Kyushu - Japan New Year 2010
Kyushu
Monday 4th January 2010
My first visit to the island of Kyushu, one of the four main islands of Japan. Got the Shinkansen to Hakata / Fukuoka where we met up with our friend Ai-san, who then took us by car to Yanagawa for a punting style "donkobune" boat trip along a canal.
Japan New Year 2010
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| 10:15:24 On the Shinkansen on the way to Hakata - very industrial looking! | 10:44:15 Here's Chie at Hakata station. | 13:14:57 Now in Yanagawa, visiting the shrine from where the donkobune start from. Note all the messages tied to the tree here - a New Year's tradition. |
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| 13:16:44 More bits of the shrine... | 13:16:49 | 13:36:53 Some kind of citrus fruit... |
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| 13:37:00 | 13:39:46 The main shrine building. | 13:41:53 I always like these little alleyways of red gates. |
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| 13:42:02 | 13:47:28 This is where we were going to get on our donkobune. | 13:48:51 The boatmen. |
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| 13:50:17 | 14:12:53 On the boat now. Note the little "kotatsu" a little table with a blanket on top and heating underneath - to keep your leg warms. | 14:13:04 There's the boatman doing his job. |
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| 14:13:37 Another boat passesd by. | 14:16:55 The stenciled message on these flower boxes reads "hana ippai" - "lots of flowers"! | 14:19:36 |
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| 14:19:58 | 14:20:11 Looks like the sun was out at this point! | 14:20:27 Going through a narrower bit... |
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| 14:20:48 ...and under a bridge. | 14:20:56 | 14:21:54 Coming up to a little canalside cafe. |
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| 14:22:34 ...unfortunately nobody wanted to buy anything. | 14:22:47 A very typical Japanese dog (I think we call them "shiba inu"). | 14:23:32 |
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| 14:23:39 | 14:25:00 Lots of bridges to go under on the route. | 14:25:23 A couple of ducks. |
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| 14:27:21 Another boat passing by. | 14:28:13 Here's a statue of a "kappa" - a mythical Japanese water dwelling creature. | 14:29:49 I liked the little steps down to the canal from this house. |
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| 14:36:24 Very East Asian - bamboo! | 14:36:38 | 14:36:46 |
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| 14:38:52 More ducks. | 14:39:00 | 14:44:13 Another riverside cafe, again though no-one bought anything! |
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| 14:44:20 | 14:44:31 This felt very East Asian too - like those floating river markets in places like Thailand. | 14:44:36 |
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| 14:44:48 | 14:49:39 More citrus fruits. | 14:50:35 Under another bridge. |
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| 15:04:27 ...and then it started raining! Which was a bit of a shame... | 15:06:40 | 15:09:04 Quite liked the look of this riverside restaurant with all the lanterns. |
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| 15:09:10 | 15:10:27 | 15:12:08 A stork. |
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| 15:12:17 | 15:14:48 | 15:18:23 |
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| 15:18:31 A tree leaning over the river propped up by this log - we went underneath this of course! | 15:18:50 Ducking seemed like a good idea! | 15:19:00 |
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| 15:19:31 Another nice looking riverside restaurant. Must be lovely here in nicer weather! | 16:16:39 After getting off the boat, a bit later on we found an onsen (hot spring) where we could bathe our feet. Very much appreciated given the weather! | 16:16:52 Me and Chie enjoying the hot water. |
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| 16:45:46 Maybe the old centre of Yanagawa? A bit like Kurashiki here. | 16:46:40 | 18:34:27 Later on, dinner at a tempura place recommended by Ai-san, near to Fukuoka airport. |
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| 18:36:12 Shimeji mushrooms, erengi (green beans) and renkon (ltous root). | 18:36:25 Tempura was very good here - and really cheap - my vegetable tempura set cost a mere 670 yen - about 4 pounds. | 18:40:25 ...also some onion, aubergine and pumpkin now. |
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| 18:52:34 There's me and one of the tempura chefs. | 20:19:25 At Hakata station, queuing up for "Il Forno del Mignon" which seemed to be a very popular place to buy croissants. |