Blogs from Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, Asia - page 6

09.03.08 Sonntag: Horror Bus Voellig verpennt kam ich in Fukuoka an. Der Nachtbus von Hiroshima aus war unertraeglich laut, hielt alle stunde an wobei dann natuerlich auch immer das Licht angeschalten werden musste. Arg. Also mit schlafen war da nix. Obwohl ich 2 Plaetze fuer mich allein hatte. Eigentlich haette der Bloede Bus nur vier Stunden von Hiroshima nach Fukuoka gebraucht. Da der Bus aber nich um 4 ankommen sollte haben wir dann noch 2 Stunden auf einem Rastplatz gestanden und gewarte. In Fukuoka irrte ich dann ersteinmal umher, auf der suche nach dem Weg zum Hostel, das ich mir aus dem Lonley Planet abgeschrieben hatte. Im hostel angekommen lernte ich auch gleich einen deutschen aus Hamburg kennen (Japanologe) genannt Norman. Zusammen machten wir uns am Mittag auf den Weg zum Fukuoka Tower. Aufgrund des starken ... read more

School was all fun and games last week… mainly because about half of my classes were cancelled so I spent hours on the internet researching my trips to Kyoto and Tokyo! I have started dreading lunchtimes, though, as there is this really strange girl at school who acts like she’s seen a celebrity whenever she sees me… I mean she literally gets all giggly and hysterical and I sometimes think she’s so excited and overwhelmed that she might even cry - serious! She can’t speak a word of English and just repeats everything I say, followed by a nervous giggle! I’m running out of things to say to her now and when I sit there quietly at my desk eating my lunch, she just stands next to me and stares… and then giggles some more - ... read more

Drawing so close to the end that I can almost feel the stench of the horrible airline-omelet already. Still, I have one more string to play before the bungy-cord inevitably swings me back across the frozen tundras of Siberia all the way back home to a dreary, miserable and cold November. Still, the good thing about an elastic cord is that it really doesn't manage to keep you in place for long. Anyhow, although I could have made this a fairly lazy day I was determined to end it on a high, and my trip to Kyushu island really could not be considered complete unless I topped it with le grand finale de la Kyushu Basho. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a sumo blog again! Although I woke up with a ... read more

My fifth and last consecutive Kyushu basho visit, you should know the ropes by now, so let's take a look around the arena to see if there is something else to catch your eye. Being a friday afternoon, the Kokusai Center really started to fill up with people coming straight from work, as the last bouts went the mood was quite high. For me it was a bit of each, tomorrow morning I'll be off to Nagasaki so I made good use of my last day in the arena.... read more

For those of you who don't like sumo; tough luck - we're turning up the temperature a couple of degrees today, so you might as well stop reading and hit the next journal link a few times... I started out a little bit earlier this morning (which translates to approximately 1 pm...) with the intent of having a "chance encounter" with some rikishi on the way to the arena. I had noticed a few lower ranking rikishi leaving after their bouts, walking down the street in their robes and sandals. Rikishi waiting at bus stops, sending SMS on their cell phones or waiting to cross the street. There is something appealing about how they blend into the cityscape. So with a little bit more time on my hands it didn't take long until I could zoom ... read more