Our Mistakes in Fukuoka

Fukuoka pictures

We woke up Saturday with the bitter taste of defeat, because we weren't able to book a hotel. On a whim, Erich called one of the places that rejected him the night before, and strangely enough, we got a room! So we drove our happy asses up to Isahaya to catch the next train up.

Mistake #1: NEVER park in Isahaya.

We drove around for what seemed like hours and found many nearly empty parking lots, only to realize that we weren't allowed to park there. So we ended up parking at the station instead. -¥6400.

Train tickets: -¥5000 each, roundtrip

Our hotel was easy to find, thanks to the proximity to the station. And it was only about ¥8000 a night. At this point, I only had about a man (¥10000, or $100) in my pocket. Regardless, we headed up to Canal City for our first afternoon/night on the town. First stop: Indian food. We ordered samosas, naan, and a mushroom/pea curry dish. It was TO DIE FOR!!! Then, per Erich's request, we headed up to the huge Sega video arcade.

Mistake #2: You know those token machines in America? Well, they aren't for video games here!

Stuck with a cup full of gambling tokens, we blew about ¥500 on those coin machines (you know, the ones where you try to topple an entire dish of coins with one? That's what we did. Lame.) Then, we had a Japanese teeny bopper moment: went to a sticker making booth. This particular mall had an entire plaza filled with different kinds of sticker booths. We chose the most benign one, only to discover that we SUCK AT READING INSTRUCTIONS IN JAPANESE.

Mistake #3: Don't put a doo-doo looking graphic all over the screen when you don't know where the Undo button is.

After you take the picture, you can decorate your picture with strange clipart. I basically ruined the pic, but it makes for good comedy. Too bad I don't have a scanner! Yen blown: ¥500. It wasn't all bad though: Canal City is definitely my favorite place in Fukuoka so far. And even though the stores close around 9, there are still people there. We wandered around the streets that night, greatly impressed by the quantity of people out and about. I could definitely live there.

Day 2: Headed up to Tenjin, which supposedly has good "shopping." That is debatable, since all of the "stores" carry the same basic thing: hoochie mama clothing. I was so dizzy from all of the hooch that both Erich and I had to stand in an empty stairwell and catch our breath. Yen spent: ¥0.

Wandered around, tried to find a shrine and failed. Rode subway/walked instead up to Hawks Town. Found the Gap. Found Toys R Us. Found Starbucks. I know, how American of us! Truth is, you miss these things only when you don't have them. Yen spent: at least ¥5000.

Then, we decided to freshen up and eat at the tofu restaurant mentioned in the previous post.

Mistake #4: Never trust the Rough Guide to Japan, published in January 2005.

After walking around Canal City for an hour, we decided to ask the Information desk, "Ume no hana wa doko desu ka?" (Where is the Ume no hana restaurant?) Iee. It is gone. Bummer. Instead, we went to a conveyor belt sushi place, which is something I've wanted to try since the day I stepped foot in Japan.

Mistake #5: Never go to a conveyor style sushi place with only a few customers at the counter.

Round after round, the same fish-guts-over-rice concoctions rolled by. I wanted some inari tofu, dammit! I wanted cucumber rolls! I eventually managed to order some California rolls. Erich tried natto after I repeatedly warned him not to. The picture of his face says it all! I think we rolled out of there in under ¥1000.

Money in my wallet at this point: ¥2000. We planned to go to the Voodoo Lounge, but it was far from our hotel, which meant we would have to catch a cab. So instead, we bought sake and shochu drinks and went back to the hotel. Oh, I forgot to mention that I bought a ton of Engrish stuff at the station before heading out to Canal City (see the pictures). They are probably going to be given to people, so I apologize for broadcasting them to everyone before handing them over. They are too good!

Uneventful ride back, except for one thing. You know those ticket holders I told you about?

Mistake #6: Don't leave your ticket on the train!

You need your tickets before entering and after exiting trains in Japan. We exited the train, then I realized and sprinted back onto the train. After retrieving the tickets, the train left like 5 seconds later. Whew!

Thanks for sticking with me, typing out my mistakes even tires me out!