November 15, 2024
Day 51: Moji to Ashiya
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It was like pulling teeth, but we finally have a place to stay in Fukuoka on Saturday night. I literally couldn't find anything under $250 for the longest time. When a room opened up on the south side of town for $150, I jumped on it. There are plenty of ways to travel cheaply in Japan, but Saturdays and holidays have consistently been a nightmare for us. I have solved it in the past by finding a campground (still likely to be full on a Saturday) or guesthouse for us to stay in. No such luck in Fukuoka.
We've made up for it partially by finding some good deals lately, like last night's little apartment setup for $56.
Apparently some of the apartments have washing machines. Not ours! It's fine. We can go a couple more days with our wardrobes in various states of cleanliness.
It did rain on us today. Not enough to be a pain, but enough to be a nuisance. On a short urban day with a lot of time to kill, it requires some resourcefulness to make the best of it. We did okay.
Sometimes the roads were pretty empty, and we just cruised along:
At other times, it was very busy. We spent an awful lot of time camped behind buses.
The day was mostly defined by our success at finding things to do indoors. The center of Kitakyushu and the Wakato Bridge stand out as the only memorable sights. There's something about the color red that really captures the imagination.
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The Wakato Bridge has no provisions for pedestrians or cyclists, so there's a ferry that runs below it. Strangely, the "official" route goes around the harbor, completely ignoring the existence of the ferry. We contemplated taking the long way around. I pulled up a satellite view and saw that it was all industry. The ferry was looking better and better. Ferries are fun, anyway.
As far as the indoor part of the day is concerned, we had a really nice ramen lunch at a random joint in Kitakyushu. After the ferry crossing, we went straight to a shopping center to get out of the rain, which had progressed from little drops to a steady shower.
We're still somewhat confused by the type of place we ended up in, although we've encountered it a few times already. It's like a department store with a few extra shops thrown in. So there's a book department, a toy department, a clothing department, etc., but then there's a supermarket with its own cashiers, a few one-person stalls, a Daiso (of course), a video arcade, and a food court. There's not a clear delineation between any of them, and it's difficult to tell who you should pay for whatever you buy.
Part of the confusion for me is that there seems to be no concern at all about shoplifting. We know that it happens, because we've seen signs telling people not to steal things like toilet paper. We've also seen items like electronics protected by anti-theft tags. Maybe it's a more recent thing, so the spaces were never designed to incorporate any of the "loss prevention" techniques that are so prevalent in the U.S. and Europe. That having been said, I never had this off-kilter feeling while shopping in Korea, and their culture of "not stealing" (how else can I put it) is equally strong. I don't get it.
All that aside, we were very pleased that the food court felt like a true "third place". One expects to find a lot of seniors at a shopping center on a weekday afternoon, but this area was populated exclusively by them. And us. We pulled up two comfy chairs, ate some snacks, scrolled on our phones (for me, mostly looking for that elusive Saturday night hotel), and people-watched. By the time we left, the rain had stopped, and we were in a good position to finish our ride, find some dinner, and settle in for the evening.
The kilometers went by quickly once we left the city. Before long, we spotted our beachfront lodgings in the distance:
There was only one catch: this is a love hotel. Yes, we finally decided to go for it. One last cultural experience before we return to the States. As I've mentioned, we never had any qualms about using them in Korea, but they are a little different here. I kept reading reviews from foreigners about how they lock you in the room and you have to call the front desk if you want to leave. And how there are sex toys in the room. And how there are no non-smoking rooms. But boy is it a great deal otherwise!
Before addressing these issues, the one we had to grapple with was the late 6pm checkin time. We were all ready to ride an extra four kilometers to the nearest town to grab a bite to eat, but then we stumbled across this little roadside shop amusingly called "Minced Meat Research Institute". I immediately concluded that this was the worst place for a vegetarian to try to find something to eat, but my wife, faced with the prospect of an eight kilometer round trip ride, insisted on talking to the proprietor about whipping up something special for me. After some time inside, she popped out and told me that it could work for us. Okay, sure, but how late are they open? 6:00? Well, I guess it's destiny.
The food was fine, the shipping container that houses this joint is cozy, warm, and dry, and the owner is an absolute sweetheart. We ordered a couple extra drinks and stuck around until closing. Just good vibes all around.
Speaking of which, the love hotel lived up to all the reviewers' descriptions, except, thankfully, the smoke smell. Checkin was a bit weird. I guess they try to keep it anonymous by using a phone near the front desk, and a machine that issues you a card for your room. It's not a key card. It's for paying when you leave. Your room is unlocked when you enter, and I guess they lock it later. I still don't get it. The only thing we could think of is that they don't want guests (or private investigators?) snooping around the hallways trying to catch people having affairs.
Much to our surprise, shortly after our little phone call, the manager popped out to help us personally, taking our breakfast orders and even showing us a great location to park our bikes. All of a sudden, everything felt normal again.
I wouldn't make a habit of staying at love hotels, but this one seems to be working out very well for us, knock on wood. All of a sudden everything I write sounds like a double entendre. What can you do?
Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 2,907 km (1,805 miles)
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