Fukuoka

After a quick lunch at Okonomi-mura (a okonomiyaki mall with 28 stalls serving up Hiroshima’s revision of the Osakan dish), I board the shinkansen for the last time, bound for Hakata station on the island of Kyushu. I expect the industrialization to drop off a little as I approach Japan’s South West and I hope to get a glimpse of the Inland Sea. However, I find that - alongside the railway at least - there is no respite from developed Japan; or, eyelids heavy, perhaps I literally blink and miss it.

The train pulls into Hakata station and I put away my Japan Rail Pass for the last time. My hotel is directly opposite the station and I think - not for the first time - how nice it is that the train station is often the heart of the community here; surrounded by shops and restaurants, the station is often the most vibrant part of a Japanese town, rather than in England and North America where the crumbling relics of our once great train systems often occupy the least desirable parts of our major cities.

Hakata station is actually in the city of Fukuoka - its name being a relic from before the two towns were combined. I came here for a number of reasons, none of which really relate to Fukuoka itself. Firstly, it’s the western end of the JR line and since this tour of Japan was primarily a train journey, it seems appropriate to end it at this terminus. Secondly, I’m flying to Shanghai next and Fukuoka is a short hop across the East China Sea. Lastly, a good friend of mine once lived here and I think it’s always nice to see someone else’s stomping grounds if the opportunity presents itself. In discussions with this friend, I never got the sense there was anything in particular to do or see in Fukuoka, so I arrive here with no real itinerary or expectations.

I take the subway to Nishijin and follow one of the canals out towards Hawks Town and the impressive Fukuoka Tower. Next, I wander along the shore to Momochi where I find myself on a beach. It turns out, that to sit on a beach and look at the sea (that I will very soon be crossing) is exactly what I need at the end of this trip. I sit and watch my shadow grow and the sun set in the land of the rising sun and think back on what I have seen over the last ten days, the miles I have covered and the plans I made (and then hurriedly altered). I feel that I have done fairly well, really, and that Japan had been very good to me.

As I spend the rest of the evening eating and drinking in the hospitable districts of Tenjin and Canal City, I wonder if China could possibly be as good as this...