I went last weekend on a short trip to Kyuushuu, which is in the Southwest among Japan's 4 main islands. Took about an hour or so by plane. Kyuushuu was very different from Tokyo area. It's more countryside and their dialect (ben) is very strong. Kyuushuu is known for very fresh fish (water in much cleaner in this area than Tokyo), such as mentaiko. Also Yatai, which is a style of eating fresh but inexpensive food in a makeshift tent is very popular. Many people come to eat ramen this way (like me! its the real reason for the trip lol)
The main city Fukuoka is rather urban. It's clean (like everywhere here), but very congested with cars. The city's other claim to fame is its red-light district, which is similar to Kabukicho I guess. No, I didn't partake in any of that fun, honest!
One the first day, Friday, I had tai ochaduke. Ochaduke is basically tea-soaked rice with some different topping you can put on top, in this case tai, which is red snapper. It was really very tasty. After that, went to visit Dazaifu Temple, which is famous in the area. There were many people taking tours. One the main attractions here is umegaemochi, which is like regular mochi (filled with sweet-bean paste, anko) but the outer rice shell, while still soft and chewy, isnt quite as stretchy as regular mochi. They bake them in these minature iron cups and then you eat them piping hot. I really had to restrain myself since I love mochi, I resigned
myself to just 3 : (
There is more of course to Dazaifu Temple besides the local mochi, such as the beautiful grounds complete with koi, omikuji (a fortune you get at temples for 100 yen, in this case pink for spring), and the ume (plum) trees were starting to bloom. Too early for the sakura (cherry), even for this warmer climate. Still nice to see some color!
There was also this guy with his trained monkey doing a show. Pretty funny. His (the guy's) shirt says "Every day is Hell"...lol
The hotel was very nice and was a JAL (Japan Airlines) resort. Lot's of amenites, great views of the surrounding sea and islands. This area is very new and built up, made mostly for visitors. Felt kind of Disney-ish in that way. Anyway, very comfortable and great service!
The next day was a trip to a local onsen, or hot-spring. Although this was my second time going to onsen, I still felt a bit apprehensive since being the only gaijin (foreigner) and walking around naked from pool to pool takes some getting used to. There is also a very specific protocol about washing before entering the pool, to be done in certain order and where you put your washcloth, etc. It's a little confusing at first, but I think I am a pro by now haha. The women's and men's areas are separate, in case you wondered. It was very very relaxing...
That night, my friends took me for some fresh local seafood and then for the main event, yatai de ramen! For appetizer before the ramen, we had some fresh squid. No, I mean fresh. A bit too fresh, maybe. It had been cut, into strips, alive, right before serving to us and it was still moving slightly (cutting was done before we saw it). This is normal in Japan, and assures highest freshness, which is imperative when eating raw foods, but as an american, we are not used to seeing our food still moving and my compassionate side felt terrible about what must be going on for that little guy. That said, we all (flesh eaters that is) eat the same thing, only we are far removed from the process that led up to our meats cut and packaged on the supermarket shelf. Is it different cause we dont see it? Was I overreacting? Feeling a hypocrite in that way, I tried it and it was very good, no doubt. Made me think though, which I guess is a good thing. sorry for getting a bit philosophical..
After, the squid incident, we went for tonkotsu ramen, which is special variety in the area. It has chashu (boiled pork) and thus, a bit on the oily side, but very very tasty. The yatai place was called 'nanbaa-wan' (number one) and it was! There was a line waiting to get into this little shack, eve in the pouring rain! You have to get it, order and eat fast so others can get a chance. Of course I ordered kaedama (second helping of noodles) and in Kyuushuu, you order the firmness of the noodles by saying "bari kata de", which means roughly "very firm please".
It was hands down, THE best bowl of ramen i have ever eaten. I think i heard angels singing while I was eating it..haha
The last day was a trip to Ramen Stadium (oh, you thought I was done with the ramen?). Very similar to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama in that, there are varieties of Ramen from all over Japan, each one unique in its own way. Gosh, imagine traveling all over Japan and sampling each type of ramen? man ... but I digress. As expected, another long wait, but well worth it. Not quite as good as Nambaa-wan's but still way above par. After that with some time to kill before flight back to Tokyo, just did some shopping and even played a little bowling. Same as USA, but mid-game light show and a prize offered if you get more than a certain number of pins down during that time...pretty fun. Didn't have my shoe size though : (
Overall, great trip and thanks to my friends for all their generosity. Nice break to get away from Tokyo for a while. Back to the concrete jungle : )
