Crossing over

Travelling on a limited budget in Japan is not an easy feat, so Vaughan and I have so far been taking very short-distance trips, mostly in and around Fukuoka. Last Sunday we took the bus north to discover Mojiko Retro Town, a trading town that prospered at the start of the 20th century and has a large number of European buildings. The tourist brochure for Mojiko boasts of "Nostalgic exotic streetscapes dreamt of" and promised us "enormous fascination" and "An authentic smell of the Meji era and Taisho romance and such". On the way there I was bouncing up and down, very much looking forward to an afternoon full of these nostalgic streetscapes and romantic scenery :-). Some scepticism might have been wise though, because the Japanese have a tendency to poetically embellish their sightseeing spots (which country doesn't, I guess?)! Yes, Mojiko does indeed have some beautifully restored European buildings and the atmosphere is quite different from the futuristic centre of Fukuoka, but all in all it looked more like a well-preserved theme park than a real town. In between the scattered buildings a gigantic corporate tower block also arose, an eyesore which spoiled the whole "Taisho romance" feel. The Japanese don't seem to mind though, because the place was flooded with visitors, all enjoying the exotic mix of historical architecture, Western-style restaurants and ofcourse row after row of shops (national hobby!). The highlight of the day was located a bit further, namely the Kanmon Strait, which separates Kyushu from Honshu, Japan's main island. Once again the brochure waxed lyrically (" Missing Antiquity on the Road Leading to Sound of the Surf"), but walking through the Kanmon Tunnel footpath at the bottom of the sea and resurfacing in Honshu was a very cool experience :-). I'm not sure whether I "tasted both thrill and romance" but we had a fun day nonetheless!

Rickshaw driver contributes to the retro atmosphere of Mojiko

Blue Wing Moji Bridge connecting the Old Moji Custom House (right) with a rather unattractive modern office block. Taisho romance or just mismatched 21st century planning?

The local Mojiko celebrity: Bananaman! I was quite mystified by this statue untill I read that Mojiko was the birthplace of banana sales in Japan, an event which is celebrated to this day with an annual banana fair and a huge banana bargain sale. Bananaman is so popular he even has his own website, go figure!

Walking under the sea surface in the Kanmon Tunnel footpath

Coming out at the other end we were approached by this very friendly man who wanted to practice his English and told us stories of WWII and Japanese-Russian politics. Interesting people over there in Honshu :-)