Damp times in Fukuoka, Japan

Damp times in Fukuoka, Japan

20^th July 2007

My recent visa mishaps saw me spending a few days in the city of Fukuoka, on the island of Kyūshū, Japan. Fukuoka is a cool city. It's very modern and very traditional at the same time. It would of been nice to spend a bit longer there, but the almighty dollar and my responsibilities at work dictated otherwise. I would swap Fukuoka for Brunei any day of the week

Asia's biggest Ferris Wheel

One of Fukuoka's claims to fame is that it is home to Asia's biggest ferris wheel. It is indeed big. Scrotum tingling type big.

Since I was Noddy-No-Friends on this trip, I got to ride in a carriage all by myself for the pricey sum of ¥800 ($NZ 8.23).

The ride itself was pretty cool. Both metaphorically an literally. Literally because every carriage was air-conditioned (how decadent is that?) and metaphorically because being 120 meters up in the air is just cool.

A mini-mall type complex sprouts out from the base of the ferris wheel with the usual mall type trappings. I grabbed me a ice cream from Dipper Dan's and it's typically quirky Asian wrapper.

Quirky Japan

And speaking of quirky, how about this pink poodle statue?

Not only is it an extra odd sort of a statue, but the associated "Do Not Ride On The Pink Poodle" sign only added to the weirdness.

A dog-as-toy phenomenon is alive and well in both Japan and Korean. There are numerous dog parlors in both countries where you can get:

A Doggy Pedicure
Pedigreecure perhaps?
Your canine's canines clean
A deep wash and condition of its coat
And, worst of all, a dye job on your dog
It is not uncommon to see poodles with pink tails and blue torsos.

Zen Temples

Cool looking buildings abound in East Asia and Japan is no exception.

I found numerous old school temples scattered through the commercial sprawl and craziness of the modern Fukuoka.

This one was a Zen Buddhist temple located just off the main street. Rather strangely I was the only one on the grounds. Just as I was about to leave, I saw a guy dressed in Buddhist clothes. I made a hasty retreat figuring that maybe I shouldn't have really been there. Or perhaps I was afraid he was going to do some Zen Buddhist kung fu^* on my ass.

Butt lifting

Another (I assume) Buddhist thing that I managed to come across was the sight of hundreds of men dressed in traditional costumes that exposed the buttocks. I'm not sure why this was, but they were all deadly serious about it.

The point of the whole enterprise was to carry six other butt-exposed men on a wooden structure at break neck speeds. I am also not sure about why they would want to do this. Apparently it is very popular here as all the tourist brochures have pictures of the break neck carry.

Alas, I never got to watch the g-string clad men carry the wooden platform as it was time for me to catch my flight.

Not Catching my Flight

But, alas, there was no flight to catch. A typhoon between Japan and Korea had forced a cancellation of my flight. I ended up having to spend an extra day in Fukuoka which didn't amount to much due to the inclement weather.

Fukuoka was fun. I liked it. But I would have much preferred to save the money and use it to support myself in the Philippines. Ah well.

^* Racial stereotypes. Such fun.

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