Blogs from Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, Asia - page 4

Well I’d just started the last epistle when I was interrupted, thought I was saving the file & off it went to everyone. Will try not to bore you too much with the daily details of cycling but there are a few incidents you may like to hear about. The driver who had been flown out from Lithuania found his driver’slicence was not valid here so Bill from Waiheke ( a fellow cyclist) the only person carrying an international licence agreed to take on the job for over 3 weeks. The first day the vehicle was not ready when we left Fukioka so we left laden with 4 panniers each & tent tied to the back of the bike. The cycle was meant to be about 110km but the campsite had not been confirmed so we ... read more

De eerste echte dag in Japan - de eerste echte redelijk uitgeruste dag, dan. We hebben alle drie goed geslapen. We zaten in de 'noisy room' op de vierde verdieping (men telt de 1e verdieping als de begane grond)- vlak naast de weg, maar daar hadden we geen last van. Het langsrazende verkeer was zelfs wel een beetje rustgevend. Om 10 uur 's ochtends moesten we klaarstaan in de hotellobby (het is maar een heel kleine lobby dus je kon elkaar echt niet missen) dus voor die tijd hebben we even een ontbijt gehaald bij de '7 eleven' of '7-i' zoals ze die hier noemen. Op bijna elke straathoek is wel een convenient store of mini supermarkt te vinden en de meeste Japanners kunnen best een woordje Engels als jij in het Engels begint te praten. ... read more

Earlier this week i took a 30 hour trip to Fukuoka, Japan by ferry from Busan, South Korea. with 4 days remaining on my tourist visa in South Korea it was a "must" which i am thankful for. Fukuoka was a great time. i used it to unwind and take a breath from the busy, busy atmosphere in Korea. i roamed the Hakata-Ku which is an area full of old Buddhist temples and shrines among large corporate buildings and high rises. the sidewalks were full of well dressed business men and women going to and from work mostly by bicycle weaving quickly around those on foot. my brief time there was spent visiting the amazing temples and enjoying the small differences between the Japanese vs. South Koreans which were are noticeable after spending almost 90 days ... read more

Japan has been a long time coming. It is a country where you can find traditional culture and beliefs as well as being on the forefront of technological innovation of all forms. It has the fastest bullet trains, most densely populated cities, home of the Sumo, massive video game arcades, calm and orderly people, neon lights all over buildings, grown men reading manga comics, karaoke, super toilets, etc. Basically it's a place like no other and some might say almost on a different planet. Definitely a place I'd always been curious about visiting. The boat left from Busan on an overnight ride towards the land of the rising sun. On board I met a British couple who kept me company. We had beer and stayed up quite late. The boat arrived at six am and I ... read more

I woke bright and early and looked around my apartment, which had things strewn about and was pretty dirty from the previous tennant. All I could think of was how much I'd like to sleep in a lot later, then wake up and start to work towards making my apartment feel like home. But, I knew Laney and the taxi driver would be there soon to whisk me away to Busan to catch a ferry to Fukuoka, Japan for a visa run. I've forgotten to mention that my friend Bryan gave me a ton of Starbucks Via packets (instant coffee) and it was one of the things I was most grateful for in my first weeks...I'm not sure I would've made it through the observation period and this trip to Japan without them!! So thank you ... read more