Fukuoka

Kyoko's mom, Fumiko, lives in the city of Fukuoka which is in the southwestern part of Japan. It was my first time there and what a beautiful area. Her mom lives in a 2-story home in a traditional Japanese neighborhood that is unlike Tokyo. Tokyo has been very commercialized and most people live in multistory apartment buildings. Even though Fukuoka has kept up with the times there is still a feeling that it is old-fashioned as well.

Kyushu National Museum

I spent about an hour here enjoying the Asian history as well as the local history of Fukuoka. This museum is only a few years old, but it is well worth the trip. I used an audio English guide to learn more about the exhibits, however, most of them were in English as well. I was the only geijin, foreigner, there, but that was typical of most areas that I went to. There was a large contingent of grade school children that continued to say 'Hello' to me. On the outside of the museum there was the Dazaifu Shrine that housed multiple buildings and was beautiful.

Japanese Sento

Kyoko and I walked to the local sento to relax in some warm water with the other Fukuoka locals. The building is very nondescript, but inside is similar to a spa. There was a restaurant, a barber and massage chairs. After arriving we saw a sign for 40 minute massages at a reasonable price and set-up an appointment. What an afternoon! We entered the bath room, without a stitch of clothing, and sat in baths with different temperatures and jets to relax your muscles. One of them had electric shocks that you could try, but Kyoko warned me that it is extremely uncomfortable so I opted out. After this we received our massages fully clothed. These were more acupressure massages and were sorely (literally) needed.

Japanese Calligraphy

A friend of Fumiko is a calligraphy teacher and came to the house to teach me. She brought multiple books of the various calligraphy styles, examples, beautiful papers and paintbrushes that were wrapped in tatami. We used one of the traditional rooms in Fumiko's house that was lined with tatami mats and sliding wooden doors. We layed out the papers and the teacher showed me how to write spring in kanji. It was so much more difficult than she made it seem. She was very complimentary at first until I explained, through Kyoko as my translator, that I wanted to write it 'perfectly' or nearest to. At that point she began giving suggestions and finally after practicing about 20 times I was able to produce a symbol that was close to spring. Asumi was learning for the first time as well and she was very talented with her designs.

Kimono

On my last visit to Japan Kyoko and I went to a tourist spot in Tokyo and were dressed as a geisha and her apprentice, maiko. We donned the clothing, make-up and performed on a stage for friends as well as posed for multiple pictures. I had no desire to repeat this, but Fumiko insisted that I try on one of her kimonos with the help of the calligraphy teacher. Asumi and I were dressed in the traditional clothing which took close to an hour to tie up onto my American body. We walked around the neighborhood a bit and said hi to the neighbors. This was very funny to me as they were looking at me with such surprise! The kimono was very comfortable, but the shoes oh the shoes were terrible!

I had such a great time! Thank you, Fumiko! Next blog...Australia!

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