Sleepless over clouds

Finally, with the last working day behind me, and 3 weeks of holiday ahead, I get ready to depart. The last plates washed up, the trash taken care of, and off I go. My airline is the Korean Asiana airline. I chose them, because they were cheap and promised to get me to Fukuoka without much delay. That they did. But a cheap flight means cheap seats. So I spend the 10 hours mostly tossing and turning in my seat, on the never-ending quest to find a comfortable sleeping position. I also tried to ignore my seat neighbors - an older Korean couple- who thought bringing their naked feet all the way to our armrest and higher was a good way to practice flexibility.

With the positivism of a fresh tourist, I asked for the official paperwork in Japanese. But it all worked out, and none of the airport guards had anything negative to say. So Japan received another set of my fingerprints, and I officially entered Fukuoka. The train ride was short, and a great reminder of Japanese train etiquette. First and foremost, I have to learn standing on the escalator, again. In the southern area of Japan, you stand on the left, and queue on the right.

The issues started only when I arrived at Hakata Station. I had an idea (and a google maps page) of where my hotel should be. Sadly, finding it meant walking through pouring rain, choosing the wrong lane about 5 times before finally, finally arriving at the hotel. I was soaking wet. Understandably the ladies at the check-in were a bit suspicious of the drenched foreigner in their lobby. But they had my reservation, and I was able to get into my room. 

After I ventured out again to get some food, I discovered a way to stay almost completely dry from the station all the way to my hotel. Well, some things you have to learn the hard way. Now I am sitting in my hotel with some konbini food. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. 

Pictures: 09/18 Fukuoka