My trip to Japan was great! We went to Fukuoka and Nagasaki which were both amazing. We will save Nagasaki for another time. Backtracking now...My mother went to middle school In Fukuoka while my grandfather was stationed there. So I grew up hearing stories about the place my whole life. This was the main reason that I have always wanted to go to Asia. So this visit was like going full circle for me. I was so excited the second I boarded the plane. We were only in the air for 30 minutes! We landed at Fukuoka at about 6:30pm, jumped straight on the subway then walked to our hostel. Our Hostel was Khao San Fukuoka and was the cleanest and best hostel that I have ever stayed in. The first night we just wandered around the nearby area and went to a rammen shop recommended by an employee of the hostel. The noodles were absolutely great! I had some spicy pork rammen that was quiet spicy but this stuff blew away the junk we eat out of a cup at home...freshly made noodles...yum. Then we literally just walked for quite awhile until just after 1am. It felt great to be in Japan and have nothing to do but relax and enjoy yourself.
So the next day we wake up and head to Saitozaki, the town next to the former US military base. I was pretty excited to finally see where my mom used to live. We got on the city train and headed out to the peninsula, it was a nice ride with tons of nice, new scenery. We got off at the last stop on the line, Saitozaki Station. This was a small former fishing village, it was still small but not much fishing was going on. There were a few large condos and nicer new houses but plenty of older homes and buildings giving it an interesting character. We walked to the bay and looked around and took pictures, then decided to walk out to Shikanoshima Island, then return to the Uminonakamichi area where my mom had lived. We eventually made it to the bridge separating Hakata Bay from the Genki-Nada Sea. It was so beautiful! I also had my first view of the area that my mom used to live if I looked back at the opposite side of the peninsula. We walked across the bridge to Shikanoshima Island to explore and find food. As you enter the island you walk into a small old village you can tell that everything has been there for awhile and the population seems aged as well. It was nice and peaceful. We decided to visit a shrine. It was a quick hike up the hill and we were the only people there. There were some nice super old buildings and nice views over the town and the ocean. Then we decided to head back and leave the island. We had a quick sushi break on the beach then continued the trek to Uminonakamichi. When we got there it appeared that not much was left of the base but we did get a look at the theme park that now resides in its spot. 
We spent most of our other days in Fukuoka walking and riding bikes around town. We covered a lot of ground! We ate at an Italian restaurant and an amazing Mexican place, which are both things that we can not find in Andong. We also went up the Fukuoka Tower, a tall seaside building with a lookout, which was neat. We could see out over the entire city and over look Saitozaki as well. The trip was great and I can not wait to visit Japan again! Until next time...
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