We made it to Fukuoka to see Duncan! Our first night was a typical Avis night, that’s for sure.
We had a bit of a travel hiccup right when we got to Fukuoka. We booked an airbnb last minute to stay in, but once we got to the airbnb we quickly realized that it was an extremely uncomfortable situation and someone had smoked in the room. Chad’s face started to get red and my stomach churned from the stale cigarette smell so we took care of the situation fast. With amazing teamwork between Chad and I, we called airbnb, took photos of the ashtrays, booked the new hotel and were off. It all paid off, within an hour we were in a cab to our new hotel. It ended up being in such a cool location and there was unlimited beer and snacks in the lobby.
We realized right away the vibe of Fukuoka was different than the Eastern cities we were in before. We explored our neighborhood, which was pretty hipster. There were co-working innovation spaces and trendy boutiques and restaurants. There was a West Coast vibe compared to what we’ve seen of Japan. People seemed a bit more relaxed.
We went to meet Duncan, and having not seen him in almost 10 years, we gave each other descriptions of how to find each other. I told him we were the only two blondes walking around aimlessly. He said he was wearing crazy shorts. That was easy. We found Duncan and then explored the city! We had beers overlooking the river while people salsa danced. We ate delicious ramen at at an outdoor street food place called Mami Chan’s. We met the nicest Japanese woman yet and she called me kuwaii and Chad handsome. After the delicious ramen we walked all the way back to our neighborhood, and stopped at the coolest little bar that Chad and I would never have found hidden away. It’s nice knowing people.
Duncan ended up crashing with us in the city, and the best thing about Japan is that there are roll up futons in every room, so it worked out perfectly. We stayed up in typical Avis fashion all talking until 2am. Time for bed.