Osaka/Nara (Day 45): Sakura and Deer

April 14, 2016

After such a rainy night, we woke up to blue and sunny skies. Our plan for today was to visit Nara, a small city that is about 30 minutes away from Osaka. After Kyoto, Nara has the most historical sights (temples and shrines) in Japan. But more importantly (for me), Nara is home to a lot of wild (but very tame) deer that roam around the parks. I had been waiting to go to Nara for a while and was quite excited to see the deer after getting a small taste of it while in Miyajima.

While we were getting ready to head out, I received an email from an old manager of mine from EY. He had just gotten back from Japan (Kansai region, where we are now) and told me about a cherry blossom festival hosted by the Japan Mint (in Osaka) that should be in full bloom right now. It sounded interesting because the Japan Mint has over 100 different breeds of cherry blossom (and over 300 trees overall) that line the river walkway. We looked online and saw that the last day of the festival was today, so we decided to check it out before heading to Nara.

When we arrived at the train station closest to the Japan Mint, there were police all over directing traffic. We thought there was a police incident since they weren’t letting pedestrians through on one side of the bridge. We later discovered that the reason why there was crowd control and so many police officers around was because of the cherry blossom festival.

Police crowd control for cherry blossoms (only in Japan)
Police crowd control for cherry blossoms (only in Japan)

When we made it to the grounds, it was quite crowded (but not too crazy). The cherry blossoms had fully bloomed and some already had quite a bit of green to them. They all looked so beautiful and I liked how the walkway was one way so you could walk in sync with everyone else down the 500m cherry blossom walkway. We spent a lot of time stopping and taking pictures of the beautiful blossoms and looking at all the different types that we haven’t seen before. We each took a lot of pictures (Tim took over 100 pictures!).

We’re lucky that we happen to be in Japan for their sakura season as many people purposely plan to come to Japan specifically for their blossoms. Japan during April just fit into our trip planning perfectly so that’s why we’re here.

Cherry blossom walkway
Cherry blossom walkway

thumb_IMG_8264_1024

thumb_IMG_8256_1024

thumb_IMG_8241_1024

thumb_IMG_8264_1024

thumb_IMG_8330_1024

thumb_IMG_8294_1024

thumb_IMG_8238_1024

thumb_IMG_8256_1024

Each tree was labeled, I'm guessing saying what type of blossom it was
Each tree was labeled, I’m guessing saying what type of blossom it was

thumb_IMG_8336_1024

We’re happy that we got to catch the last day of the festival and lucky that my old manager emailed me this morning to let us know or else we wouldn’t have even known it was going on in Osaka (we didn’t do much research).

We had a few hours to go to Nara before we had to come back to Osaka to meet Tim’s Great Aunt for dinner. We took the JR train to Nara Station and walked towards Nara Park to see the deer and also some historical sights. My first impression of Nara is that it’s a very laid back town. I think because when we got to the station and walked out, I didn’t see a sea of people like in Kyoto. Even the main walking street to Nara Park didn’t have that many people walking along it, which was nice and relaxing.

Nara Station
Nara Station
We walked 2km up this road to get to Nara Park
We walked 2km up this road to get to Nara Park

When we made it to Nara Park, there were a lot of deer around. I kept wanting to stop and take pictures and pet them, but Tim kept saying there will be more as we go on so we don’t have to stop at each spot. He wanted to go to Todai-ji, a wooden temple that until 1998 was the largest wooden building in the world (Tim: pretty impressive for something built in 1709).

On our way to Todai-ji, there were crowds of deer, just roaming the park, resting in the shade, or chasing down people who would feed them. Around the park, there are vendors who sell deer food (stacks of round crackers) for 150 JPY = $1.75 CAD. My observation of the deer is that they’re very calm, until they see you have food and then they will follow you around and sometimes even tug at you if you don’t give them the crackers. Some people start to run away from the deer, which make the deer chase them… We saw a lot of Asian tourists hold the crackers and walk around with them holding them up high (teasing them), which made the deer more annoyed and more aggressive.

With my first set of deer friends
With my first set of deer friends
Five storied Pagoda in Nara
Five storied Pagoda in Nara
Deer galore
Deer galore
Hello, little one
Hello, little one
Todai-Ji. We just looked from the outside.
Todai-Ji. We just looked from the outside.
Taking pix through the gates...
Taking pix through the gates…
This deer is smart. Stands right by the food stand and just follows whoever is buying one.
This deer is smart. Stood right by the food stand and just followed whoever bought one.
Nara Park close to the Todai-ji entrance
Nara Park close to the Todai-ji entrance

After walking around for a bit, I decided I wanted to try to feed the deer. I was a bit hesitant since I saw other people who fed them being a bit harassed by some deer in the process. I also figured they were teasing the deer so that’s why they were being aggressive. We bought a stack of crackers and the plan was to just hold on to the stack as we made our way back and we could feed deer along the way. Well, that plan didn’t last long as the deer knew I had them in my hands and followed us down a path. As soon as I turned around and tried to get the paper off that wrapped around the stack, they became aggressive and started to nibble at my shirt and backpack. I was panicking a bit and tried hard to get the crackers out as quickly as possible. One of the crackers got stuck to my shirt on my stomach and a bunch of deer tried to bite it off. Tim was taking a video of me the whole time.

Tim also decided he wanted to feed the deer. The deer seemed to have more respect for Tim and weren’t so aggressive with him while he was feeding them. We have videos of both our feedings, it’s quite a drastic difference.

Me freaking out when I was feeding them. My stack of crackers lasted less than 30 seconds.
Me freaking out when I was feeding them. My stack of crackers lasted less than 30 seconds.
Tim feeding the deer was a much calmer and orderly experience
Tim feeding the deer was a much calmer and orderly experience

Despite that semi-traumatizing experience of feeding the deer, I had a lot of fun in Nara. I enjoyed the peacefulness of the area and the deer were pretty cool. On our way back to the train station, we stopped by a takoyaki stand and shared an order of six.

Takoyaki stand in Nara
Takoyaki stand in Nara
6 pieces for 210 JPY = $2.45 CAD. They were hot and delicious. Less than half the price of Dotonburi
6 pieces for 210 JPY = $2.45 CAD. They were hot and delicious. Less than half the price of Dotonburi in Osaka.

We got back to into Osaka just in time to go back to our room to change (needed to change shirts after mine had deer saliva all over it). We met 7 Yi-Ma in our lobby downstairs and went for dinner in the department store top floor again, but this time to a traditional Kyoto style restaurant.

The restaurant is called Minokichi and is one of the oldest and historical restaurants (opened in 1716) in Kyoto (with a branch in Osaka). 7 Yi-Ma treated us to a very delicious and unique seven course meal. Everything was so beautifully put together and unique in flavours. We haven’t had such a traditional Japanese meal before, so it was a nice change from what we’re used to eating as Japanese food.

Before our first of six delicious courses at Minokichi
Before our first of six delicious courses at Minokichi
Our place setting and the blue sheet is our dinner menu
Our place setting and the blue sheet is our dinner menu
First course: sesame tofu, bamboo shoots, rice with a leaf and an edamame type of bean
First course: sesame tofu, bamboo shoots, rice with a leaf and an edamame type of bean

Second course was a special (Tim: white miso) miso soup that I forgot to take a picture of.

Second course is a sashimi plate
Third course is a sashimi plate
Grille fish head to share
Grilled fish head to share
Third course: assorted tempura and very tender beef
Fourth course: assorted tempura and very tender beef
4th course: fresh bamboo and bean curd in a dashi like broth
Fifth course: fresh bamboo and bean curd in a dashi like broth
Sixth course: fish and bamboo rice (this is refillable if you aren't full. No one got seconds), picked vegetable and a red miso
Sixth course: fish and bamboo rice (this is refillable if you aren’t full. No one got seconds), picked vegetable and a red miso soup
Dessert: sakura ice cream, a cinnamon custard thing, and mochi
Dessert: sakura ice cream, a cinnamon custard thing, mochi and fruits
Hot matcha served with dessert. Very strong and not sweetened.
Hot matcha served with dessert. Very strong and not sweetened.
Outside the restaurant after dinner
Outside the restaurant after dinner

It was a wonderful meal and we’re so thankful for 7 Yi-Ma for taking us there and for being such a gracious host to us while we’re in Osaka. We’ll see her again on Sunday, before we leave for Tokyo.

After we finished dinner, we bought some yogurt from Family Mart for our breakfast tomorrow and just relaxed for the rest of the night.

Steps for today: 21, 500

Osaka (Day 43): Osaka Castle and Bright Lights

April 12, 2016

Today was another sunny day in Osaka. The temperatures looked a bit better than yesterday which made for a perfect opportunity to go to Osaka Castle and hang out at the park in afternoon. Our only other plan for the day was to meet up with my friend, Mable, and her boyfriend, Keith, for dinner in Dotonburi.

Since it was such a nice day, we decided to have a picnic in the park around Osaka Castle. I’ve noticed that there are so many take out options at restaurants with nice bentos that look so pretty and tasty. Below the department store beside our hotel is a basement full of food options. we decided to go there to see if anything caught our eye. After making a quick loop at our options, we decided to go for battera sushi, which Osaka specializes in.

I like looking at Japanese fruit. So perfect looking and expensive
I like looking at Japanese fruit. So perfect looking and expensive.
All the take out sushi options. So colourful!
All the take out sushi options. So colourful!

After getting our sushi, we took the subway to Osaka Castle. We also wanted to get some other food, possibly a salad, from a convenience store. We thought we would find one closer to the castle since convenience stores are everywhere in Japan. But when we got out of the station, we couldn’t find one at all. We walked for about 10 minutes or so down another street and we finally found a Family Mart… There were actually two within a block of each other.

At Family Mart, we got a salad, Glico pudding, and a hot chicken cutlet (Tim: and a grape soda). We headed to the Osaka Castle park area with our picnic food in tow. We were really excited to eat our lovely spread outside on a nice spring day. We found a nice bench under a tree and unpacked our lunch. Tim’s sushi was very pretty, some people even took a picture of our lunch.

The new and old Osaka
The new and old Osaka
Setting up our lunch spread
Setting up our lunch spread
Carbonated grape drink from Family Mart, Tim's battera bento, Family Mart daikon, seaweed and okra salad, Glico pudding, my sushi combo and the Family Mart chicken
Carbonated grape drink from Family Mart, Tim’s battera bento (712 JPY = $8.37 CAD), Family Mart daikon, seaweed and okra salad (248 JPY = $2.92 CAD), Glico pudding (141 JPY = $1.66 CAD), my sushi combo (594 JPY = $6.98 CAD) and the Family Mart chicken (151 JPY = $1.78 CAD).
Family Mart chicken. It was surprisingly very good!
Family Mart chicken. It was surprisingly very good!
Eating under cherry blossoms
Eating under cherry blossoms

After our nice and relaxing lunch, we made our way past the walls toward Osaka Castle. The grounds were quite busy and we noticed there were many tours heading into the castle (lots of cruisers). The castle costs 600 JPY ($7.10 CAD) per person (Tim: or adults) to go in. Each floor has an exhibit and there’s a viewing deck at the top which has views of the city from all sides.

We walked up to the top of the viewing deck and made our way down through each floor (which is their recommended route). Osaka Castle is the nicest castle I’ve seen on our trip so far. Fukuoka’s Castle is basically ruins and Hiroshima’s wasn’t as grand looking. Like many of the other cities, Osaka’s Castle is not the original building. It was rebuilt during the 1930’s to match the original and was funded by citizens of Osaka.

Us infront of Osaka Castle
Osaka Castle
View from the top of Osaka Castle. There's meshing around the whole top.
View from the top of Osaka Castle. There’s meshing around the whole top.
Since everyone else was taking selfies
Since everyone else was taking selfies… (Tim)
Following Tim to Osaka Castle :)
Following Tim to Osaka Castle 🙂 (Tim: the night before I did a crummy job patching a huge hole in the elbow of my sweater… thankfully in this shot, it just looks like the elbow is a little wrinkled)
thumb_IMG_7669_1024
At the entrance of the castle grounds
IMG_20160412_152801
Infront of one of the largest rocks (Tim: I think it’s the largest rock) used to build the original wall.
Castle walls
Castle walls. You can see the castle roof in the background.
Across the street from the castle grounds, kids were getting out of school. They all walked down the block (there must have been over 100 of them). Their uniforms are so cute!
Across the street from the castle grounds, kids were getting out of school. They all walked down the block (there must have been over 100 of them). Their uniforms are so cute!
Had a Matcha Frappe at Family Mart. You get the frozen cup from the freezer and when you buy it, the cashier opens it and squeezes the ice then you take it to the coffee machine and press a button for hot milk, mix and enjoy! it was actually really good. It was 265 JPY = $3.15 CAD
Had a Matcha Frappe at Family Mart. You get the frozen cup from the freezer and when you buy it, the cashier opens it and squeezes the ice then you take it to the coffee machine and press a button for hot milk, stir, and enjoy! It was really good. It was 260 JPY = $3.06 CAD

After we were done with the castle we walked towards Dotonburi, where we were meeting Mable and Keith. We took a leisurely stroll along the Tosaborigawa River and walked along the walkway, which I enjoyed a lot. The city outside of Dotonburi is so calm. It’s not that I don’t like big cities (referring to my post yesterday), I just don’t like huge crowds, they make me really upset.

River walk
Tosaborigawa River walk
One of Osaka's sister cities is San Francisco!
One of Osaka’s sister cities is San Francisco
thumb_IMG_7701_1024
Along the other side of the river were tall office buildings, many of them were Japanese company headquarters – like Shisheido and Mizuno
Beautiful walk in the city
Beautiful walk in the city

Eventually we made it back to Shinsaebashi, where we visited a few shops again before meeting Mable and Keith in Dontonburi. There are a lot of shops that sell just Japanese snacks. These shops make me so happy.

We went into a Kit Kat store, which sells more than just Kit Kats
We went into a Kit Kat store, which sells more than just KitKats
Heading towards our meeting point. So many people!! A lot of them are on ours and are dropped off in this area to shop.
Heading towards our meeting point. So many people!! A lot of them are on tours and are dropped off in this area to shop.
Sun is setting
Sun is setting. This place really comes alive at night.

We met Mable and Keith infront of the Forever 21. Lucky we picked a store to meet in front of because if we had just said the bridge near the Glico sign, then we would be in trouble as there were so many people.

We headed to an izakaya place called Kitazo, which was more of a local restaurant than a tourist joint. The food was good but a little pricey for an izakaya considering we didn’t order a whole lot. But it was okay since we planned on going out after to try some street foods that are a lot easier to share amongst four people instead of just two.

Dinner with Mable and Keith at an izakaya place in Dotonburi
Dinner with Mable and Keith at Kitazo in Dotonburi
Assorted sashimi
Assorted Sashimi
Seafood Salad
Seafood Salad

After dinner we went across the bridge to check out the Glico sign. It was the first time we had been in Dotonburi at night, which looks nicer at night than in the daytime (in my opinion). The neon lights everywhere gave the area so much life!

Glico Man pose
Glico Man pose
With Mable
With Mable

After taking multiple pictures on the bridge, we headed to a store called Don Quijote. This is a Japanese department store (Tim:ish) that literally sells everything. You wouldn’t think so, but the top floor has high end luxury goods! This location had 6 floors of food, cosmetics, electronics, clothing… everything! The busiest part of the store was probably the first floor full of Japanese snacks and treats. Mable and Keith are in Japan for a total of 3 weeks, and heading home next week, so they were able to buy a lot of stuff. When I saw them loading up their basket for gifts to bring home, I was a bit jealous. She said she has one dedicated suitcase full of food! In some ways, I was able to live through Mable telling her what I would buy to bring home, and she would end up putting it in her basket.

We spent around an hour inside
We spent around an hour inside
Takoyaki. Very delicious here. Big pieces of octopus inside and was perfectly cooked. 8 pieces for 650 JPY = $7.60 CAD (a bit overpriced because we're in Dotonburi but it was good)
Takoyaki. Very delicious here. Big pieces of octopus inside and was perfectly cooked. We shared 8 pieces for 650 JPY = $7.60 CAD (a bit overpriced because we’re in Dotonburi but it was good)
These were super hot.. I almost burnt my mouth when I tried to eat it in one bite.
These were super hot.. I almost burnt my mouth when I tried to eat it in one bite.
The lights in Dontoburi
The lights in Dontoburi
These gyozas were delicious. We shared 6 pieces for 240 JPY = $2.80 CAD
These gyozas were delicious. We shared 6 pieces for 240 JPY = $2.80 CAD
They were hot!
They were hot!
This was place had a huge line after we ordered
This was place had a huge line after we ordered. We were ahead of the crowds.

After the takoyaki and gyozas, we had the best thing for dessert, a warm melon bun filled with vanilla ice cream. A melon bun is basically like a Chinese pineapple bun (bolo bao), but the Japanese version of it. Tim and I ordered one to share and it was very good. Tim says it’s one of his favourite things he’s eaten all trip. The melon bun was freshly baked, which was a nice surprise.

He advertises as the "second best melon bun ice cream" in the world. So modest. I wonder who's the first?
He advertises as the “second best melon bun ice cream” in the world. So modest. I wonder who’s the first?
Melon bun with ice cream: 400 JPY = $4.70 CAD
Melon bun with ice cream: 400 JPY = $4.70 CAD

This part of Dontonburi had stalls/food trucks around with a seating area. We sat down and ate our ice cream and then ended up getting some drinks (beers for them and a peach Canada Dry for me) and sat around to chat for a bit. It’s great to hear about their adventures in Japan as we’ll be going to some of the cities they’ve already been and vice versa. They liked Sapporo the best and made their food sound amazing. I can’t wait to go visit ourselves!

I know I’ve always said it’s nice to see familiar faces while you’re away, but it’s even better to see good friends. Mable and I agreed that as nice as it is to travel with your significant other, it’s great to be able to see friends, as you can try more food with them, they can take pictures for you (instead of asking randoms (Tim: with questionable photography skills…)), and you can talk to someone else besides your significant other in a country that doesn’t speak English. I’m glad we were able to meet while we were both in Japan.

Today was a fun day. It also turned out to be a longer day since we didn’t come back to the hotel at all. We’re thinking of heading to Kyoto tomorrow for the day, it only takes about 15 minutes on the Shinkasen from Osaka. It’ll take us longer to get to Osaka Station than it will to get to Kyoto.

Steps today: 25, 200

Fukuoka (Day 37): Japanese Baseball (Go Hawks!)

April 6, 2016

Today was our first full day in Fukuoka and we were ready to explore the city. The weather was overcast and about 18 degrees celsius, which was perfect weather for walking around. After having ramen last night, the next thing we wanted to have was obviously sushi. One of the first restaurants (highly rated on Trip Advisor) to come up when I Google searched was “Chikae Fukuoka Shop”. Our plan for today was to go there for lunch and walk around the city – a pretty low key day.

Chikae Fukuoka Shop was about an 8 minute walk from our hotel. When we arrived at around 12:30pm, there was a long line up outside. The line was a mixed bag of businessmen in black suits, older Japanese ladies and a few tourists (we seemed like the only North American tourists – most were Korean or from Hong Kong). The line up went fairly quickly and we were in the restaurant in less than 15 minutes. The restaurant is quite large with fish tanks in the middle of the restaurant with counter seating around it as well as tables around the counters. We were lucky to get a seat at the counter so we had a good view of all the fish in the tanks.

Line outside Chikae. See if you spot Tim in the middle of the line!
Line outside Chikae. See if you spot Tim in the middle of the line!
Restaurant entrance
Chikae Fukuoka Shop entrance
Squid swimming in the tanks
Squid swimming in the tanks
There were probably about 30 fish tanks in the middle, including a lower tank filled with eel (unagi)
There were probably about 30 fish tanks in the middle, including a lower tank filled with eel (unagi)

At lunch, there were only two lunch sets on the menu, each for 1,400 JPY ($16.90 CAD) – we got one of each. While we ate, we noticed that some locals would order sashimi and the sushi chef would come out of the kitchen, grab the fish out of the tank and chop it up behind the counter and serve it. There are no prices for these fish that we could see, so we just stuck to the lunch sets.

Tim's sashimi lunch set : oden type dish, agedashi tofu, sashimi plate (6 pieces), steamed egg custard, tempura, crab miso soup and a bowl of rice. (1,400 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
Tim’s sashimi lunch set : boiled vegetables/fish cake (was a bit sweet), agedashi tofu, sashimi plate (7 pieces), steamed egg custard, tempura, crab miso soup and a bowl of rice. (1,400 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
My soba lunch set: steamed egg custard, tempura, zaru soba, agedashi tofu, rice with stewed pork, and a soup with sliced pork (1,400 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
My soba lunch set: steamed egg custard, tempura, zaru soba, agedashi tofu, rice with stewed pork, and a soup with sliced pork (1,400 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
Fukuoka is famous for their spicy cod roe (Karashi Mentai). You see this in a lot of restaurant in tube form. You are supposed to squeeze it and put it in your rice - pretty delicious!
Fukuoka is famous for their spicy cod roe (Karashi Mentai). You see this in a lot of restaurants in tube form. You are supposed to squeeze it and put it in your rice – pretty delicious!

After we finished lunch around 1:30pm, there was no longer a line up outside the restaurant, good to know if we ever come back in the future. We started to walk towards Maizuru Park, where the Fukuoka Castle ruins are. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), the Fukuoka Castle used to be the largest castle in Kyushu. It was subsequently torn down during the Meiji Restoration as it symbolized Japan’s feudal past. Today, it’s a park in the middle of the city with some view points and surrounded with cherry blossom trees. Since Fukuoka is in southern Japan, the cherry blossoms have already bloomed here and are now starting to fall and tree are sprouting green leaves. The views of the city were nice, as we looked to the left, we could see the Ohori Park lake, Fukuoka Tower and Fukuoka Dome – where we were heading later in the afternoon.

There were a lot of people having picnics in each area where there were cherry blossoms around Fukuoka
There were a lot of people having picnics in each area where there were cherry blossoms around Fukuoka
Fukuoka Castle ruins
Walking to the view point
Tim looking towards the Fukuoka Dome area
Tim looking towards the Fukuoka Dome area
Fukuoka Castle ruins
Fukuoka Castle

As we made our way towards Ohori Park, we passed by the Gokoku Shrine and took some pictures. The area was very quiet and peaceful. I really enjoyed having so many trees surrounding us during our walk – it felt really good to breathe in some fresher air.

No one around so we took a selfie the Japanese way

Shrine blessings
Shrine blessings
Tim washing his hands with fresh water
Tim washing his hands with the fresh water

Ohori Park was our main destination on our walk, it is Fukuoka’s main park in the centre of the city with a large pond and many small bridges. We sat down on a park bench facing the pond for a bit just to sit and relax. We noticed as we walked around the pond that many people were by themselves and looked like they were doing some self-reflection as well.

thumb_IMG_6290_1024

Ohori Park pond
Ohori Park pond
No fishing allowed. There are a lot of huge black poi in the pond as well as turtles
No fishing allowed. There are a lot of huge black koi in the pond as well as turtles

thumb_IMG_6299_1024

thumb_IMG_6317_1024

The pavilion is what you see when you google Ohori Park. (It's not very well maintained)
The pavilion is what you see when you google Ohori Park. (It’s not very well maintained)

thumb_IMG_6324_1024

This island in the pond was full of brown feathered hawks. We were sitting on a bench watching them and all of a sudden one of them flew towards a crow that was by us and they were chasing each other in the air for a while. It was like live National Geographic!
This island in the pond was full of brown feathered hawks. We were sitting on a bench watching them and all of a sudden one of them flew towards a crow that was by us and they were chasing each other in the air for a while. It was like live National Geographic!

After our relaxing stroll around Ohori Park, we made our way to the Fukuoka Dome and Umi no nakamichi Sea Side Park. This walk took about 20 minutes through the city – passing by more canals.

When we got close to the Fukuoka Dome around 4:00pm, we noticed there were a lot of locals heading towards it. The Fukuoka Dome is home to the city’s baseball team, the SoftBank Hawks. We were excited because I had tried to look up a game schedule but their English website only showed their 2015 schedule so we thought we missed out. As baseball is Japan’s most popular sport, we were hoping to catch a game at some point. Once we made it to the top of the stairs, it definitely looked like game day! I read that the Hawks are one of the best teams in the league as they have won the league championship multiple times and are currently the reigning Nippon Professional Baseball League champs (two years running).

Infront of the Fukuoka Dome
Infront of the Fukuoka Dome
This was a bouncy castle
This was a bouncy castle. (Tim: Kaitlyn was too tall to go in)

We went to the ticket counter and asked for the section in the outfield with the second cheapest seats – 1,000 JPY = $12 CAD. The most expensive tickets we saw on the price list were 60,000 JPY = $72 CAD. The lady at the ticketcounter told us “this section is very excited”, which meant to us that it was likely the team’s supporter section which sounded perfect to us!

Tim buying our game day tickets
Tim buying our game day tickets
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks vs. Chiba Lotte Marines. I realize I took a picture of the receipt on the bottom…the top one is the ticket

We found out the game didn’t start until 6:00pm, but there were already so many people lined up at 4pm to get into the dome as the doors opened at 4:30pm. We decided to walk to Momochi Seaside Park (as planned) that was beside the stadium and come back a bit before the game started to grab food and walk around the concourse.

Momochi Seaside Park was nice to walk around on the “sea wall”. It seemed like this place would be a lot busier during the summer as there were a lot of businesses and shacks that weren’t open. The beach itself had a surprising number of teenagers just hanging out with their shoes off.

Shacks closed for the season
Shacks closed for the season
Momochi Seaside Park
Momochi Seaside Park
thumb_IMG_6371_1024
Beach walkway with Fukuoka Tower in the background
Two dudes chilling on a rock. Basically sums up what Fukuoka is like.
Two dudes chilling on a rock. Basically sums up what Fukuoka is like.
The Hilton beside the Fukuoka Dome is called "Hilton Sea Hawk", so naturally the man hole covers around the area have to support their team too
The Hilton beside the Fukuoka Dome is called “Hilton Sea Hawk”, so naturally the man hole covers around the area have to support their team too

We made our way back to the stadium around 5pm and headed in. It turns out you can bring your own food in – which is why so many people had big backpacks and why Family Mart (a convenience store) inside the Hilton was crazy busy. We could’ve brought in our own food but at the same time we wanted to try “Japanese stadium food”. They had MOS Burger, bentos, takoyaki, ramen, and other American stadium food. The prices were typical of a stadium – about 30-40% more than what it would be outside.

We got to our seats and they were better than I expected for 1,000 JPY. We were right beside the main supporter section so every time the Hawks were up at bat, everyone would be standing but when the other team was batting, you could sit down. We got to our seats well before the game started and there were a lot of people already seated and enjoying the pre-game entertainment. The game was a lot of fun mostly due to the songs and chants they had for each player (my favourite was for Yuichi Honda). They would say a bunch of stuff in Japanese and then say the player’s last name repeatedly until they were done. This taught us (or just me) how to pronounce some of their last names properly. It was a lot of fun and it was probably the best $12 CAD we spent this whole trip.

View from our seats. Our area was definitely the most fun!
View from our seats. Our area was definitely the most fun!
When Honda was at bat, it was my favourite chant/song
When Honda was at bat, it was my favourite chant/song
Bases were loaded, but they weren't able to convert...
Bases were loaded, but they weren’t able to convert…
Tim made friends with the boy infront of him. Every time the Hawks scored, he would turn around and high five everyone (except me)
Tim made friends with the boy infront of him. Every time the Hawks scored, he would turn around and high five everyone (except me). He knew all the songs and was very into the game.
We ordered a takoyaki combo with beer for 1,250 JPY = $15 CAD
We ordered a takoyaki combo with beer for 1,250 JPY = $15 CAD.
This Mom and baby were there until the end. The baby fell asleep even while the Mom was singing and cheering... her neck was not stable
This Mom and baby were there until the end. The baby fell asleep even while the Mom was singing and cheering… her neck was not stable (Tim: hard to be stable when your strapped to a lady jumping and swinging her arms around… can’t let a baby hold you back!)
Our MOS burger combo for 790 JPY = $9.50 CAD
Our MOS burger combo for 790 JPY = $9.50 CAD
Hawk's Program. I like how the coach is front and centre
Hawk’s Program. I like how the coach is front and centre
Right before the 7th inning was over, everyone had blown up their yellow balloons
Right before the 7th inning was over, everyone had blown up their yellow balloons
The release
This was pretty awesome! Tim took a video
Melon soda with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They have this at Guu Garden in Vancouver too! (450 JPY = $5.40 CAD)
Melon soda with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They have this at Guu Garden in Vancouver too! (450 JPY = $5.40 CAD)

thumb_IMG_6567_1024

Unfortunately the Hawks lost to the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-3, which is too bad because the Hawks pretty much dominated the game in terms of hits but they weren’t able to convert (they had the bases loaded three times). The Marines, on the other hand, hardly had any hits but got 3 home runs.

What I enjoyed the most wasn’t the baseball game but watching everyone around us having fun while supporting their home team. There wasn’t a “type” of Hawks fun, it was basically everyone (it seemed like everyone in Fukuoka was there) – young and old, men and women, from all walks of life and age (babies to people who look like they’re in their 80s). I find that at most live sporting events in North America, it’s mostly dominated by groups of men and you rarely see large groups of girls or women without any guys, but at this game there were a lot of groups of just women (and they didn’t look like “puck bunny” types).

I’m really happy we “stumbled” upon this game and we were lucky enough to have experienced a Japanese baseball game with some really die hard fans. If only Canucks games were as fun!

After the game was over, we walked back from the stadium to our hotel in about 30 minutes. We didn’t want to bother with going 3 stops on the subway since it was so busy – must have been close to 30,000 people in the stadium all trying to get home. On our way back, we stopped by Lawson’s (Japanese convenience store) to pick up some onigiris to eat as we weren’t that full from the food at the game.

The pretty things you see when you walk
The pretty things you see when you walk. All the cherry blossom around the castle ruins were lit up.
Our two onigiris and Coke from Lawson's (349 JPY = $4.20 CAD)
Our two onigiris and Coke from Lawson’s (349 JPY = $4.20 CAD) (Tim: Happy to report Japanese Coke is delicious too! )

We stayed up really late (until 2am) and decided to just play tomorrow by ear since our plan to go to Nagasaki early didn’t look like it was going to happen.

Steps today: 30,000