Fukuoka

Eric was an American chappie I had the privilege of meeting in Kyoto. A brief catch up was possible in Fukuoka but alas the lure of Tokyo meant that I missed his birthday.

So Fukuoka?? Great Rammen. Chinese import to Japan given a very Japanese twist and almost my favourite food on the entire trip. It’s a regional speciality and I pretty much ate it for every meal. More please!!

Incidentally it’s bloody hard to find a bar in Japan. They seem not to go out much mid week and all the bars are on the 3^rd or 7^th floor of buildings meaning that you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into before entering.

After an unsuccessful time we retired to a lively restaurant. It was fairly typical but jollier than most. You get a greeting shouted at you of course but pretty much everything is shouted. Orders, hello, the toilets over there etc. They also shout in unison which makes for a fine video opportunity. Speaking of which Eric: get busy fellow. I need to see that footage!

On another occasion we were adopted by a Japanese businessman, his colleague / lover and an old lady. The unlikely group took us off for karaoke to a hostess bar. Mum, I can report that it was incredibly respectable. Gutted. Incidentally I seem to have a surprising talent for Rod Stewart songs. Who knew??