Kanmon Strait and Fukuoka

17-04-24

This morning is a cruising morning as we pass through the Kanmon Strait and into the Sea of Japan. Around 700 boats pass through here every day. This stretch of water separates the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japans four main islands. At the narrowest point the strait is about 620 metres wide and it takes almost 2 hours to pass through the area. The captain opens the Bow to allow for good viewing.

The area on both sides is very industrial and the pollution is very visible making every view very hazy. Smoke stacks billowing smoke almost continually along the way. (P:- Given we are in Japan I was very surprised at the pollution I haven’t seen smoke stacks like this in Australia to speak of for 25 + years. They also tell us some of the pollution blows down from China). Once through the strait we continue through the Sea of Japan to Fukuoka arriving around 3pm. Once docked we disembark for a walk around the local area. Veggie stalls, a local supermarket, (P:- Tooth paste was on the shopping list, we thought we found it but was really unidentifiable because of our lack of understanding of Japanese writing. After a discussion as to if the boxes were Toothpaste, Deep Heat or some type of Hemarodial butt cream it was decided to pass on the purchase!) a small marina and a recycling centre all within a few blocks of the port.

We return to the ship to prepare for a specialty dinner at “Morimoto By The Sea”, a pop up restaurant for tonight. We booked this before leaving home as it only happens twice on our 30 day trip. Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef who was on the Iron Chef TV program. He is best known for his unique style of preparing food. The meal was delicious and the Chocolate Sphere Dessert was amazing to see but extremely rich and sweet. It was placed on the table in front of you and had hot caramel sauce poured over the top which melted the chocolate sphere to find a marshmallow ball inside. Quite impressive. The entree and main were very tasty as well. Prawns three ways, tempura, panko and grilled, chicken teriyaki and satay and sushi and tempura calamari and salad.

18-04-24

Fukuoka

We are discovering the area today on our own. First a shuttle into the City Hall then a walk to Hakata Old Town. Lots of shrines, gardens, old gates and a shopping street. This area prospered as the Hub of Hakata, which was the largest trade Port city in Japan between the 13th and 16th century. Lovely garden beds line the main streets with a profusion of tulips, pansy’s, and daisys, making the streets look very much like spring has sprung.

(P:- We seem to be having a few “Alphabet” days – 2 ABC days in a row and today was an ABS day, neither of which are Australian Government Business acronyms! Another Bloody Castle and now Another Bloody Shrine! As pretty as they are they all look similar to me. To make up for the architectural morning looking at Shrines in Old Hakata City I found a Wagu Steak Teriyaki Lunch bar. With a bit of sign language and interpretation we managed to order some Kobe Wagu Beef. There wasn’t a lot (weight wise) but plenty to sample and appreciate the taste of what is regarded as some of the most highly prized Beef globally. So how was it??? Flavour and texture wise would be as good as if not better than I have experienced before- in fact delicious! I guess it would want to be at around AUD $500 per kilogram ( we had about 100 gram ) what a fun, memorable experience. After lunch we bought 2 strawberries on a stick with a blob of sticky Bean Curd stuff! Surprise surprise they were delicious also, ( 2 strawberries for AUD $6.00).