back to japan 3 - fukuoka

    

LEAVING the north behind we boarded a plane with about 200 school students, all in that formal midshipman's uniform, and obediently lining up in columns, boys to the left, girls to the right. At our destination they formed up in regimental lines, and the head boy stepped forward and delivered a report to the headmaster. A far cry from a British school party on tour. We had arrived in the southern city of Fukuoka, as our bag tags, displaying the first three letters, boldly proclaimed: an attractive city, with many waterways and parks.

     The best of them is Ohori, with its huge lake. We crossed the lake via a series of wooded islands, with many wild birds in evidence. There is a beautifully maintained Japanese traditional garden, a miniature landscape of rocks, watefalls and pines. Just by the park are the extensive ruins of the old Edo castle, vast walls within walls, but the castle itself was detroyed as a symbol of the brutal feudal regime, at the start of the Meiji era. The courtyards are full of cherry trees, and at the time of our visit, hundreds of giant eggs that are illuminated at night.

     Here's a very romantic, very Japanese approach to town planning: in the 1960s the local authority planned to cut down a line of cherry trees to widen the road beside the castle. The locals fixed a series of poems to the trees lamenting their loss. In response, the mayor wrote his own poem, regretting the decision – and the trees were kept and thrive to this day.

     We continued to the beach at Momochi, a bit disappointing as you have to go through an uninspiring business district to get there, and it is dominated by a fake Spanish wedding chapel. But it was nice to see the sea!

     We stayed in Hakata, once a separate city. Beside our hotel is the island of Nakasu, separated from the rest of the city by canals, and the focus of nightlife, from the sophisticated to the downright steamy. Along the canal there are also a series of food stalls (yatai), for which Fukuoka is famous, seating about 8 or 10 and offering mostly ramen and and hot pot dishes.