We had gone into the mountains of Kyushu near Mount Aso (yes, it is still an active volcano). We stayed at a Ryokan with a marvelous private hot spring bath. Remember, boys and girls, take off your silver jewelry first. Our technology was close to useless and, in addition, I found out how Rogers remains so profitable. Watch for those roaming charges. So we struck out to explore the wilds of the mountains. Yes, this is the city boy going on a country walk, over the hills, a couple of mountains, and a taxi driver even offered to take us home. No way. we ate stuff at the nearby town. It was good but I had no idea what it was. The warea has wall to wall onsen. It appear the thing to do, go from hot spring to hot spring, each with its specialty, dunk your weary body into mud, sand, sulphur, etc. It is all designed to take your money and raise your spirits. Both work.
But as usual, I digress. We are back in Fukuaka and following Piki's reading of a local tourist guide, we walked over to the hot area in town. It is wall to wall bars, the only women in the area were running to work the hundreds of bars catering to men's dreams. Not sexual, mostly little girls in weird outfits.
We quickly went back to the canal side restaurants. Some quick background is needed. These are stalls,set up and taken down each night. We went back to one we tried the other night. These stalls have about ten seats around a kitchen, grill and dishwashing space. The food is fresh, limited and brilliant in its marinate. We connected with a couple (guy from Peru, she from here), connected with the owner and chef, a lady of character and stamina. They work 6 days a week non-stop, hot or cold. When it is cold, they close the shutters so the heat from the kitchen protects you. In warmer weather, they increase the seats by moving onto the sidewalk. More magic. The chef/owner even offered us a free pork dish (it was kosher).
Our new best friend's restaurant ranks right up there with other places we have tried, close to the top. People were still waiting to sit, as we left. We are going back tomorrow.
What do we do for an encore?
Marcel
Wow. Sumo and then this? You've definitely been having some incredible adventures over there. Things here have been good. Sarah called me the other day with her big news, which was incredibly exciting. Other than that, Mary and I will be staying in New York for Thanksgiving but heading to NH for Christmas. The highlight this week was a sample sale at work where they sold all their leftover NHL goods for major discounts, giving all the revenue to charity. I bought some items for friends and myself, including about a dozen Montreal Canadiens items, all for about $40. The highlight was a construction helmet with the Canadiens logo, which i will keep for myself. We love you and can't wait to hear about the next adventure.
ReplyDelete