24 November 2015
Red lights dimmed
The red light district of Nakasu in Fukuoka
Tonights walking course was to loop through what is apparently the biggest red light district in all of Japan according to a very enthusiastic tourist website describing the awesomeness of Fukuoka.
I then planned to swing past the other part of Fukuoka, the second centre if you will, called Hakata, where the bullet trains come and go.
The red light district of Nakasu and the promise of blinding neon of questionable content was disappointing. I couldnt really find any notable building, laneway, street to take a photo of. It is situated between two canals, like everything in Fukuoka, but its mainly convenience stores and high end restaurants, as well as a few empty malls.
Gentrification, Japanese style.
Next I wandered through a covered souvenir street, busy closing early. Guess I wont be buying some Chinese made fans or a marble stamp with my family wax seal on it that actually just says 'paid in full'.
My last stop of the evening was the Hakata station, which is enormous. I really just skirted around the edge of this area but it was all happening. The most amusing site of the evening was Japanese children posing in front of the xmas decorations and instead of saying cheese or whatever whilst giving the peace sign and tilting their heads, they were saying CHRISSSSMASSSS!!!!.
This was not just one group of people doing this, everyone was. Japanese shopping fairy demands you buy buy buy.
I bought some curry.
Another corner, another megamall. No customers, lots of fancy carpet inside though. I wanted to have soup from here, but they had run out!
The red light district and its blinding neon, Kabukicho has got nothing on Nakasu...
A covered shopping street. Generally the older it is, the more cigarette vending machines it has.
And on that note, in Australia in any kind of shopping area with public toilets, the mens toilets will be further down the corridor than the womens. So the weak women dont have to walk as far.
This is never ever ever the case in Japan. The mens toilets are always first, cause men have stuff to do. Women can spend all day shopping for fish, taking their fish to the shrine, and then walking further to the toilet facilities.
I have no idea what this is but I like it.
I am always amazed that these temples everywhere are open and lit up at night. You can just wander about, buy something from the vending machine, use their bathrooms.
Theres never anyone there. No wonder they burn down so often.
Hakata station, in all its blue glory.
Hakata has gone the blue xmas theme, where as Tenjin has gone for gold.
There is a large christmas themed market, with heated beer, and stalls selling snow globes. You can also get various types of european sausage.
Europe sent all their sausage here once it was declared fatal if eaten just last month.
You can get up on the roof, but the view isnt great. I think its much better the other way, but theres no way to see over the wall there.
You fools, you stuck the viewing platform on the wrong side.
Instead you can hang out in the roof garden, which appears to have a heap of closed ramen shops, and a mini train that runs around it.
There are 3 floors of restaurants at the top, including one by Iron Chef Chen Kenichi! All these places had lines and cost a fortune, so I descended to the basement to hang out with the working class.
And I had double curry! 2 choices. It took us a while to agree on my two choices because apparently, too spicy too spicy.
Anyway, they had extras on offer, and one was fresh chopped tomato. Instead they tipped an entire tin of chopped tomatoes into a bowl which was a little unusual to eat raw.