NOTE TO READERS: i don't have my wire to connect the camera to the computer so can't put my photos up...will try & do it next week or at the weekend...
mad words - 'freight train'
let me tell you about my adventures in kyushu.
are you sitting comfortably? then i'll begin...
well, it started with a huge hangover. not a good beginning to the weekend.
luckily, i'd been a bit more organised earlier in the week & had sent my suitcase down by takkyubin - so i didn't have to pack much.
did have a good night making the hangover though. L's brother was over from england, so in honour that, we went to Buttu Trick Bar in Shibuya, then to karaoke, and then to gas panic.
got home at stupid o'clock & forgot to drink my usual bottle of aquarius. so saturday morning was very slow & painful.
and because of the slowness, i didn't really look at the clock when i was getting ready. and because of my fuzzy head, i didn't really factor in the travel time to the airport.
then, i had a sudden awakening...'OH F**K!!! it takes an hour to the airport & my flight is in 70 minutes'
did manage to get to the airport just in time.
Luckily, i was using ANA's SKIP service. it's a true ticketless service because i just used my mileage card & went directly to security, waved my card over an electronic reader thingy, went to the gate & waved my card over another thingy; got a little receipt (which acts as a boarding pass) and got on the plane.
so i made my flight in a fog of panic & hangover. i'm glad i don't have heart trouble, because i think the stress may have killed me...
the flight itself was pretty uneventful - except for the wonderful view of mount fuji. very impressive.
after a couple of trains, i made it to iizuka (飯塚) in fukuoka prefecture.
it was once the centre of kyushu's mining industry, but they've pretty much all closed down now, so it kind of had a neglected feeling about it. reminded me of home...
heard a funny story though...
when the miners got drunk, they tended to have fights (as drunken men have a tendency to do..)
but iizuka drunk miners were rumoured to have knives in one hand and sticks of dynamite in the other. can't imagine the hangovers...wake up in the morning, feeling like crap & with no arms...
in the evening, i met up with Mooney & the rest of Mad Words and headed over to the event space. it was an interesting place - weird for a jug band concert though - kind of a nice cafe with big glass windows. arrived just to see the first act - a guy i had seen before at the yokohama jug band festival. he does this song where everyone dances like an elephant - don't ask, just accept it!!
then it was time for Mad Words. and as expected it was great - i spent the whole time smiling. the 'leader' tetsu does funny little magic tricks between songs & interacts with the audience a lot, which is really fun to watch & join in with. great performers, all of them.
after that, we all went drinking together; the musicians, the people who organised the event & some fans. it was a great evening - we ate motsu nabe (もつ鍋), a kyushu specialty, which could be translated as 'offal hotpot'. however, i prefer not to translate it & pretend ignorance to what i am eating...
it actually tasted ok, but that was because of the miso, veggies & spicy sauce it's cooked in. the motsu itself didn't taste of much & really don't know why people choose to eat it - it's kind of like meaty rubber. suppose it harkens back to old times when people didn't waste any bit of an animal...
not the most wonderful of dishes, but not quite as bad as i had imagined...
somehow, by the end of the night i had invited myself along to the next night's show in kurume (久留米)....
and sang karaoke (AGAIN) in a weird little snack bar, with a master who insisted accompanying everyone on electric guitar - even if he didn't know the song. definitely one of the more surreal moments of the weekend...
and then it was sunday...
started the day with a stinking hangover - see a pattern emerging here?!
then proceeded to travel to kurume with Mooney & co. man, was that torture!!!
hangovers & cars should NOT be mixed.
anyway, we finally arrived in kurume - in the south-west of fukuoka prefecture after a tortuous hour on the road.
slept for a few hours & woke up feeling a lot more human & ready for food. if you say 'kurume' to japanese people, quite a few of them will say 'ramen' (a lot of others will say 'WHY?', but that's a whole different story...)
anyway...before i get completely side-tracked...
i had to sample some of the local fare and tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン) is nice and oily - prefect hangover food. had a side order of gyoza too just to completely kill the hangover...
definitely hit the spot...
and the it was time for music...
it was a very fun evening - first up was a 'Peter, Paul & Mary' cover band; very folky but kind of sweat.
the next up was a local jug band. they very fun & very energetic.
and finally Mad Words again.
by this point, the crowd had worked themselves up into a little drunken frnezy & were very vocal in their support.
and for some completely bizarre reason, there was someone wearing a plastic horse's head. have absolutely no idea why - definitely another bizarre moment of the weekend...
and then, as quickly as it had begun, it was all over.
and off i headed to the station, ready to head up to hakata in order to start work on monday.
and there ended my kyushu weekend adventure...fuelled by alcohol, music & smiles. it was a wonderful little escape to places new.
mad words - 'freight train'
let me tell you about my adventures in kyushu.
are you sitting comfortably? then i'll begin...
well, it started with a huge hangover. not a good beginning to the weekend.
luckily, i'd been a bit more organised earlier in the week & had sent my suitcase down by takkyubin - so i didn't have to pack much.
did have a good night making the hangover though. L's brother was over from england, so in honour that, we went to Buttu Trick Bar in Shibuya, then to karaoke, and then to gas panic.
got home at stupid o'clock & forgot to drink my usual bottle of aquarius. so saturday morning was very slow & painful.
and because of the slowness, i didn't really look at the clock when i was getting ready. and because of my fuzzy head, i didn't really factor in the travel time to the airport.
then, i had a sudden awakening...'OH F**K!!! it takes an hour to the airport & my flight is in 70 minutes'
did manage to get to the airport just in time.
Luckily, i was using ANA's SKIP service. it's a true ticketless service because i just used my mileage card & went directly to security, waved my card over an electronic reader thingy, went to the gate & waved my card over another thingy; got a little receipt (which acts as a boarding pass) and got on the plane.
so i made my flight in a fog of panic & hangover. i'm glad i don't have heart trouble, because i think the stress may have killed me...
the flight itself was pretty uneventful - except for the wonderful view of mount fuji. very impressive.
after a couple of trains, i made it to iizuka (飯塚) in fukuoka prefecture.
it was once the centre of kyushu's mining industry, but they've pretty much all closed down now, so it kind of had a neglected feeling about it. reminded me of home...
heard a funny story though...
when the miners got drunk, they tended to have fights (as drunken men have a tendency to do..)
but iizuka drunk miners were rumoured to have knives in one hand and sticks of dynamite in the other. can't imagine the hangovers...wake up in the morning, feeling like crap & with no arms...
in the evening, i met up with Mooney & the rest of Mad Words and headed over to the event space. it was an interesting place - weird for a jug band concert though - kind of a nice cafe with big glass windows. arrived just to see the first act - a guy i had seen before at the yokohama jug band festival. he does this song where everyone dances like an elephant - don't ask, just accept it!!
then it was time for Mad Words. and as expected it was great - i spent the whole time smiling. the 'leader' tetsu does funny little magic tricks between songs & interacts with the audience a lot, which is really fun to watch & join in with. great performers, all of them.
after that, we all went drinking together; the musicians, the people who organised the event & some fans. it was a great evening - we ate motsu nabe (もつ鍋), a kyushu specialty, which could be translated as 'offal hotpot'. however, i prefer not to translate it & pretend ignorance to what i am eating...
it actually tasted ok, but that was because of the miso, veggies & spicy sauce it's cooked in. the motsu itself didn't taste of much & really don't know why people choose to eat it - it's kind of like meaty rubber. suppose it harkens back to old times when people didn't waste any bit of an animal...
not the most wonderful of dishes, but not quite as bad as i had imagined...
somehow, by the end of the night i had invited myself along to the next night's show in kurume (久留米)....
and sang karaoke (AGAIN) in a weird little snack bar, with a master who insisted accompanying everyone on electric guitar - even if he didn't know the song. definitely one of the more surreal moments of the weekend...
and then it was sunday...
started the day with a stinking hangover - see a pattern emerging here?!
then proceeded to travel to kurume with Mooney & co. man, was that torture!!!
hangovers & cars should NOT be mixed.
anyway, we finally arrived in kurume - in the south-west of fukuoka prefecture after a tortuous hour on the road.
slept for a few hours & woke up feeling a lot more human & ready for food. if you say 'kurume' to japanese people, quite a few of them will say 'ramen' (a lot of others will say 'WHY?', but that's a whole different story...)
anyway...before i get completely side-tracked...
i had to sample some of the local fare and tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン) is nice and oily - prefect hangover food. had a side order of gyoza too just to completely kill the hangover...
definitely hit the spot...
and the it was time for music...
it was a very fun evening - first up was a 'Peter, Paul & Mary' cover band; very folky but kind of sweat.
the next up was a local jug band. they very fun & very energetic.
and finally Mad Words again.
by this point, the crowd had worked themselves up into a little drunken frnezy & were very vocal in their support.
and for some completely bizarre reason, there was someone wearing a plastic horse's head. have absolutely no idea why - definitely another bizarre moment of the weekend...
and then, as quickly as it had begun, it was all over.
and off i headed to the station, ready to head up to hakata in order to start work on monday.
and there ended my kyushu weekend adventure...fuelled by alcohol, music & smiles. it was a wonderful little escape to places new.
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