Day 50: 20 May 2009

LOCATION: KAGOSHIMA AND FUKUOKA
MOOD: CONVALESCING
LISTENING TO: SNOOP DOGG FEAT PHARELL – DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT

WHEN IN DOUBT, SHOP:

Today was always going to be a slow day. My JR Pass was about to expire and I had to get from the south of the country all the way back to Tokyo. I had the choice of either doing it all in one mammoth trip, which would have taken around 9 hours, or breaking the trip into two. I opted for the second and decided to return to Fukuoka for the night before making the long journey back to Tokyo. The reason I chose Fukuoka is because the shinkansen line runs directly from Fukuoka to Tokyo, whereas from Kagoshima to Fukuoka there's a mixture of regular trains and shinkansen.

Of course within Kagoshima itself you're still stuck with trams.

I passed the day doing what I've come to do when I'm too tired to do anything else: shop. I went to a second hand CD shop in Kagoshima before leaving and picked up a few must-have CDs, and after I arrived in Fukuoka in the evening I went to a local shopping park to have dinner and buy even more music.

On the way to dinner in Fukuoka.

I was staying in a different part of Fukuoka this time, so I got to see a lot more of the working heart of the city - the high rise apartment blocks, city schools and offices.

I could hear this school's ouendan (pep squad) all the way from across the road.

There really isn't that much else to note about today apart from the fact that I actually stayed in a proper hotel this time around. After two weeks of crashing on couches and sleeping in dorm accomodation I actually had a room all to myself, and - this is the kicker - it even had an ensuite. That may not sound like a lot, but after several weeks of having to leave the room to go to the toilet or have a shower this was like heaven. The place was a budget business hotel a subway stop away from Fukuoka Central station, but it was more than enough for me.

I spotted this place on my way back from dinner and decided to drop some coin on a couple of old arcade favourites.