Golden Week - Day One - Fukuoka

I started Golden Week by waking up at 4:00am to take a shower and bike to Minatogawakoen station to take the first subway to Shin Kobe to take the first Shinkansen to Hakata Satation in Kyushu.

It was cold, windy and rainy when I left, but once the shinkansen started moving I was much happier. I love the shinkansen!

I was told by EVERYONE to book my ticket early! It will be sold out! It's Golden Week! The busiest travel week in all of Japan!....

Uh... really? I guess no one wanted to get up early.

Two hours later, I arrived at Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Kyushu. I found my hostel, which was nice, and dropped my bags off.

Kushida Shrine had a beautiful float on display. There are a lot of festivals during Golden Week.

Wait, is this statue peeing?

... Yeah, he is.

Then I walked over to the Fukuoka Castle Ruins.

uh.... I think a homeless person lives on the castle grounds. I would have taken a photo of the castle.... but it is just ruins. So... yea, just rocks.

Flower pictures for my mom.

Giant pumpkin behind Fukuoka Art Museum. The same pumpkins are on Naoshima Island, between Kobe and Shikoku Island.

Giant swan paddle boats. If Jen and Miho were here, we would definitely have done this.

WHAT! THE US IS THAT CLOSE?!??!!

Oh nevermind...

Awesome robot show area.

Fukuoka Tower

View from Fukuoka Tower

I live in a Leo Palace in Kobe. They are not nice. I believe "shithole" is the term most often used to describe it.

Fukuoka is famous for Hakata ramen, so of course I had to try it.

Ramen. Totally delicious.

My new friends, Bill and Sue (not their real names). They didn't speak English, I don't speak Japanese, but they bought me sake. They're from Hokkaido. After that, I have no idea what they were saying. Lovely people, though. The picture was their idea.