid no attention to because being a foreigner in Hakodate you get that all the time, anyway they started to yell out "Hello" and "Hey" after I had walked past (in English) and I turned around to see if they really wanted to talk but they just giggled and looked away, anyway they kept doing it so I stopped and said something along the lines of "What? Do you want to talk to me in English or are you just yelling out English words for fun?", to which I got complete shock and utterly confused looks, of course they hadn't understood a word that I said, which I knew they wouldn't, but they gave me the result I wanted! That shut them up! Anyway I then said the same thing to them in Japanese and they just looked more dumbstruck because of course they didn't think I could speak Japanese but at least then they started to talk to me, and they were actually fairly nice guys, never spoke to many foreigners before and they said they usually don't get a response. Well obviously! I had been wanting to do that so many times, because I just don't understand why Japanese always do that, wherever I go, especially in Hakodate, they stare and then AFTER you walk past they yell something out in English, usually the only english they know too. It was hilarious to see their faces!!

Anyway after that little piece of entertainment I caught the subway to Fukuoka Tower. It is the 2nd tallest tower in Japan (I think thats right) and has half mirrors that cover the outside of it so it looks really pretty and it is also located right on the water so has a fantastic view. I though it would be good to watch the sunset from the top of the tower, but it was way too early so I walked around a bit and just behind the tower is a beach!! Yey! It was a pretty good one too and the water was so nice, not cold at all, I didn't have my cossies but I was wearing a skirt so I could go in a fair way. I sat on the beach for a while eating icecream and enjoying the sun, it felt really good. You can always tell when you start to get closer to more tropical weather because there are palm trees everywhere, and they line the streets of this part of Fukuoka.

While I was sitting on the beach another very interesting thing happened. First a lady came up to talk to me, she teaches english and wanted to talk with me in english and also asked if I would like to help her out to teach aswell. I said I was only here for 2 days, thats OK she said I can use some help, but I turned her down, I'm on holiday! Anyway after that I noticed this man squatting behind me with a professional looking camera and he was taking photos, I thought at first he was taking photos of the view of the ocean but after a while noticed it was actually me! When he noticed that I had spotted him he came up to me and asked (get this!) if I was a model from America doing some work in Japan??!! After I told him I was from Australia and defintiely not a model he asked if he could take my photo, "what again?" I said, he went a little red and apologised but said that he prefered natural shots where I was looking out to the sea! I thought why not, don't get a chance to do this every day do you? The guy isn't a professional photographer, as in he doesn't do it as a job, but said that that was his dream and that I had to help him achieve it! Yeah whatever! Anyway he took a series of photos and then got my address off me and said he would send them to me after he gets them developed if I like, gave me his card and walked off down the beach to find another unsuspecting victim! I couldn't help but laugh, a model from America!!!

Before I came to Fukuoka I read that the people here are really nice and very warm-hearted, I just thought yeah, Ok, of course they're going to say that about themselves, but after all the nice and very interesting people I talked to today I would have to agree! They really are nice. And my Japanese teacher siad that I wouldn't get the chance to talk to people in Japanese while I am travelling because they would all want to talk to me in English, well apart from the lady who teaches english I spoke to them all in Japanese! Which I'm happy about, nothing like practice.

Anyway, after that funny encounter I went to the top of the tower and looked at the view, had a drink in the cafe up there but after a while I realised that there were clouds low in the sky so I wouldn't be able to see the sun set, so I left and returned to the city. It was such an interesting day, in more ways than one! I like this place, and now that I have my bearings I can find my way around, the subway system is actually very convenient and as long as I take the right exit I'm fine!

Tomorrow there are a few more places I want to see, one of them a big shopping centre, can I hold myself back? Do I want to?...but it's my last day in Fukuoka so I'm going to make the most of it!

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