Fukuoka

It's Wednesday morning here in Fukuoka, and I'm almost finished with my quick visit. I was originally supposed to see a game here tonight, between the USA and France -- really just a filler game to take me to another city; I'm not particularly invested in how the Americans do in international competitions. But when my time in Japan got cut short, I sold the ticket for the game here and replaced it with a different game in Oita. Because the two cities aren't too far apart on the same island, I figured I'd take one night in each.

My only option for a flight to Fukuoka got me to the hotel around noon, where the very nice lady said, "Your check-in time is 2:00. I will hold your luggage, when will you be back?" I didn't have a plan for being told that early check-in on a Tuesday was a no-go... it's always possible to check in early on weekdays... So I consulted Maps for the nearest Starbucks, where I could drink a coffee and figure out what to do with myself for 2 hours.

It wasn't much. On top of the online guides not having a lot to offer inside the city, I had used up most of my remaining cash on the taxi from the airport, because Google erroneously told me my hotel was on the other side of town, not right next to a station where I could have cheaply taken the subway. So I wandered around for a while, sat and ate in a park, visited a shrine, strolled through a mall, and did some people watching, until I could get into my room and regroup.

After charging my phone and checking the guidebook, I decided to set out for the castle ruins, supposedly 15 minutes walk from my hotel. When I'd already been walking for close to 15 minutes, I came to Maizuru park and a sign that the castle ruins were 800 meters away. I kept going - it was a decent walk, along a lake or marshy area with tall plants growing all through it, and a crane (I think?) hanging out on the bank.

What an expert. Sign me up to host the nature programs.

Then after another several minutes walk, I came to Ohori park with lovely scenery, and a sign that it was still another 300 meters (uphill) to the castle. The humidity was 85% and the temperature about the same, and at this point I felt like I was becoming siu mai in the steamy air. So I took photos and trudged back to find some dinner and take a shower -- the view I got was good enough for me.

Today, the weather is about the same, only even hotter with thunderstorm warnings. I'm off to Oita next, which has the same forecast plus gale and high wave warnings, hooray! The sky currently looks calm and the trains are on schedule, though, so here's hoping the rugby goes on as planned...