Well, I was going to write a blog of my whole japan trip, but i'm at work right now, and just decided this would be quicker. In general, I am a pretty avid snowboarder. I ride big mountains, and go 20-40 days every season. As a result when I was on my 16 day Japan vacation, I remembered hearing about how they had indoor snowboarding available. I happened to be visiting the city that had this, Fukuoka, so I decided to try it. I did not bring any gear with me, but it is not a problem, since the facility rents everything you need including jacket, pants, and gloves. Prior to visiting, I went on their website and printed out a web coupon that gave you about 50% off of the rental fee(which is about $20 normally, but $10 with the coupon). The fee to use the slope was about $25 for the first 2 hours and then progressively cheaper after that. I believe it was around $40 for the whole day. The prices were even lower if you were a member. The thing is that the facility is rather small, so 2 hours is enough in my opinion. Any longer and you will start getting bored. The slope is between 60-70 meters long(about 200-250 feet long) and about 25-35 meters wide(80-100 feet wide) it has the steepness of a really easy blue run or a harder green run on a normal mountain. The facility is intended for snowboarders who enjoy riding park. Though it is not very big, they had a decent amount of terrain features. The run had 1 quarter pipe(about 8 ft tall) 1 jump(about 15 feet across and 6 feet tall) 2 rails, and 1 box. Before arriving, I was under the impression that most of the people visiting would not be any good, and that my amazing skills would impress everybody. Boy was I wrong... I was surprised at the skill levels of the locals(granted they had their own boards and I was on a rental so it took me a few runs to get my bearings). The locals began throwing 180s and 360s without even warming up. I, on the other hand, had to take about 5-8 runs before I began trying spins(though i did jump the jump my 2nd run... the 1st was just a "scoping out" run) First I started out by doing half cabs(switch front side 180s, where I jump the jump going switch( backwards) and do a 180 to bring myself forwards). After a few of those, I worked up the courage and threw a few 360s... really was surprised, considering this year I didn't even do any 360s in the normal park all year(I barely even rode park, chose to ride big mountain free riding instead, as I love powder more than anything). Once I got up to my 360s I was happy, since I was doing the biggest trick anyone else in the park was doing... then I had to be shown up by 1 guy. There was one local there who started throwing rodeo flips(back flip with a rotation). I was surprised. Props to them. Anyhow, I rode for about 90 minutes and took off to finish my day of site seeing. Overall, i spent about $35 and had a pretty good time... I can now say I have tried indoor skiing... I would say its a neat novelty... especially if you get a craving to go snowboarding mid-summer and do not want to pay to go to the southern hemisphere or to whistler or mt. hood. I would recommend it to anyone who is visiting the area, though I would not take a trip just for the purpose of indoor snowboarding. there are 2 pic attached for this review. Would have taken more/better ones, but the camera died due to the cold weather(it was low on battery and the cold air from the a/c made it die... as soon as we left the building and warmed it up, it worked again for the rest of the day).

walk around; museum, fukuoka dome, shrine, to ferry

to fukuoka, art museum, tenjin

I had a very pleasant surprise in Fukuoka recently. I made the choice to go to the Fukuoka Art Museum based on it being in a park and I wanted to see something else in the area since I was taking the train. I had no idea what to expect since I know nothing of Japan. Amazing experience for me. I was the only person walking through the gallery when I round the corner and think to myself "That looks similar to Chagall" ..I got closer and it was. Next to Chagall, Miro.. I turn around.. Dali and Rothko... and around the next bend is Warhol and Basquiat.... Numerous other artists were displayed as well, but I only mention these because in art school we had to copy a master, I painted a Chagall.. Not just any, but _the_ Chagall in Fukuoka (The Flying Sleigh).. Miro was the reason I started painting.. and Basquiat is my greatest influence these days... So yes.. Let's just say that the Fukuoka Art Museum was an emotional day for me :)

Shopping central district of southern Japan.  A huge party/night life.  Most of the clubs have a $30 entry fee and then it's unlimited drinks inside.  Visited Happy Cock, Sam and Dave's, and Saffari.  The clubs stay open until 6 am.  We took the $22 bus from Sasebo to Fukuoka and back.  The bus drops you off at the Fukuoka bus station in downtown Fukuoka.  All the shopping is right on the main drag.

Getting to Fukuoka involved us having a huge day of travelling. We left Mt Fuji on the bus back to Tokyo which was easier and quicker than trying to get around Fuji to the nearest Shinkansen station. Once at Tokyo we had to race across town to pick up the Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Osaka where we changed to another train to Fukuoka. All in all it took us about eleven hours but when you consider the distances involved it would have taken about two days on British Rail. The Shinkansen is amazing, loads of legroom, reclining seats and fast is not the word. It is amazing to see a rail network that works. Going from one end of the country to the other and the train arrives on time to the minute!!

The journey gave us the opportunity to see some of Japan, we've never seen so many golf ranges without spotting so much as a single golf course! The route the Shinkansen takes is basically built up from Tokyo all the way to Osaka, but the mountains in the distance are lush and the leaves were in various stages of turning from green to yellow to red and brown. It was stunning.

We stayed in a Japanese style Inn called a Ryokan in Fukuoka called Kashima Honken which was great. The building is really old and the room had tatami mat flooring and we were provided with Yakuta's to wear. There is a whole set of protocols to follow when staying in a ryokan and if you can get past the not wanting to offend anyone by doing anything insulting it's a great experience.

Fukuoka has a loop bus which costs just ￥100 (40p ish), worth doing just for a tour. Our main reason for coming here was the Sumo, but although it goes on all day it's not really worth going early unless you are a die hard enthusiast. We decided that we'd check out a bit more of Fukuoka first and visited a really pretty Japanese garden called Rakusuien Garden. They had a pond with the obligatory huge carp swimming around. As soon as they saw us they all came to the suface searching out food.

After the garden we headed to a shopping and entertainment complex called Canal City. The place is vast. We found a restaurant which offered an all you can eat buffet, which to two hungry tourists is an invitation to abuse. We certainly got our money's worth, the problem is that our capacity for eating has diminshed because we've been cutting back so much.

After lunch and feeling huge we thought it would be a good time to see the really big guys at the sumo and get our bellies back in perspective. We were shown up to our seats and to our horrer we were sat next to a family we can only describe as mentally deficient. They were the only people in the whole arena who were shouting and screaming. Right our ears!!!! There was no way we could've stayed there so we ducked out and found some spare seats on the other side of the satdium. From then on the Sumo was brilliant. They work their way up the rankings until they get to the big boys. The best fight of the day was between one of the western competitors called Baruto and a Japanese guy. In contrast to most bouts it lasted several minutes and concluded with Baruto winning to a huge round of applause. On the way out we got ourselves some nice Sumo memorabilia (Tea Cups) to remember it by.

Fukuoka was our final destination in Japan and we used it as an opportunity for a couple of days rest.  The hostel was really nice and on our first evening we sat on the rooftop terrace chatting and drinking with some other travellers.

The following day we found a cheap conveyor belt style Sushi bar where Linda discovered she isn't keen on raw octopus.  We both enjoyed trying sushi and I would like to try it again, although Linda is not so sure.

On our final evening in Japan we got got chatting to a fellow traveller and the three of us went to a Japanese standing bar which is very popular with the local businessmen.  We had a few beers, tried some Okonomiyaki (a cross between omelette and pizza) and a group of businessmen let us try some of their shochu.

Fukuoka surprised me.

Fukuoka was another stop in Japan for me. I had zero expectations. But felt a little hesitant when I agreed to be part of this foodie-expedition leg in this south part of Japs.

So coming here to find a very chill side of Japan was great. Fukuoka gives you a easy-feeling, and a nice warm and slow flow of happiness inside you. With the perpetual drizzle, I was suddenly transported back to home (where it rains lightly 300 days a year, or so it seems).

Me, a travel-crazy friend from Singapore, and some Shanghai folks who wanted a breather (literally) met up there. Getting to Fukuoka was a breeze - the guy at Osaka's rail pass booth made a mistake and unknowingly gave us tickets on the super fast bullet train which got us there in half the time.

Anyway, Fukuoka is famous for its Tonkatsu ramen (pork bone soup noodles), so that started the hunt for delicious ramen at a stretch of outdoor food shops known as a "Yatai". Ok, we got to one Yatai and it sat like 10 people max around the counter where the chef prepares his speciality. Ours was oden (mixture of boiled fish and vegetable things), grilled meats and ramen. But his ramen was nothing to brag about. We were soooo hungry by then that we ate like pigs (ahh.. what's new) and were chased out as soon as the plates were cleared. Flicking the curtains to get out of the tiny shop, a line up was already waiting in the freezing February cold.

The cheese bread at the bakeries were also fantastic. What can I say, I eat a lot!

One simply unforgettable moment had to be at the Onsen (a public hotspring bath) and a modesty towel that they give to cover your naughty parts. Modesty shouldn't be the word to describe the towel for sure as it doesn't cover anything! I said before the trip that I would just die if I had to stripe down with my sisters or friends, and here I was at a public bath with tons of young and old, thin and fat women naked, and only a tiny towl.

If you've been to an onsen before, you would know that there are certains ways of going about in an onsen - like how you must scrub down first, or if you enter the hotspring bath area naked or covered, or if you can bring your towel with you. But no one could speak English (or they didn't dare) and we didn't know any Japanese to find out the rules of what to do there. So we bumbled our way around and got stared at quite a bit. Ha ha... at least we found out belatedly that the shower stalls weren't for bathing, and that we had to sit down on stools and lather up from head to toe.

The hotspring water was deliciously silky and so wonderfully warm. There was also a ice-cold tub of springwater to throw all over your body to shock your body and cool down. It was awesome. That's what a tired girl's got to do to get a lil pampering! Yes that's right. Modesty towel or not, I'll definitely go back to an onsen. Everyone should! I only wish they have something like this where I live.

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