Wednesday
We left Nagasaki early in the morning and made our trip back to Fukuoka. After only a few days in Nagasaki it felt like my home away from home. The people there were to kind to us and did their best to make us feel at home. If I ever go back to Nagasaki the hostel is the only place I will stay. Eventually we got back to our hostel in Fukuoka and made our way around the city. Tried to make our way around the city is more like it. The bus system in Fukuoka is confusing as hell for foreigners and made it ridiculously difficult to get anywhere. We went to the open fish market and then ended up at a place called Canal City (shockingly named for the canal that sits directly next to it) and did a bit of shopping to round out our evening. We eventually made our way back to the hostel, made a few new friends from Holland and exhaustedly fell asleep.
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| Our hostel in Fukuoka |
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Beautiful crab on the open market. 1500 Yen is
roughly equivalent to about $15. |
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| Some of the biggest shrimp I have ever seen. |
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| Little teapots specifically for tea. So cute! |
Thursday
This day was our touristy day. We walked all around the city and attempted to master the bus system. After massively failing we went back to canal city to do some more souvenir shopping. We did lunch at a rotating sushi restaurant. I know, I couldn't quite figure out what it was either until I saw it but the description "rotating sushi restaurant" actually does it justice. There is a tiny conveyor belt that goes around the bar seating in the restaurant. It has plates of fresh sushi on coordinated plates. If you like what you see you take the sushi off the belt and keep your plate when finished. They tally your bill to the varying colored plates you chose. Ingenious! We eventually ended up back at our hostel and found out we were sharing it with a group of guys who ALSO teach English in Korea! What are the odds. Late night movie watching and talking about our jobs rounded out our night.
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| A shrine on the way to the canal. |
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| Canal City |
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| The rotating sushi restaurant in all its glory |
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| California roll |
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| The different prices for the different colored plates |
Friday
This was our long awaited beach day. An entire day of doing absolutely nothing but soaking up the sun with my ipod and a good book. We went to Momochi beach and did nothing but turn over every 30 minutes. Yes we could have done more sightseeing but it was a vacation. Exactly what we needed. We stopped on the way back at Fukuoka Tower (one of the highest points in Japan) and did the touristy thing. Raechel (one of the girls I went on the tirp with) and I went out with the fellow teachers that evening. We rounded out our night in a Noraebong and ended up walking home with a perfect view of the sun rising over the buildings. It is a sight I will not soon forget.
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| Fukuoka Tower |
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| A hotel on Momochi Beach |
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| Some of the fellow teachers from Korea we met at our hostel |
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| Peace signs are big in Japan too...clearly. |
Saturday
Our last day in Japan was spent lugging our baggage around and trying to get to the airport. We did a few last touristy pictures and ended up at the airport with more than 5 hours to spare. A long nap on the most uncomfortable bench imaginable and the worst sandwich ever created later...we successfully made it on our plane and headed back to Pohang.
After spending an entire week in a different country I appreciate Pohang a bit more. Here I can understand some of what is said and written. I can have minimal conversations and actually have someone somewhat understand me. I feel connected to the culture here and with the people as well. Japan is a beautiful country to visit and in time I am sure I would feel the same way about it as I do about the 'Hang but for now it is Pohang that is home for me.
I never thought the phrase "it feels so good to be home" would refer to a South Korean country...but for me it now does.
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