I go down and have the same breakfast as yesterday. I then get packed-up. R and M pick-me up at 11:30. We go to Fireburg castle. Frieburg, Germany is a sister city to Mats. The castle is about 10 yrs old, and appears to be on the highest hill around, even higher than Mats, castle. We go to the very top. The castle area is a public park, and there is no cost. From the top there is another great view of Mats. even with the cloudy skies. I take a photo of Mats. Castle on the other hill. We then go back into town to meet two of R's friends, Nyoko and Naomi from Imabari. We have lunch at a Japanese restaurant at the strip mall where me meet. The restaurant has a water pond at floor level. There is a low bridge over the water. Each table is a separate semi-private room, with a straw shade that is pulled down after your food is served. The tables are low, but there is an insert space for your legs, so you actually are sitting normally. We all order the same set, which includes sashimi, tempura, rice, soup, and several other items. After eating I go next door to an internet café. We then drive to the port. I offer my credit card to pay for my ticket, and am surprised to find that they only accept cash. I do not have the necessary cash, since I could not find an ATM. R lends me the $$$, and M also contributes. I promise them I will wire them money next week after I return to HK. I feel very stupid and embarrassed. Thank goodness for friends. It turns out that the nearest CitiBank ATM is in Fukuoka. I should have gotten cash in Tokyo or Kyoto. My boat is boarding, so I say goodbye to my new friends.
The boat has airplane style seats. I am in the lower level. The seating is 14 across--3,4,4,3. I am RH side, aisle seat. The boat is quite fast, perhaps about 40 mph. It takes 2.5 hours to get to Moji. We enjoy a fairly smooth ride, although it is a little choppy when we are in the open sea, but not bad. Most people sleep. My seat mates--a young couple--sleep the whole way. The boat is completely full--no empty seats at all. About half the time I stand up in the rear area and look out the window at the passing scenery. To avoid seasickness it helps for me to see the horizon. To the right is the west coast of Honshu. To the left in the far distance is the eastern coast of Kyushu. It seems very dark on the Kyushu side. Is it raining there?
We arrive in Moji at about 5:50 PM. It is almost dark but it is not raining. Moji has a very nice harbor area. I see restaurants, shops, strolling families. I was going to go straight to Fukuoka, but the place has such a friendly and relaxed ambiance that I decide to stay the night in Moji instead. I go to the JR station. The JR clerk is very helpful, and he refers me to a business hotel, 5500 yen, about 4 blocks away. I walk to the hotel, getting some help from a local pedestrian. I show her map/flyer that the JR clerk had given me, and she points the way.
I find the hotel, and the nice middle-aged lady greets me. I register and go to my room. Wow! It seems like a suite! Living room with tatami mats on the floor; entrance way with slippers; kitchen area; powder room; bedroom w. double bed; bath room w. sink and tub/shower. Did I get special deal because I am a foreigner? As I head out I tell the nice lady how happy I am with the room. I hope she understands me!. I Walk back to the JR station. I want to thank the clerk, but he is not there. I tell other clerk how happy I am with the room. I also get info from him on JR service to Fukuoka for tomorrow. I decide to go ahead and buy a ShinkansenTicket (it will save me some valuable time). I will leave Moji at 8:29, arrive Fuk. at 9: 14.
I then wander around the Moji waterfront. It is very quaint. Cafes with outdoor seating. A waterfront walkway. A pedestrian bridge over the entrance to the inner harbor area. I hear jazz music coming from a place on the other side of bridge. There is a small mall next to inner harbor area. A fountain is spraying water in the harbor. As I get closer to the mall I hear old 60s music from the USA. There is a small food court in the mall. I point to the picture of the meal I want. I get a rice and chicken bowl with miso soup for 650y. After eating I walk thru the mall. At the other end of harbor there is a restaurant boat. It is an old style steam-boat. I decide to see what it looks like inside, so I go in and get a cup of coffee. The ambience is very enjoyable. The couple next to me get served sizzling hot steak and fish. It smells great. I go back out. Now it is raining lightly. I walk quickly back to the hotel. I Call R from the room and tell her all that all is well, and I thank her again for her help. I then work on this journal and plan for tomorrow. I will try to get to Korea/Seoul if possible. I think I will go to the Korea Tourist office in Fukuoka in the morning.
Early AM. Breakfast downstairs. There are 2 Japanese couples already there. They are having Japanese style breakfast. I assume that this is what I will get, but instead I get the (apparently customary) western breakfast--eggs, bacon, shredded lettuce, etc. It does its job and I head towards the train station. I arrive a few minutes early and get the next earlier train to Kokura, where I transfer to the Shinkansen to Fukuoka. By 9:00 I am in Fukuoka.
I find the subway to Tenjin station, and from there I find the local Citibank. After getting some insight from the bank clerk I go down the street to the JTB office, where I am assisted by a nice young lady who helps me get my ferry ticket to Busan for tomorrow, and a hotel in Fukuoka for the night. I then go to the Plaza Hotel Premier, about 5 blocks away. It is a nice business hotel, on a par with the hotel in Kyoto.
The rooms are not yet ready (check-in is at 3:00 PM), so I leave my bags and head for the Korea National Tourist Office (KNTO). It is near the central JR station, Hakata station, which is where I arrived in Fukuoka. With some help from a couple pedestrians I find the correct office building and head for the 6th floor. As I get off the elevator I realize I have a real problem. All of the signage is in Japanese. I cannot tell which door is for KNTO. I enter an office near the elevator and ask. It is a medical office. The clerk/nurse asks the doctor, who comes out of his office and shows me the KNTO office. But where we get there I can see that the sign indicates that the office is closed from 12:00 to 1:00 for lunch. He opens the door and calls out. A young lady come from another room. He asks her is they can help me--an American tourist. They agree. I enter the office and am assisted by 3 ladies who have interrupted their lunch to help me. This episode is just another example of the kindness and graciousness that I received in Japan, and indeed throughout Asia. I can only wonder what would have happened if they had been in a similar situation in Miami.
The 3 laides give me information regarding the train schedule from Busan to Seoul, and some general hotel info for Seoul. They cannot actually sell me a ticket or make a reservation. But they help me finalize my travel plans for the Korea portion of my trip. I thank them for being so kind. I then head back to town, to see if my room is ready. Not yet, so I go into the hotel café and have lunch. The skies have cleared and now it is sunny and mild. There are some outside seats and I take one. It is an Italian style restaurant (sort-of). I order what looks like a pizza sandwich, with soup, sashimi, and coffee. It is actually quite tasty.
I then go back in. My room is ready, and a desk clerk, another one of those nice young ladies, takes me to my room. It turns out that she lived for a year in Madison, Wisconsin, while studying English at a private school. We talk some about Madison. What a small world.
I then head back out for some more exploring. I decide to walk down to the waterfront. It is probably about 1.5 miles away. I look at my map and head north, then east, then north again. I cross the local river and then head north along the east side of the river. This takes me to the waterfront. I find small park at the end of the river. There are a few men fishing. I don’t see any signs of caught fish. To my right is a tall tower. It looks like it might be a control tower for the harbor area. But, as I walk around to the other side I see that it is a public, free, observation tower. I take the elevator up. At the top is an open room with windows all around. I guess I am about 150 feet up. Not all that high (a 15 story building), but definitely the tallest thing around, and the view is really nice. Below me I see the ferry boat terminal that I will leave from tomorrow. There is also another ferry pier for boats that go to the nearby islands.
I go back down and cross the street. There is a small mall area near the ferry boat terminal. It is called Bayside Place. It is rather quiet. I wander into a small shop and get a Snickers Bar. I haven't had one of these for a while. It tastes great. I then walk around the harbor area. At the other side is an old-looking boat. It appears to be a party boat that can be rented. I continue walking and eventually find the terminal building that I will come to tomorrow. The ticket counter for my boat line is closed, but I can see how things will work. I walk back to Bayside, go into another shop, and find a small container of chocolate milk! I sit at one of the outside tables, savoring my chocolate milk, and watching the boats and people. A ferry comes-in, about 20 people get off, and a few minutes later it is loading-up for the return trip to one of the islands.
It will soon be dark so I start walking back to town. I take a slightly different route, staying close to the river for a couple more blocks. When I get to town I pass several food booths that are just starting to set up on the downtown sidewalks. I wonder what they are about. When I get to the hotel I ask, and the clerk tells me that these booths are a Fukuoka tradition. I decide to have dinner at one of them.
After using the internet in my room (the hotel has DSL lines in most rooms), I go look for a food booth. The booths have curtains that hang down about half-way, and inside the curtains are stools or benches in front of the table/serving counter. On the counter food of various sorts is cooking. Most of the booths have a large container filled with a variety of food in a boiling broth. I walk past several trying to decide. One of them says he does Italian style. I don't want Italian and keep looking. I peak into one and a man in a suit sitting at the counter invites me to stay. I decide that they are all about the same (at least to my inexperienced eye) and accept his invitation. Yuchiro is about 35, he says he is in the security business. His english is good enough to share some conversation. He is from Fukuoka. He says he does not always eat at the booths, just when he is in the mood. The booth is hosted by a man and woman. Today is the woman's birthday, so we all toast her happy birthday. I try a selection from the vat--boiled egg, beef on a stick, some kind of fish patty, tofu, and a rice roll. It was interesting, but I wouldn't want to make it a habit.
After dinner I walk back to the hotel, taking the scenic route. I realize I forgot to bring my map, but luckily my sense of direction does not fail me. After some time on the internet I call it a day and hit the sack. I set the alarm for 7:00 AM.
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