Hotel Leopalace Hakata Fukuoka

My first impression of Fukuoka was neon. Though my body knew it was the middle of the night it was used to, I was able to get yen from an ATM, buy a subway ticket, and get to the 100 year old inn where I had reservations. Enjoyed the hot communal (gender separated) bath, but not as much the ********** and buckwheat pillow.
Fukuoka, Kyushu-Okinawa, Japan travlingal

... like? I have no friggin' idea. I've been trying to research it on the internet but have come up with very little as to what kind of life we'll be living there. Which is one of the reasons I've decided to revive the travel blog and maybe somewhere down the line, someone else is moving to Salalah and will actually have some idea of what it's like before they get there. Here's hoping it's good!

-M

... the little ad said at the bottom of the 'NOW Fukuoka' guide map I picked up in Hiroshima. I inquired at the Information Center upon arriving at the train station in Fukuoka... my LAST stop in Japan; my LAST DAY in Japan!

"It's open till 6 pm tonight," the assistant informed me.

I checked the time. It was not even 2 pm yet.

"I can make it to the hostel, catch a bus, and get there with several hours to spare," I thought to myself excitedly. "I might actually get ...

... Mojiko also became an important terminal for both the railroad and cruise ships. So it's full of Meiji-era Western-style buidings, mostly built in grand style between 1910 and 1920. The view of the waterfront and the bridge across the strait is just beautiful. There's a nice little railroad museum, a couple of small shopping plazas, and a new hotel with a striking modern design. I think Mojiko deserves ...

... and experience was worth it!

The next day we boarded the Beetle - a high speed Jet Foil Boat which lifts out of the water and skims on ski-like foils. It took less than 3 hours to do 120 miles across the sea to South Korea which is pretty quick. It felt like you were on a place or a train but was even smoother, so no sea sickness, even after having an early morning beer - well, it was free!!

... outcome! And 400Y in a baseball batting range, also highly hilarious with balls being fired at 100km/h! Once back in the hotel we excitedly learned how to download tv shows and films onto the computer and play them through the portable DVD player, so this evening we've caught up on the latest episode of Desperate Housewives, and currently downloading last weeks The Apprentice :-) That'll keep us entertained when we have no budget to ...

... d just like to put that out there. Also, if you didn't know, Hello Kitty is the official tourism ambassador of Japan. I'm happy about this, but I must lament and paraphrase as another blogger that Japan is now officially kicking our a** in the cute department with that there move. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/05/2 0/hello.kitty.ap/index.html

... so beautiful (sounds weird I know!) After relaxing in the hotel for the rest of that afternoon we headed back out for dinner and explored the other side of the city by dark. We soon realised we were in the "pleasure" district and I had a tough job to pull Pete away from all the "naughty places" to go back to the hotel and get some much needed kip before the mammoth trip home!

... the window, gave a squeak and then ran back to her friends giggling. After a moment of conference another came up and did the same, staying a little a longer. Then the third came and stayed a little longer still before running back. They all giggled uproariously at this, and then they went up into the line of the wind and started taking pictures one by one, laughing and playing around as I did so. At first I tried to stay focused and look out over the water, but in the end the ...

... looks. All those Western stores. There was a large large supermarket with many Japanese but also Western products. Suzanna had forewarned that I would likely understand nothing of what was in each of the packages that were sold, but luckily my reading ability had advanced a lot in the last few months, so that in many cases, unless I did not know what the item was, I was able to read what each item said. As Suzanna had said, the ...