Day 7--The Big Amusement Park

Gina, Emily and Midori left Hotel Ikeda in Nagasaki at 6AM, while I was still snuggling in bed. After a week enjoyable and memorable trip in Kyushu in a group of four, I remained in Japan for another two days. What could be a better choice than spending a day at Huis Ten Bosch--one of the three theme parks in Kyushu, besides the Ocean Dome in Miyazaki and the Space World in KitaKyushu. I took the 9 o'clock Rapid Seaside Liner 3226D at Nagasaki and arrived at Huis Ten Bosch at 10:13.

Huis Ten Bosch
After Koxinga (1624-1662) defeated the Dutch and drove them away from Taiwan, they fed to Koxinga's birth place--Nagasaki. Three hundred plus years later, Huis Ten Bosh was built on the land of sea in Sasebo to mimic the Royal Palace of Queen of Holland.

Thursday morning, I spent a pleasant couple of hours walking in the outskirt of Huis Ten Bosch by myself. I was amazed by the big Dutch fairy park on the well-designed city of canals. It is worth staying for at least two days. It would be an ideal place for District 76 conference, if the price is okay. I would love to come back to learn more about the interaction between Taiwan and the rest of the world between the 17th to 19th centuries. I took Huis Ten Bosch 14 departure at 12:13 and arrived at Arita at 12:34.

Ceramic Shangri-la--Nabeshima Kiln
After arriving at Arita, I changed to Matsuura Train from Arita at 1:03PM to Imari at 1:25PM, I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately on the train. Fortunately my destination is the terminal station and I was waken up by the passengers. After a short stroll at Imari for twenty minutes, I got on a bus at 2PM to Okawachiyama, a small ceramic shangri-la in the mountains, at 2:15PM. I can't forget the small paradise, because that's where I spent most of my fortune on the exquisite porcelain and ceramics works. I got on 4:28PM bus back to Imari at 4:47PM, hopped on Matsuura train departure at 5:07PM, arrived at Arita at 5:32PM, spent another hour in Arita purchasing more ceramics works, and finally got on the Midori 26 departure at Arita at 6:35PM and arrived at Hakata at 7:53PM.

Nakagawa River Food Square
I arrived at JR Hakata Station just in time before the Information Center closed for the day at 8PM. I was lucky to get the flyer of Khaosan International Hostel Fukuoka, made a reservation call, and checked in before nine. After I deposited the luggage in my dorm room, I got on the city bus bound for Haruyoshi to stroll along the Nakagawa River for night snack.

I'm not bragging about the bustling night markets in Taipei. The Nakagawa River Food Square pales in comparison. But I didn't want to get back to Khaosan empty handed. I ended up spending ¥1,500 at one single food vendor with ramen, oden, and plum wine all together. A young Japanese sat next to me, Oh my god, he spoke Mandarin fluently. He just came back from Shanghai. The world seemed shrinking. Everywhere I went in Japan, I met people who spoke Mandarin, not only in Toastmasters.

After I had a full stomach, I was contented with my evening adventure. And I couldn't wait to rush back to enjoy free blogging on the internet at Khaosan. Have a look at photos of Day 7 in Huis Ten Bosch, Imari, Arita, and Fukuoka.