The Weinsteins Take Japan - Episode I.

 
Sorry for the delay, loyal readers.

It's been a very full and hectic few weeks in Japan.  We had a veritable gaggle of Weinsteins here (a huddle?  a waddle?  a herd?), what with DW and DW's parents visiting.  So, today's post (and next week's post) will deal entirely with our collective two-week vacation, and our many gallivants across the Japanese archipelago.  With lots and LOTS of pictures.  Because, yeah.

Here goes!  (Note:  This is a seriously epic post, filled with all kinds of Weinstein-family-Japan-fun-time-goodness, so I suggest you hit the bathroom and grab yourself a bevvy now.  I'll wait.)

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 First stop?  FUKUOKA.

The parents trip first took them to sunny, beautiful, less-tourist-explored, my-home-away-from-home, Fukuoka, on the southern isle of Kyushu.  (DW and I thought it best for their trip to begin on our home turf, as it'd give them time to shake off jet lag and experience their first dose of Japanese culture-shock in an area that we were very familiar with.  Besides, we love Fukuoka!)

The parents' trip across the Pacific was incredibly arduous... ticket confusion, delays, broken planes, missed connections, etc.  But, when they arrived late on Thursday night, they were all smiles.

Welcome to Fukuoka!
福岡へようこそ!

The next day, I went to work for a half-day, while the parents and Dan had a relaxing morning around the apartment in Chikushino.  Everyone met up with me at my school for a Japanese-style cafeteria lunch, then we went on a shrine-filled hike in Sasaguri.

I've talked about Sasaguri several times on the blog, and it's one of my favorite places in the Fukuoka area.  It's full of tiny, gorgeous, well-kept shrines, and green vistas (like the one above).  It's also the home of Nanzoin, or, as we like to call him, the "Lounging / Recumbent Buddha."

This guy!

We walked for a couple warm, but lovely, hours; wandering from shrine to shrine, and temple to temple.  Here are a few photo highlights.

Lantern-laden temple.

Sandy appreciates the origami.

Parents in JAPAN!

Wall full o' tiny Buddhas.

We played the shrine's good-luck game.  (We all lost.)

A little resemblance, ne?

After touring Sasaguri, we took the train into Fukuoka and walked to the Canal City area.  We had dinner at an insanely fabulous (and allegedly famous) okonomiyaki place.  Here, they make the whole okonomiyaki in front of you, as shown below.  You're probably supposed to make it yourself, but... well, it was clear that we certainly didn't know how.  So, the kind and ever-so-patient waitress did the work for us.

Cabbage and batter and stuff!

Ready to EAT!

They were deeeeeeelicious (especially Sandy's, which was cheese, potato, and mochi) and everyone had a great time.  I was particularly happy that Sandy came to like the okonomiyaki as much as I do, since it was a food she was looking forward to trying.  Japan win!

So, full of okonomi-tastiness, we walked back to the train station, and headed home for the night.  G'night, Fukuoka City!

The next day, a Saturday, we all trekked to Dazaifu in the early part of the day.  Dazaifu is another of my favorite places in the area, so I was happy to share it with the family.  As I've said before on the blog, Dazaifu is home to the large, very famous Dazaifu-Tenmangu, which is surrounded by a cute, old-fashioned city (save for the architecturally-epic Starbucks, of course) and gorgeous park grounds.

We shopped along the main street, had Starbucks at the purdy location (yeah, okay... it's Starbucks, I know, but it's a really great place), fed koi and turtles, visited the temple, ate umegaemochi (the signature sweet of the area), and took many, many pictures.  Want proof?  Here you go!

The Starbucks.  It's cool.

Around the Temple.

Gorgeous greenery.

"...'Sup."

Family, at the entrance to the temple proper.

Bob and his lucky cow.

Sandy and her new friends.

Trying the umegaemochi.
(She didn't like it so much, but she tried!)

That evening, we took the train into town and walked around the Tenjin and Nakasu neighborhoods.  Interestingly, these two destinations (Tenjin and Dazaifu) are connected by one train line.  It's one of my favorite pairings in all of the area; oldest of the old and newest of the new, only 30 minutes apart on a single train.  Photo highlights!

DW and a street performer.

Bridge.

The food stalls at night.

DW & Bob take on the dueling Taiko game!

And with that (and some stupidly fantastic purikura pictures that will be posted at a later time), the parents ended their first two days in Japan.  On to the next destination!

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Second stop?  NAGASAKI.

Early the next morning, we took a rapid regional train to Nagasaki.  It's only two hours away from my home station.  Convenient, right?  The path runs through the mountains, along the coast, skimming small town after small town.  It's really a lovely trip.  Here are a few shots!

(Note:  There's a weird effect that happens when you take photos from a moving train; there's a slight leaning of close up objects.  So, no... before you ask, the houses aren't built all at an angle.  That's just the picture.)

A town on the hill and rice in the valley.

Lil' dock, lil' town.

Sleepy but excited family!

We arrived at JR Nagasaki station, then walked to our hotel (taking street car would have been faster, but we wanted to stretch our legs a bit).  We stayed at an international hostel, called Akari (pictured below).  We loved it!  Clean, private rooms at a reasonable rate, with friendly, helpful English-speaking staff.  Highly recommended!

The hostel is in a wonderful part of Nagasaki.  Quiet, but not dead.  Off the beaten path, but still very close to several street car stops.  Shops and restaurants aplenty, but nothing too touristy or expensive.  And it overlooks a beautiful old canal, crested by dozens of unique stone bridges.

While in Nagasaki, we hit several of the major spots: Peace Park, the Hypocenter, the Atomic Bomb Museum, the famous "Night View" from Mt. Inasa Observatory, the Shianbashi Neighborhood (with a visit to an as-authentic-as-it-gets-izakaya), Nagasaki Seaside Park, Dejima Wharf area, Restored Dejima Town (like Colonial Williamsburg, but for Dutch people in Japan), and Chinatown.  Yeah, we crammed a lot into our day and a half.

Dejima Town, exterior.

Dejima, a fully furnished interior.

Nagasaki, from a small ferris wheel!

Yay, ferris wheels!

The parents in Shianbashi, after izakayaing.

Night view!  Voted one of the 3 best in the world.
(Apparently.  The contest was held in Nagasaki.)

The Hypocenter monument.

Peace Park (the statue was from St. Paul).

Peace Park.

Peace Park.

Shrine and graveyard.

Large and beautiful graveyard, right in the heart of the city.

Family!

While it was hot and humid as can be in Nagasaki (and, okay... in Japan in general), we didn't let it stop us from enjoying our time there.

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That's it for this week!  Stay tuned for next week, when we cover an absolutely epic Softbank Hawk's baseball game (Fukuoka's home team), a huge fireworks display in Kurume City, and the ever-awesome, ever-gigantic Tokyo.

Thanks for reading!  And don't forget to feed the fish!
WR