As mentioned in the last blog post, me and hayley were hoping to go to a baseball game at the beginning of the week. So on monday we met up with Ed, a fellow we met in Nara, and John, a new friend Ed had met in Fukuoka. We took the bus to the Yahoo Dome, the stadium which would be hosting the game, and were informed to wait in a long line to get our tickets. We were unsure about which line to wait in, but in the end, we choose the line with the shortest queue. Turns out that was the wrong choice. We had waited 45 minutes just to find out we should have joined the other line. Things were going great so far. As we started to make our way to the back of the now even longer line a miracle happened. Ed spotted Benjamin and Paola, a couple staying in his hostel. They offered to get our tickets and meet us later on. Upon meeting we found that they had success in obtaining the tickets and that they were also given free Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks jerseys for us all. We kitted up, got some beer, and made our way to the stadium.
The game was amazing. I have never been to a baseball game before, mainly due to its unpopularity in england, but I found it fully entertaining. Even more so than a football game. The cheerleaders and mascots added to the upbeat atmosphere, and when Matsuda hit a home run for Fukuoka the crowd went wild. That was probably my favourite moment of the night. It was made even more special because of the new friends that we had made, and the conversations we all had.
Halfway through the sixth inning everyone was given a balloon. Every person in the stadium blew them up to their full size and held on to the end to make sure they didnt blow off. When the sixth inning came to an end and the cheerleaders finished their dance, everyone let go of the balloons. It was a crazy spectacle of balloons flying in all directions, my eyes ran crazy trying to find a point to focus on, but enjoying the madness all the same. It was fantastic. In fact, Iam not really sure what happened to the balloons. They were not on the floor when we left the stadium, just goes to show you how effecient and clean Japan is.
After Fukuoka secured victory, we all made our way Hakata, the main town to have dinner. After some delicious food and even more exciting conversation, we all said goodbye and headed our own way. It was a great night that I will not soon forget. I love meeting all these people from different countries. It constantly reminds me that there is a whole world out there to see and that where you are born and raised is nothing more than a drop of water in a huge sea.
The rest of the week in Fukuoka has been great. Unlike the weather. A typhoon recently brushed passed Japan and although Fukuoka was only near the edge of it, it was still powerful enough to make the weather rainy and windy. We headed to the remains of a castle which were okay, but the miserable day kind of made it a bit boring. There was a great lake nearby though so it was nice to sit by that and watch all the turtles swim by us.
Today we headed to an amusement arcade. I had my ass handed to me at mini golf due to my awful hand eye co-ordination and hayleys inexplicable abality to play really well at niche sports, like mini golf and darts. I made a come back at table tennis however, something I do not like losing at.
We have even eaten at a Yatai aswell. Yatais are these food stalls that line the streets of Fukuoka. We tried the Hakata Ramen which was delicious and it was really cool to eat outside on this little cart. We even met some of the locals and have generally had a brilliant time at Fukuoka.
Tomorrow we are off to Nagasaki, which seems to have a lot to do. It is another port town of Japan but that does not mean that it will provide the same sights. I am quite excited about Nagasaki.
Thanks for reading
Arigatou Sayounara.
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