22 August 2009 in Fukuoka

22 August 2009 in Fukuoka

21st August 2009
11:01pm @ Changi Airport Terminal 3...
I was flying over to Fukuoka with my parents on a very last minute trip... Dad merely touched down Singapore like 4 hours ago only and we're back at the airport again... Just a little side-track... Ms Daisy over at Terminal 3 has an in-built motion-sensor that makes it know who is looking at her. Just walk over to the railings and perhaps wave your hand at her a little and she will turn over and face you for a photo opportunity~ sweet!
In front of the departure gates lies my dream car... a Porsche GT3 Carrera...
The event was this Changi Airport Race that will put the Porsche side-by-side the Boeing-747 for a little drag race along the runway... see who's faster. Well apparently the news release at the time I post this blog-entry tells that the Porsche won by 0.4secs... (then again, dragging the engine of a S$400,000 car is a small matter; no Captain is in the right mind to drag the turbine-engines of a million-dollar aircraft.)22nd August 2009 12:03am midnight... flight is at 1:00am... was a long 6 hour flight...
7:50am @ Fukuoka International Airport... Fukuoka is an hour ahead of Singapore's time, but I shall just stick to Singapore time...
A signboard advising the transportations available to get to the city...
The first few vending machines I came across...
selling delicious hot snacks... One thing I love about Japan is their many varieties of vending machines...
Yummy~
Taxi outside the airport... this is one of the bigger types of taxis...
Kawaii post box...
8:05am... We got picked up by Yamamura-san and his wife...
Travelling out of the airport grounds...
... and into the City...
NTT DoCoMo signal picked up by my handphone...
Approaching the toll-gates of Dazaifu... I love their 'in-vehicle unit' for deducting cash... unlike Singapore's lousy IU that goes 'Beep', their IU tells you the amount deducted in sweet lady Japanese voice! Cool~
8:35am... Making a stop-over at a rest-point... Gonna grab a bite, cuz the journey was gonna be another 2 more hours drive away...
I just love the spacious parking lots there... in Singapore, the Govt will most like have squeezed in another car between here...
I got super excited here as there seemed to be a festival going on there...
More vending machines...
Yakitori stall~
These ain't samples~ and there are no flies hovering around either~
Another stall selling rice cakes... I think...
Colourful rice cakes...
More delicious snacks...
Looked like fish-cake to me... but this machine here makes the fish-rolls spin continuosly over a hot oven... backing them... looks fun and yummy~
Nope... not Rambutans...
"Kau Lak"... lol...
We entered the cafeteria for a bite...
Pretty food court style...
Chicken stock Udon...
... and Beef Udon... this is an OMG-level of beef sweetness.... its much better than any Singapore Japanese restaurant can produce~
Finished breakfast and about to set off... that fella in Blue is Yamamura-san...
He was buying some more snacks of the road trip...
Kong Bak Bao...
11:13am... still on the road... we didn't head straight to the hotel yet... its not the check-in timing anyways... so we decided to head for "work" first, straight from the airport... a long 3 hours drive... across the many isles in the region...
11:25am... we finally at a shipyard...
Destination: CYOUSEI MARU...
The summer sun was scorchingly painful in the early morning already... I regretted not bringing my sunblock lotion... mum decided to do a little pose~
Self-taken photo before I board the boat...
Was already pretty much familiar with boats of such size from my earlier trip to Indonesia... so I got no problem making my way down into the engine room...
One of our objective for this trip is to inspect this Yanmar T220 marine engine here...
11:47am... Pretty flowers by the road side... we were done for the morning and setting off...
12:01pm... Lunch time!!! Stopped over at a nice Japanese restaurant...
I've seen this creature at several places... but couldn't make out what it is... anyone care to enlighten me a little?
I love the settings inside the restaurant... oh if there is one thing I can advise for anyone heading to Japan, please avoid wearing socks with holes here and there... Many restaurants request that their customers remove their shoes before entering the premise... U know where I am coming from huh?
I love Japanese Food... its always that visually appealing~
A generous serving of sashimi~
I dunno why... but the white rice there tasted great~
Pots of pretty flowers outside the restaurant...
Just a random shot of the building across the road...
1:13pm... @ a petrol kiosk~ a Summer Cicada~! I always see these in the animes, but this is the first time seeing a real one perched on one of the refueling stations...
1:28pm... Arrived at the workshop of another shipyard somewhere around Kumomoto, I think... they have some old but overhauled marine engines for sale...
Yanmar Z280 series engine...
A view of the shipyard behind the workshop...
Yanmar Z280-ET2 Engine for sale... 1170 horsepower; 560rpm/ 225rpm ratio.
Interested parties can drop me a message...
Here is one Japanese old man and a Singaporean old man. One cannot speak English, and the other cannot speak Japanese... But the technical specifications on the catalog drew them together...
Ok, I love this cute little lorry here... so short... so neat~
Especially the license plate...
I wandered around outside and found a spot to perch my camera for a self-timer shot...
2:42pm... we were on the road again... the journey back is gonna be another 3 hours...
2:44pm... a little stop-over for washroom and stock up on some drinks and snacks on the way back...
I started to enjoy these rest-points along the expressways in Japan...
The view is refreshing and this one here even has an onsen!
Entered the supermarket...
Cute little fortune kitties that chants "Gimme ur money... gimme ur money...."
Another thing I love about Japan is their packaging... No Horse Run...
so visually appealing...
and looking so appetizing... I regretted not buying these when I saw them... Cuz I couldn't find these anywhere else after that...
Outside the supermarket stands a ice-cream stall that beckons us in the hot summer afternoon...Orange flavoured smoothie ice cream...
I succumbed...
So did mom...
More ice-cream awaits in the vending machine nearby...
Loved the many varieties of drinks there...
Oh I spotted something new from Yakult... Black Vinegar.... huh?
Oh, these are WU HUA GUO... I've only ate the dried preserved and sweetened one when I was young...
First time eating the real fruits itself... I couldn't describe how it tasted... but it tasted positive.
4:30pm... still on the road... I felt asleep and woken up several times in the back of the car... and the view ahead was still the same each time...
5:49pm... Finally arrived at our hotel... Hotel Route Inn @ Wakamatsu, Kitakyushu. Its almost 18 hours since I left home until I reach this hotel...
A view of the building...
The porch...
@ the lobby... a Japan featuring the chain of hotels under Route Inn across Japan...
Kyushu is at the southern part of Japan... (near okinawa; best spot to go during summer).
... and Kitakyushu means the northern-most of Kyushu...
Got my room access card...the corridor...
A cosy room for 1 guest...
Good enough for me~ no frills. Bed with clean sheets, with a desk beside...
and a nicely built-in alarm clock by the bedside to wake me up the next morning...
The view outside the window...
The shower room was really small and neat... the bath tub was merely 3/4 of the usual size and it shared the same tap as the basin...
The next thing I love about being in Japan is their toilet bowl...
more specifically, their bidet equipment... damn shiok~
7:00pm... back at the hotel lobby downstairs... took the chance to pick up some brochures and hotel information...
Route Inn Hotels... Clean, quality, good service at an affordable rate. Ideal for the tired traveller and travelling businessmen... Thumbs up!
7:24pm... Shabu Shabu restaurant......dinner with Yamamura-san and his wife...
First REAL Japanese Shabu Shabu... heh heh... ^^
I didn't expect to see JUSCO there... its also another huge-arse shopping megamall...
8:51pm... back near the hotel... Cigarette vending machines...
oh, there was a Pachinko Parlor right beside the hotel... I mean its REALLY RIGHT BESIDE. First time entering one... There was too many security cameras and bouncers inside, so I didn't dare flash out my camera and shoot away...
Outside the Pachinko parlor premise lies these warning banners... I think they read "Organized Violence/Crime shall be prosecuted..."? or Violent Groups not allowed here...? I can't read Japanese except for those Chinese characters...
Bought a bottle of mineral water off the vending machine outside the hotel...
... its from Coca Cola~!
10:11pm... Checking out the TV channels in my room... Anime! Yay!
... variety show with hordes of kawaii Japanese girls...
10:20pm... checking out the hotel's information booklet for the guests...
"A room door is automatically... Please make sure to take it (the door?) with you when going out..." Yes I read everything...
... a local fashion magazine... Summer season means its time to take out those Yukatas...
Summer fashion for the girls...
... and the guys...
There were like ALOT of brochures in the hotel room...
Oh~ what do we have here??? A little introductory booklet on the offerings on the Adult channel...
Just a little glimpse...
Ok, for those who are interested, there is this little vending machine outside the corridor selling those so called "video cards". Its like a prepaid card that allows you to watch the Adult channels until the credit runs out, or when the card expires in a week. Sells for JPY1,000.
I think the card provides an access code / password to use. I dun really know. And for the record, nope, I didn't watch those Adult channels... I would have taken a photo of the card if I have bought one.
This one looks interesting though~ Bikini wrestling~ keke
10:44pm... I ended up watching the baseball championship...
Baseball is a huge thing in Japan...