Glance into Japan: Day One

This past Monday Korea's independence from Japan was celebrated meaning that I did not have to work. In order to better understand what the Koreans were celebrating and what was so bad about Japanese rule I decided to make the voyage in to the belly of the beast, as they say, to visit the only country remaining under Japanese rule, Japan.

I decided to make the journey from Busan to Fukuoka using the Beetle ferry, a high speed hydrofoil ferry. The trip takes 3 hours and cost me 250000 won with taxes. One tip to those who are looking to go this route, from what I understand, if you reserve your tickets online you have to pay within 3 days but if you reserve your tickets by phone you only have to pay at the terminal before departure. Their phone number is on their site, they speak great English, use Skype to call.

I made the voyage with another friend from the island who had been to Japan several times but never spent much time in Fukuoka. While we had originally wanted to spend some time planning what we would do in Japan but ended up putting it off until we were on the ferry, which we agreed was to late to plan so we slept. Thankfully we are really good at winging it...

Upon arrival we found a free map of Fukuoka and took a look at it to get oriented and decide where to go first. We spotted a hostel and decided to make that our Japanese home. Before heading off we decided to take out some money but found out that there is no international ATM in the ferry terminal. Thankfully the kind people at the money exchange office they gave a handy map to find the nearest international money machine. Those of you planning to go to Fukuoka make a note to bring a bit of money to exchange in order to avoid a hot and humid walk* resulting in much sweat secretion.

One interesting note about Japanese ATM's is that all of the ones we used dispensed the 10,000 yen bill. At the current exchange rate that was equal to $130 in one bill, this made me a little nervous, thankfully the crime rate in Japan is low. To break my first one I bought a bottle of water for 150 yen, I got some mad change.

If you are entering Japan after Korea one thing that you will notice is that the 500 yen coin and the 500 won coin are quite similar in size, shape and design. The only difference is that one is worth $6.50 and the other is worth $0.50. This plays tricks on the mind when paying for things. You think you are getting something for really cheap and then you realize the actual price and wonder why you bought it. Thankfully I am super smart and never got duped by this...

After getting money we realized we were halfway to our hostel and hungry so it only made sense to walk the rest of the way in hopes of finding a place to get some Japanese lunch, our hope did not disappoint After a few short blocks we stumbled upon a classic Japanese ramen shop, could it get any better you ask? Yes it could! We ordered our food with the help of a vending machine! Put the money in, push the button for what you want, and the machine spits out a ticket with your order printed on it. You give this to the server and a few short minutes^ later you get exactly what you wanted.

Our stomachs filled with soupy goodness we continued on our way. We ended up walking along the river as the map showed the hostel to be along it. It was nice but there was no protection from the sun making us as wet as the noodles from our soup. Little did we know, we could have been following a covered shopping street for a good part of our walk, as we found out when we arrived at our hostel.

The hostel that we stayed at was called Hakata Riverside Hostel. It cost 2250 yen a night for a bed in a four person dorm room. Compared to the other options this was very agreeable to us as it met all of our needs. There is a small lounge with free water, coffee and tea and all the staff we interacted are very helpful in making your time in Fukuoka the best it can be.

We took a quick nap to recover from the sun before heading out for a walk about. I kept finding myself sighing while expelling the word Japan in amazement that I was actually in said country. Due to a motorcycle mishap the previous week my range was limited and so we did not get as far as we might have like. Another thing that Japan is famous for that we did not partake in due to my injuries was an onsen or hot springs.

Sushi being a must for any Japanese trip we attempted to hire a taxi to take us to a recommended place but unfortunately a number of them let us know that they were unable to fullfil our request. We did manage to find one to take us back to our home area and while on route we happened upon some hawker stands where we decided to stop for supper. While the price to substance ratio was poor, it was an experience that was irreplaceably enjoyable due to our interactions with those around us. On the way home we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some snacks and breakfast and headed off to bed.

*(The hot and humid walk is dependant on outdoor temperature)
^(Minute lengths do not actually vary)