japan 2012
During our Chuseok holiday (Korean harvest) we decided to head to Japan! We took a ferry from Busan to Fukuoka. Upon arrival in Fukuoka, we knew we weren't in Korea anymore. The sidewalks were spit-free, the air was fresh, and the people were friendly. Not to say that Koreans aren't friendly, but we haven't had many pleasant experiences with the locals. Anyway, we decided to stay the night in Fukuoka before taking a bus the next morning to Nagasaki. After a few hours in Fukuoka we learned that the city was a major hot spot for "sex tourism". Banners, signs, and even "booths" were advertised along the city streets showcasing various girls and their "specialties". We got quite a kick out of the selections to choose from. After making the rounds through the sex-clad downtown district, we decided we needed some serious street food. Now you may think that street food ought to be cheapest form of food, as we did, but boy were we wrong. After settling down at a nice food stand, picking a local brew, and eyeballing the skewers to select from, we noticed the prices. For one set (7 skewers and 1 beer) that total came to 4,000 yen or about 40USD! And that was for one set! Are these people serious?! Yes, the food was INCREDIBLE, but that little unfortunate decision, followed by that additional shock of actual restaurant prices, left us utterly distraught. Let's just say that we became very familiar with the "gas station cuisine" after that point. I also need to mention that as far a "gas station cuisine" goes, definitely try the pancakes. They come prepackaged with syrup and butter. That's right. Butter. Game over.
Any who, the next morning we left Fukuoka and took a bus to Nagasaki. Nagasaki was an amazing city, although it was very expensive as well (we would be completely broke right now if we traveled to Tokyo). We enjoyed everything the city had to offer. We visited the local Atomic Bomb Museum (and noticed that nowhere in the museum did they ever once state that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor first, hmmm...), traveled to various temples, took a gondola to the top of the mountain that overlooked the city, ventured to an old Dutch neighborhood (which was rich in Nagasaki's history), and soaked up the sun on the local boardwalk. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable four day vacation. We enjoyed it so much! We hope to go back to Japan again, and see more of what the country has to offer. Hopefully next time we go we are millionaires. Then we can really live it and eat more sushi :) But I promise you, no matter how much money I win from the lottery, I will still buy those delicious prepackaged pancakes. |