bridge fukuoka

Last weekend I went to a professional soccer game in Fukuoka city. The teams playing were the home team, representing Fukuoka, and a team from Yokohama. One of my new friends, William, a guy who works for the same company as I, and who also lives in Iizuka, scored me a free ticket. This was my first pro soccer game experience, and I really had a good time. I can't say I noticed a great deal of differences between this game and soccer games that are played in the states or in Europe, other than the fans were all Japanese, as was most of the food. I ate a juicy sausage link on a stick.

Its been really great being able to visit Fukuoka city on the weekends. From Iizuka, a train ride to Fukuoka city takes about 45 minutes and costs about 6 dollars. Fukuoka city is the biggest city in Fukuoka prefecture and I think has around 1 million and a half people. It reminds me of Portland, OR, in a lot of ways; the city is located right on the water, its has a sort of cosmopolitan feel to it (for Japan anyway - in Fukuoka city there are a lot of foreigners living amongst the Japanese), and there is a lot to do culturally. A few weekends ago I visited Tenjin, the older, more central part of Fukuoka city. It's difficult to tell much about how old things are in Tenjin, though, or anywhere in Fukuoka city really, because most of the buildings look so new.

When I was in Tenjin there was a music festival going on and several stages were set up within a few blocks to showcase bands from Kyushu and around Japan. I caught one bigger show in front of the city hall, and there were several other groups playing well within walking distance from there. It was a free show, and went on for two days. William and I were able to catch the tail end of a Japanese "Ventures" cover band performance. This group of mostly older Japanese men played some fantastic surf-rock to a small, older crowd of Japanese people. I really loved what I saw.

Its been nice for me to be able to visit Fukuoka City and Tenjin and get a change of scenery from Iizuka. The night life is big, the food is great, the people dress stylish and funny, and it's pretty easy to get around. The pictures I'm posting are of: me at the soccer game, a nighttime shot from a bridge in Fukuoka city, a shot of people walking around Nakasu, the big entertainment district in Fukuoka city, and a clip of some Japanese guys rockin' out in tribute to the Ventures.