July 18th, 2011 in Daily
Started out the morning by parking the car (woo hoo) and renting bikes to ride around. Had I known what kind of sunburn I’d end up with by day’s end, I surely would have used some of the SPF 85 that I brought with me.
First we headed over to the Kyushu Railway History Museum (九州鉄道記念館), situated in the former headquarters of the Kyushu Railway company. I split the museum shots into a separate post.
Next up, lunch time. We wanted to head over to Shimonoseki’s Karato Ichiba Fish Market (唐戸市場) to eat the local specialty, Fugu (a general term for the many kinds of pufferfish). So, we rode along the path to the pedestrian tunnel under the Kanmon channel. Unfortunately, you can’t cruise down the cool underground, underwater passageway, but at ¥20 per crossing, it was far cheaper than trying to drive to the fish market.
Fukuoka Prefecture | Yamaguchi Prefecture
"Ready to go eat!"
"Does my visa cover this?"
Moji and Kanmonkyo bridge viewed from the Yamaguchi side
An ornately engraved canon marking a historical battle point on the waterfront.
More canons. Cool means of manual articulation.
FUGU time! (or "fuku" locally)
Finally at the market, which was packed because of the Holiday weekend (Sea/Marine Day, umi no hi, 海の日). People were bouncing from stall to stall seeking the lowest prices, the best cuts of fish, or the most rare offerings.
Kujira (くじら) is Whale. Here you see whale tongue and whale bacon. I did not partake.
Servicemen selecting sushi
Tuna head. Maguro (まぐろ) in Japanese, Binta (びんた) in Kagoshima dialect
A school of tai (sea bream) swim cautiously in a holding tank.
Long day, and an even longer drive back, topping off at just shy of 1,000km driven over the weekend. The RA turned over 150,000kms. It was time to head home.
150,000km strong
Miyuki West, wearing the 3D glasses from the final Harry Potter film. They worked pretty well as sunglasses on the way up to Moji too.
My left arm, seen here looking frail and roasted.
Lesson(s) learned.
