JAPAN VACATION - SPIRITUAL LIFE IN FUKOUKA

JAPAN VACATION - SPIRITUAL LIFE IN FUKOUKA

Fukuoka, much like many cities in Japan, is home to a rich spiritual history, and is dotted with a wide variety of Buddhist Temples, Zen Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines.

Tochoji Temple

Tochoji Temple is located right in the heart of the city. There are a few temple structures in the plaza.

 The most striking is the 5 story red pagoda. Although it was recently constructed in 2011 to celebrate the temple’s anniversary it is still immediately striking.

Tochoji Temple is also home to a 30ft high wood carved Buddha.

Shofukuji Temple 

Shofukuji Temple is a Zen Buddhist Temple with beautiful architecture, grounds, and zen gardens. Needless to say it was very peaceful.

Kushida Shrine

Kushida Shrine is a Shinto Shrine and a place of worship for those practicing the Shinto religion. A Shinto Gate is a clue as to if you are entering a Buddhist or Zen Buddhist Temple, or a Shinto Shrine.

Shinto Gate

 

Kushida Shrine was abuzz when I was there. It seemed like a place of lots of activity. I saw people dressed in suits and a photographer. As it turned out, there was a wedding ceremony being held.

Ryuguji Temple

This is a small little temple is named Ryuguji Temple.

Suikyo Tenmangu Shrine 

I almost missed Suikyo Tenmangu Shrine as I was biking in to Tenjin. It’s located right outside of Tenjin and although it is small it has many nice features including a koi pond.

JAPAN VACATION - A NIGHT IN TENJIN

JAPAN VACATION - A NIGHT IN TENJIN

Tenjin area is the happening area of Fukuoka. Home to many bars and restaurants, Tenjin is the nightlife hub of Fukuoka. I met a fellow American English teacher residing in South Korea named Joe at the hostel and we took the subway to Tenjin. We went out to a skewer restaurant in Tenjin where you pick the raw meat skewers from behind the glass case and they cook it right then and there. We got beef, pork and a skewer that was hardboiled quail eggs and lil smokies.

We ordered 3 skewers each and a beer a piece and left paying roughly $15 for not much food. We walked around Tenjin and got a lay of the land a bit. (Note: There is also coin slot gambling here that is majorly expansive and super loud with coins crashing and the whirring music of several hundred machines. I wanted to get a picture, but was strictly warned not to)

Food stands serving sushi, ramen and all sorts of other food
were everywhere in Tenjin

Movie theater in Tenjin

The inside lobby of a karaoke lounge in Tenjin

Eventually we made our way to an ex-pat British pub called Murray’s.

I quickly recognized some Beetle co-passengers from earlier in the day. Rob and Michelle, were also American English teachers living in Korea. 

Pictured: (l-r) Rob, Michelle and Me

Rob and I instantly connected, in I had mentioned Oregon Country Fair (a Eugene hippy music festival in the woods) and then he mentioned that he had gone to it with his friend, musician Jason Webley. I had reviewed a Jason Webley concert (quite favorably) during my time writing for West Coast Performer Magazine and had since instantly become a Jason Webley fan, owning 2 albums and having seen 4 of his live shows. Anyone who knows vagabond accordionist Jason Webley, knows that he has a loving and beautiful fan community. So meeting a personal friend of Jason Webley’s boded well.

Jason Webley. Eugene, OR photo courtesy of Buckley Shaffer

 We spent some time at Murray’s and then made our way to another place called Jamaicxa (not a typo), a place run by a heavy and welcoming Jamaican man. We hung out on the balcony drinking Red Stripe. Looking over Tenjin, our elbows rested on a railing strewn with hanging and sun-faded Bob Marley flags. As Rob smoked cigarettes, we talked about our lives before and in Korea. The problems with America and the things we missed about home. Tomorrow he and Michelle would head to Nagasaki. We said our good-byes and made a loose plan to reconvene on Tuesday night, the eve of each of our departures.

Because the subway was closed and I didn't want to pay for a cab, I pursued the hour long walk back to my hostel. A plus was that I got to get to get a pretty good feel for the city.

A night time pop-up ramen stand on the banks of the canal

On my way home I walked by a placard paying homage to Fukuoka's sister city and my previous city of residence: Oakland, CA.

JAPAN VACATION - THE VOYAGE & FIRST HOURS OF FUKUOKA

JAPAN VACATION - THE VOYAGE & 

FIRST HOURS OF FUKUOKA

It's Chuseok vacation so I decide with my 5 days off I will go to Japan for the holiday for a quick vacation. Chuseok is Korea's harvest holiday, similar to our Thanksgiving. With the help of a co-worker I booked my reservation on the speed ferry that leaves from Busan, South Korea and arrives in Fukuoka, Japan. It cost about $280 round-trip after portage fees and took just under 3 hours.

The Beetle

I packed a traveler's backpack. My plan was to bring Gretta with me to bike around Japan.

I quickly ran into a small hiccup. The boat told me a could not bring the bike on the boat if it was not in a bag or container of some kind. I found two boxes and made a ram-shamble enclosure for it. The staff taped up the boxes and deemed it acceptable.

Gretta in her "case"

Pushing Gretta

The boat was called the Beetle. The Beetle was similar to flying. Even the security was similar to flying. They even had a movie, a Korean movie called Barefoot Ki Bong, which was about a mentally retarded man who becomes a runner. It was less like Forrest Gump and more like Tropic Thunder's Simple Jack. 

Inside the Beetle

The speed ferry's speed felt something similar to a car. So it didn't feel particularly fast, but boats by nature are not typically fast.



Right before we arrived in Fukuoka, I watched this new and unknown city slowly approach us. It was a city, like many cities I had visited, but it was completely unknown to me. The billboards were in an alien writing and only in my mind did I perceive that even skyscrapers looked "different." A strange new land in a strange new land was approaching. As we neared I was filled with a nervous and excited anxiety. It was the feeling of mystery, and the "unknown," which caused a knee-jerk reaction in the fear centers in my brain. But I was also filled with the fluttering and euphoric excitement of someone inspired by the possibilities of new discovery and wild, boundless adventure.

Fukouoka, Japan

Right after I took this picture the man at customs said, "No pictures." Woops.

Right after I exited the ferry terminal, giddy with excitement I quickly bounded off on my bike. Not even bothering to take a map certainly had hurt me, because almost immediately I was lost. I was getting stressed, because although I had a 5 day vacation, I really only had 3.5 days due to the boat times I was able to reserve. So this was my half day and I became very frustrated because, being lost, I was wasting my time.

I was quickly rescued by some kind-hearted, well-meaning but unfortunately equally clueless New Zealanders. The Kiwis were a father and a tween daughter who were also biking.  He was half native-peoples and coached rugby. He was tall, athletic, had brown skin and a salt-and-pepper pony tail. He was also missing a tooth. We made chit-chat as we rode. I asked about their national rugby team, the All Blacks.  "Ah yis," he replied, "Gotta love the all bleks."I rode for them for maybe 20-30 minutes as they continued to not know where to go. Frustration set in and I eventually opted to break off and find my own way to Hakata Station. It still took a while.

Hakata station is where the intercity and bullet trains leave from. It was where my hostel was near. The Hakata Station area was unfortunately a bit far away from the more happening Tenjin area. Lesson learned, sometimes paying a little more for a hostel thats in a better area is worth it.

But it wasn't all bad. I caught some music there. There was music all over the city all weekend. 

This duo was two Japanese musicians performing Brazilian jazz style vocals and guitar in English.

Then this was band called "The Kitchen Band," where they played kitchenware to a cheer sing-songy song. The were banging on pots and using knives on cutting boards. It was quite cute,

With the sun going down I was hell-bent on seeing something interesting and Japanese. I dropped my bag off at the hostel and cycled feverishly, looking for something, anything. I had been off the boat close to an hour and half to two hours at this point

I found a small temple called Torinjin Temple. It had a small zen garden. Zen temples are derived from Buddhism and a different sect that evolved in Japan. This would be one of many Zen temples and gardens I would visit in Japan

Torinjin Temple

Small zen garden.

 Feeling calmer and more satisfied, I biked around Fukuoka until sundown. I then went back to the hostel to try to get my evening plans in order.

MIGRANT FESTIVAL IN CHANGWON

MIGRANT FESTIVAL IN CHANGWON

As I have written about before Changwon is (on its way to becoming) an international city. Because of Changwon's many factories there are factory workers living and working here from all over the world; from Southeast Asia, to the Philippines and Indonesia, to China, to India, to the Middle East and Russia. On a very rainy Saturday I went to the Migrant Festival which pays hommage to the migrant workers here in Changwon and was filled with a wide variety of international eats and performances.

There's also something to keep in mind with this international festival. In the United States, getting to eat international festival food is pretty much a given, in Changwon, it can be a little harder to come by, so this was quite a treat.

Russian food in Changwon

Saudi Arabian food in Changwon

A traditional Indonesian game

These feather and headdress wearing (presumably) South Americans went under the representation of "Apache." Clearly these gentlemen were not of the Apache tribe, but wore headdresses and Indian warpaint akin to the Native peoples of North America. Their performance also included "traditional" dancing as well as pan-flute playing. It was a strange mish-mash of cultures that was completely lost on, and entirely accepted at face value by the Korean audience. Made me wonder what I could get away with if I were to open a "traditional" Jewish booth at next year's festival...  (Note: none of the pictures of the performance turned out well, this one was the best I got)

"Apaches"

Inside in another area of the festival there was information about all the countries represented.

There were many exciting performances.

A Pakistani man played a Pakistani drum whilst performing many impressive feats. All of which he did while keeping the beat.

Swinging the drum while playing it

Swinging the drum from its strap, using his teeth. While playing it

Swinging a drum, while playing it, while spinning with a
30 lb bicycle around his neck,

There were some other impressive and exciting performances

Indonesian dance performance

Not sure where these women were from. Maybe Indonesia.
Maybe Philippines.

The identity of the Chinese
Mask Dancer is Revealed.
She is a woman!

A shreiky Chinese opera