Blogs from Fukuoka, Japan, Asia - page 6

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

After I finished my two week English Conversation Class, I quickly cleaned up my things at school and ran home. Mike and I had to be in Busan in time to catch our 14:30 ferry to Japan! We arrived just in time to check-in, get our four free beverage coupons, and board the boat. It only took three hours to get from Busan, South Korea to Fukuoka, Japan on the Beetle ferry. The inside looked a lot like the inside of an airplane and there was staff that would come around in case you wanted to buy something to eat or something to drink. We had hoped we would be able to go out on the deck, but because the boat moved at a pretty high speed and since it was so small, we weren't able ... read more

This morning, Sean awoke to find that he was dead. Jun was also awake, as he had to return to the youth hostel for work early in the morning. So, at around 6am, all of us were up. I was able to go back to sleep for a bit, until about 8am, at which point I got up and got ready for the day. I noticed that Jun wasn't around so I assumed he had already left while I had gone back to sleep. I grabbed the computer and went to the hostel's lobby to work on the blog/browse the web while I let Sean try to sleep off his death. I was surprised to see Jun sitting in the lobby. He had been waiting for a certain train and figured he could wait in the ... read more

Day #4 2월 19일 여행 넷째 날 벳부 시웨이브호텔에서 아침을 먹고 체크아웃함. 벳부역에서 08시 48분에 출발하는 특급 열차 소닉14호를 타고 하카타역에서 11시 56분에 도착함. 제수씨와 해나를 센트랄 호텔에 잠시 머물게 하고 동생과 나는 후쿠오카의 시내(텐진)에 있는 신한은행(한국은행)을 찾아감. 그곳의 일본인 직원으로부터 크레디트 카드로 엔화를 인출하는 방법을 알게됨. 세븐일레븐ATM에서 2만엔을 인출함. 호텔로 돌아와 체크인을 하고 柳川로 갈 준비를 함. 점심은 맥도날드에 가서 햄버거 세트를 4개 구입하고 일본의 사철(私鐵)인 니시테츠후쿠오카역(텐진역)에서 야나가와 행 특급 열차를 타고(13:31) 야나가와로 감. 야나 가와역에 도착(14:10). 우중에 야나 가와 가와쿠다리를 즐김(약 40분) 비가 내리는 야나 가와 가와쿠다리를 경험했다. 나름대로 멋이 있었다. 뱃사공 할아버지는 멋있는 분이다. 내가 일본어로 할아버지한테 “당신 한국에서 유명한 사람입니다.” 하니깐 웃으면서 “그래요!” 했다. 자신의 일과 야나 가와의 가와쿠다리의 역사에 대해서 상당한 자부심이 대단했다. 뜻은 몰랐지만 가와쿠다리 도중에 간간히 들려주는 옛 노래가 듣기가 좋았다. 여기는 벌써 매화꽃이 피기 시작하고 벚꽃들은 꽃망울을 피운 ... read more