Valentine’s Day has been and gone, but in Japan there is no escape. Once again I’m sat here contemplating being forever alone, because tomorrow is White Day. Rather than lump everything into one, sickeningly miserable day, the Japanese prefer to stretch it out over the course of a month. Girls give boys they like chocolate, flowers and various other small gifts on Valentine’s Day, with boys expected to return the favour a month later. Apparently, the tradition for tomorrow is to give the girl a present three times the value of what she gave you. I received nothing, so three times nothing is… Nothing. I didn’t even get a pity KitKat. My wallet is happy but my soul is sad.
This weekend has been rainy and cold (talk about pathetic fallacy), but last weekend I managed to get out to Fukuoka, the nearest giant city that nobody has ever heard of. Within Japan, Fukuoka is pretty famous for having great food and a plethora of clubs and bars. It’s the spiritual home of ramen, one of the world’s most addictive substances, and has been a key point of contact with the rest of Asia throughout Japanese history. I’d been to Fukuoka before, but only in the evening and then I’d struggled to get out of the restaurants. I can quit whenever I want, honest.
A lot of the people I’ve met have struggled to give me recommendations for things to do that didn’t involve alcohol, so I was looking forward to seeing what the city had to offer on a climate-change inspired, sweltering March day. My friend and I arrived at lunchtime, which is never a great idea. After a brief relapse, we headed out to Ohori Park to see if we could find the castle and a good place to chill. Either we are blind or noodles really do have some sort of psychotropic properties, as the castle doesn’t seem to exist. The view from the walls that remain is pretty decent though. The mountains and Fukuoka Tower to the east overlook the park’s central lake, while it’s possible to watch planes coming in to land amongst the buildings to the west. Apparently there’s a beach in there somewhere too. I’ll believe it when I see it.
The main part of the park is dominated by the lake, split in two by a shaded walkway and a pavilion. It’s pretty busy on a sunny day with runners, couples and the occasional businessman sleeping off an entire bottle of wine. Involuntarily. Some things are the same all over the world. It’s a great place to relax and catch some rays. I insisted on taking my shoes off, so my friend spent half an hour standing twenty feet away from me and trying not to vomit. It turned out that this was worthwhile, as about ten turtles beached themselves near us. I imagine they wanted to complain about the spoiling of their natural habitat. They sat very still while everyone did their best to take good selfies in the glaring sunlight. I suppose turtles are more photogenic than pigeons.
Shoes firmly replaced, we wandered back across the city through the main nightlife district, Tenjin, to the river to watch the sunset. The area was just starting to get busy with touts and leafleters preparing for the influx of businessmen and women. We walked through undisturbed, the polar opposite of what would happen in Europe. It’s so rare for them to brave white faces that I often end up taking their clutter because I’m impressed by their courage. There are plenty of foreigners here, but because the city is unknown outside of Japan there is still a residue of small town mentality. At least for now, it’s quite amusing to be gawped at on the street in a city of over 5 million people. I’m told the shine wears off after a while and I am particularly grumpy, so I expect to be annoyed by it next week.
We finished the day by the river, watching the sunset, the rise of the neon and Fukuoka’s famous food stalls setting up shop. There was ramen involved, but I prefer not to admit I have a problem. We spent a full day walking but I feel that there is still a bit more to be seen in the city over the next few months, which is great. I will occasionally need a getaway from my sleepy town. It was a reminder of happy days in Kyoto, which will hopefully be returning sooner rather than later…
Until next time, from rehab, have a wonderful week.