Chasing Summer

Canal City Fukuoka

 As the evenings grow cooler in Akita (and by cooler I mean you now need a light cardigan at 10pm)the time came to flit down to Kyushu to catch the last of humidity, as well as a couple of globe hopping kiwis.

Meeting Sam and Emma at Haneda airport (dressed in matching sushi-cat tshirts) we flew south to Fukuoka together. It wasn’t long after our arrival that we indulged in the local dish tonoktsu ramen (ramen in a pig bone broth) embarked on a stroll through the city that took us to the Canal City mall.

We stumbled across the Hard Rock café, which provided the best mojito that I have had in a very long time, and found an Izakaya for dinner, where Emma discovered that some parts of a chicken are less edible than others.

Japanese Garden near Ohori Park

 The following day I led the others through the winding streets to Stereo Coffee, which provided cold brew Costa-Rican deliciousness and toasted sandwiches (I can’t say I’ve ever had a toasted sandwich with lettuce in it before…). The simple bare concrete and care wood interior reminded us strongly of the ‘hipster’ joints back home.

We continued on to Ohori-Koen park, where Fukuoka castle once stood and spent a good couple of hours wandering around the gardens and lakes (and getting attacked by mosquitoes).

Fukuoka Castle Ruins

We graced ka-ku, a fountain pen and ink shop with an attahcd café for a breather before treating ourselves to a peruse of Forever 21.

On researching what to do in Fukuoka I found a number of sites suggested trying the canal-side yatai food stalls. Not quite like the food truck style we have back home, the Yatai were effectively a trailer with a central kitchen/hotplate around which benches were stationed for patrons to sit at. From there we continued to ‘Off Broadway’ for a few not-so-quiet drinks….

Yatai Food stalls

After the antics of Saturday night, it was beyond us to do anything more than venture out of food missions before retreating once more to the air conditioned Hostel room. I did however managed a stroll through the mall and alongside the canal, returning triumphantly with a Jasmine bubble tea. Fortunately it was this day that the typhoon that travelled the length of the country came through Fukuoka, trains were cancelled so we couldn’t have done much anyway.

After our self-inflicted immobilisation on Sunday, we were determined to cover some ground.

After a minor navigational error *raises guilty hand* we made it to umino nakamichi koen a park located on a peninsula a little north of Fukuoka city. We strolled through the park and small zoo located there and caught the ferry back across to Hakata.

Reclining Buddha at Nanzoin Temple

Having spent a decent amount of time in Japan I have seen my fair share of Buddhas, I hadn’t however, ever seen a reclining Buddha. The statue at Nanzoin Temple depicts Buddha at the point of his death, in his entrance to nirvana. It contains sand from each of the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage and despite its horizontal orientation, its curl convered head can just be seen from the station, making it rather easy to find.

We graced another izakaya for dinner before bussing out to Fukuoka tower to catch some night views of the city, deciding not to invest on one of the ￥1000 heart shaped locks to hang on the rails of the ‘lovers sanctuary’…

Finally found the bloody pagoda

The next morning I saw the other two off at the airport before training around the city, visiting the Aratsu bridge, Café Brasileiro (where I was presented with whipped cream to add to my coffee, the result of which tasted like coffee ice cream – which I am not complaining about-), and the temple grounds of Soufuku-ji. I had spotted the gold rings of a pagoda from the street and followed a temple wall until I found an entrance. This didn’t turn out to be the right complex but with the sounds of the city muffled by the walls and trees, the moss covered ground and stray cats wandering around, it made me wish I that I could have say there for a couple of hours with a book. It really felt like a little piece of paradise in the middle of the bustling city.

One last crawl through the arcade and stroll along the canal side later and it was time for me to start the trek back to Akita.

Chilling in the temple grounds

A Face in the Crowd

What began as a plan for one final hurrah before everyone went home slowly became shrouded in more and more uncertainty and anxiety.

Lake Tazawa - before the storm

The camping trip at Lake Tazawa. Of course when the day finally rocked around everyone was looking forward to spending a day on the beach followed by a booze up.

Overcast, yet still plenty warm enough for a dip we made the most of the crystal clear waters not just during the day but also that evening after some more delicate campers complained that our group was being to loud (which to be fair we were). The walk back down to the lake marked the first time I ever saw fireflies.

Despite preparing ourselves for the mildly emotional weekend – we were certainly not prepared for the mother of all thunderstorms that night. Constant cracks and booms of thunder and abrupt bolts of lightning kept us awake for most of the night, and then the rain came…

After managing a measly 3 hour sleep everyone was up at 8am, dismantling the tents, a unanimous feeling of reluctance to persist for another night in the downpour.

Peanut Cream Soup

Liam and I returned to Cari and Josh’s place in Akita city where hot showers and coffee was a welcome experience, then graced a local soup restaurant where Josh and I exchanged shocked expressions upon realising that they were playing a NZ radio station.

The next weekend we travelled to Ugo for Priscilla’s birthday and spent an evening trying to determine the correct pronunciation of ‘hygge’ before the skies opened once again and made getting home incredibly difficult for those residing further north.

Fortunately most of the flooding had subsided the following weekend, so other than 2 small detours (one involving more than a small amount of swearing) I was able to make it to Akita airport on the first leg of my journey home.

Before beginning my time one JET I was convinced that I would prefer to spend my time, money and leave travelling around Asia while I was there, rather than visiting NZ. However as my self-prescribed half-way drew nearer, I knew that I needed to be home.

Hygge - Hai-gah? Hue-geh?

The main convincing factors had been Chanelle turning 21, family planning to visit from the UK and the fact that long distance relationships can be a bit of a bitch.

So at 11am on Friday the 28^th of July, I braced myself against the icy Wellington gale as a recently reunited Henry and myself battled our way through the elements to his car.

A number of surprised shrieks, tears, ‘I KNEW something was going on’ s and bear hugs later my summer/winter escape to Wellington had come to a close. I had needed it though.

Disclaimer: I love Japan. BUT after a while, the collection of small things that irritate you, REALLY start to grate on you. Spiralling into a fed up mind-set of constant complaints and irritations, I knew I needed a break from everything, to go home and come back and learn to fall in love with Japan again.

I realised how much I had needed it before I even touched down on kiwi soil. Sitting at a café in Narita airport, I overheard at least 3 other languages being spoken while indulging in an ice tea and a wave of bliss washed over me. I was not the token gaijin, I was not just an ALT, I hadn’t been on the receiving end of any double takes in over 3 hours. I was but one face in a crowd of hundreds, and the anonymity was heaven. I was able to sit and be the observer after months of feeling as though I was constantly the observed.

Castle Point - New Zealand

Different people I talked to had different views on whether it was worth visiting home during my stint in Japan. But it did me wonders. It felt so reassuring and comforting to reinforce friendships, to return to living in a flat with other people (After discovering that I require other humans guilt tripping me into being constructive and cleaning up after myself, I have decided that it is in my best interest not to live alone after this..) to eat familiar food and to be able to talk to people, not because you happened to both have been dumped in the wops of a foreign country (don’t get me wrong, I am so very grateful for the friends I have in Akita) but because they are genuinely the most beautiful souls you have ever stumbled upon and you just KNOW that in 50 years’ time you are going to be sitting together on a park bench rambling about life, the universe, booze and everything.

I don’t know if I’ve ever appreciated how much New Zealand really is home. Driving through paddocks, rolling hills and seeing the sunlight sparkling on Wellington harbour, it has a calming effect like nothing else. Being back in people’s arms and really feeling that no matter how far afield the travel bug may lead you, this is where you belong.

So for everyone who made my little stint back home a dream, thank you.
I will be back x