this was the first part of my fukuoka trip, that i posted on myspace, but didn't post here. sorry to the few people in the world who actually read this blog and noticed that part one of my two part series was missing...
i'm in my hostel in fukuoka, japan. typing a blog until i get this elusive confirmation email with some code in it that i will then write down and take to the korean consulate to get my visa. if i was only here for two days, this waiting around for said email would be annoying, but as it is, i'm here until monday, and i still have 2 completely full days ahead of me to be a tourist. and i guess a lot of time to blog too. plus, it's raining. so apparently that's s'posed to affect productivity too. but i think sitting here moving my fingers over a keyboard is the very definition of productive--each second yielding some new object/letter. i'm tired.
a recap of recent achievements is in order. maybe when i finish writing this the email will be waiting for me in my inbox. virtual fingers crossed.
first, it's pretty great that i've been at my new job all of a week and a half, grading those charmingly botched essays, and then they send me to japan for 4 days. i can't really complain about that. they even gave me money for a hotel. i still opted for the cheap hostel, simply because less money spent on lodgings means more money for things that make me intoxicated and accompanying fried food items (i'm thinking tempura. haven't actually eaten any yet, but i'm planning on it. today's the day!!!( hmm, the closing parenthesis doesn't want to work. please note my effort. also, there's always a part of me that likes to think i have that backpacker spirit/ethos/whatever you want to call it. i have a backpack. but then when i got here i switched my room from one of the communal, hey-4-people-who don't-know-each-other-are-going-to-swap-travel-stories-and-one-of-them-is-going-to-snore-and-one-of-them-is-going-to-be-really-fucking-annoying varieties to the more comfortable and anti-social 2 beds, 1 person room. that's how i roll. i already deal with all korea's collectivism on a daily basis. no thanks.
shit, i just remembered that a dude stole my umbrella last night. i say this as i look at rain streaming in through the open window of the common area. it's gonna be a wet one. or i guess it already is a wet one. fudge.
my day yesterday was very long. i was mostly coherant for damn near 24 hours. i woke up at 4:30 in ilsan because i had to catch the bus to the incheon airport at 5:50. this was supposedly the time for the first bus, but i got there early and conveniently, the bus did too. i like it when things immediately go right that early in the morning. a good travel omen, perhaps.
caught my flight at 8 to fukuoka. waited in the longest customs/immigration line known to man and checked my email at the airport. no confirmation number. then i found my hostel, but i couldn't check in for another 4 or so hours so i went temple hopping. there was one subway stop that is literally surrounded by all these different temples. and i've said this so much about asia, but it's remarkable how visible the fusion of the past and present is. high rise buildings closing in on centuries-old buddhist temples. a fact that still amazes me with certain regularity. temple culture (if you can call it such a thing( in japan, fukuoka at least, is a lot different than in korea. all the temples i went to had virtually no people at them. so that was great for me, taking lots of pictures and indulging my inner tourist.
the best temple i stumbled across was also a cemetery. it was absolutely, awesomely beautiful. the entrance to the actual temple was closed, covered by scaffolding, so my intent was just to take a few pictures and leave. but i walked through a totally generic archway and was immediately overwhelmed by a sea of huge, acient looking stones with people's names inscribed in them, an altar for flowers and two accompanying urns. the way the stones had aged, the combined elements of weather and time and dirt and leaves! it was a truly organic atmosphere, the rich peaty smell surrounding. fukuoka also has large, knobby trees, covered in that furry layer of damp moss. i took a lot of pictures. they will be posted to the flickr page at some point.
after the temple excursion, did some window shopping near my hostel. they have vending machines for cigarettes. interesting.
came back to my room and tried to take a nap (remember, up since 4:30 am(, but apparently some people are building something right outside my room's window. the soothing sounds of chainsaws, jackhammers and heavy things being dropped/nailed/hammered/ or otherwise violated. no nap. sad jamie.
decided to go look for the atm machine that was rumored to accept korean debit cards. so after asking 5 different people at 5 different hotels, i finally found it. it's interesting, i think in korea there are more random people with the potential to help you because they speak a little bit of english. i've had a hell of a time here communicating anything. so many people speak absolutely no english, and a lot of the signs don't even have english on them (note: this is mere observation, not judgement. i know. it's japan, why should they speak english or have english signage...(. even my trusty hand gestures aren't cutting it. i guess i underestimate how much the smallest bit of korean that i know helps me in everyday mundane situations. here, i just keep thinking domo arigato mr. roboto. that song's on a loop in my brain. how unfortunate. is that rush or styx? i hope the people who should find that funny....
post atm triumph, headed to the lively part of the city to look for a particular reggae bar. i found it, after some roundabout navigating. the curry was fantastic. and there was no accompanying plate of kimchi, no red pepper taste or smell. a small bar, not too many people. good times. 2 guinness beers consumed. note that i added 'beers'. that's because i don't know how to pluralize guinness. while i was there i chatted it up with a frenchie who's been travelling/teaching esl for the past 26 years. went with him to another bar, met some new people from australia and england. frenchie left, so i integrated with his peeps. me and 2 of the more adventurous of the bunch decided to go bar-hopping. very fun. a tower of heineken. picked up 3 other random people as well, one of whom was an amazing dancer. he took us to a dance club. no one else was dancing, but he didn't seem to mind. shit, what's that movie with the b2k dudes in it? he could dance like one of them. what is that guy's fucking name? omarion. he could dance like omarion. i think it's funny that at this particular computer in japan, the next time anyone googles any b word, b2k is going to pop up.
the real adventure of the day was getting back to the hostel. i had come and gone to/from the hostel several times during the day, when it was light out, when the subway was open. i thought that surely the address written in japanese on the business card would be enough for the cab driver. but it wasn't. he started rubbing on my leg, so i stopped the taxi not knowing where i was. soaking wet in the downpour. i bought an umbrella (yes, the one that was promptly swiped by a convenient mart employee...( and began soliciting help from random convenient store people. taxi driver had no idea where the hostel was, and neither did most of the convenient mart people. i think i was on convenient mart number 4 when i finally lost it and started crying uncontrollably, much to the terror of the young japanese workers around me. it was now almost 4 in the am and i hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours. so that, factored in with being intoxicated, lost, not knowing a goddamn word of japanese, creepster feeling me up in the cab made for a pretty pathetic situation. i finally made it home though, after much map consultation and the kindness of these two gentlemen.
oh yeah, why am i so tired right now. i got back to the hostel right around 4 after being up for nearly 24 hours, and then was woken up by the current construction project at 8 am. yes, even in the rain they hammer away. so all told, not a lot of sleep to show for myself over the past few days.
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