(Day 15) Kumamoto and Yatai restaurants in Fukuoka - Kumamoto, Japonia
Kumamoto, Japonia
After a very nice evening with relaxing Onsen, early morning I got woken up by a permanent wooden knocking sound. It wasn't the sound like from a golf club, much more deeper and more wooden. First I checked my watch 06:00, then I looked out the window. Because we arrive late afternoon, we thought that it is a golf court, in fact it is ゲートボ ;ル Heeeeee, ok I make it easier - Gētobōru???? Heeeee, did you smoke something. No clue, ok it's Gateball. The was invented in Japan by Suzuki Kazunobu in 1947. Usually for kids. For more information, go to Wikipedia. I we not able to go back to sleep. At the beginning it was only a group of 4 men, then like ants how found sugar, the whole army starts to play. Ok then to the breakfast room. After the very good breakfast, the team went to a very nice lookout post and Kumamoto to see the beautiful black castle. I love old VW Bully buses. In my opinion one of the first family vans, but Japanese people like it two. Because original cars are rare, they copy it, on an Japanese car (base is Suzuki Every micro bus). Kumamoto Castle (熊本城 Kumamoto-jō?) is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture.[1] It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The castle keep (天守閣 tenshukaku?) is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960,[1] but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, along with Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle.[2] Thirteen structures in the castle complex are designated Important Cultural Property. Kumamoto him self is not so interesting, no need to stay overnight. We went to our goodbye destination Fukuoka. Why good bye, here Takashi's family and we split. We enjoy the 3 days with them very much, THANKS from our side and hopefully see you in 2015 at my next trip. Fukuoka, that's also not the exciting city, but it has something special, YATAI restaurant. I know about them from German TV. Fukuoka's open air food stands (屋台, Yatai) are possibly the city's best known symbol. Yatai can generally seat about seven or eight people and provide an atmospheric outdoor environment to enjoy various foods that are generally simple and filling. There are over 150 yatai scattered across Fukuoka but the best place to find them is on the southern end of Nakasu Island. Located in the middle of the city, Nakasu Island has a long row of around 20 yatai that are attractively situated along the water. Typical dishes to be enjoyed at yatai are grilled chicken skewers (yakitori), hot pot (oden) and most famously Hakata Ramen, a local noodle dish featuring relatively thin ramen noodles in a pork bone based soup (tonkotsu). Various alcoholic drinks are also available, and help make the yatai a great place to get in touch with the locals, although many of the "locals" happen to be Japanese tourists visiting Fukuoka from other parts of Japan. Yatai are typically open from around 6pm to around 2am, except when the weather is very bad. Many stands remain closed on one day of the week. The closure day varies from stand to stand, but is often Sunday. There can be waiting times for popular stands, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. I had the film one my iPad and when we found the place I show to the owner Mrs. Hayashi. She got perplexed and shy. Other guest getting interesting about it, so I show it around. And there it was, the typically Japanese "WHOOOOOOOOO, when they get impressed. I love it and she try to cool the thing down, but everybody starting asking her, so she has to tell her story. It was already 8 years ago when the ZDF from Germany record the story. It was the first time that I saw a Japanese person blushing. But she was so sweet. Ah how was the dinner, excellent. Fresh fish, scampi ( still alive before fry), vegetable and everything in tempura style. Delicious. That also was the evening, where we learned how difficult it is, to found place, where people hang out late at night. Marcin told me later, that we has just two or three blocks away from the club area. Petty. By the way, I can really recommended the Dormy Inn Premium Hotel. Very good location and an perfect inhouse Onsen. Open from 6PM till 10AM!!!!! The next day. We've got warned that Okinawa will get hit by a typhoon and that our Kayak tour has been canceled. That is very petty. So we will chasing typhoons as Marcin say.