The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

In terms of transportation, it was an impressive trip this time. I saw and experienced something new.

First of all, let me boast that I have been on business class for the first time in my entire life. Actually, as direct flights to our destination was fully booked and we found a connecting flight that offered business class seats at lower price than economies of the direct flights in exchange for twice longer time and distance to travel. In conclusion, as our flight was hugely delayed due to snowstorm, it turned out a nice choice. We were allowed to be in the lounge with free all-you-can-eat snack buffet, plenty of space, and comfortable sofas (and free magazines for souvenir) . And we were treated as “clients,” despite the panicking situation outside the lounge in the airport.  The “client” treatment continued: we were once told that our flight was cancelled when we just asked someone at the check-in counter without showing our “magic” ticket. I can’t forget the ground attendant’s rude and harsh and wrong response and that she flatly told me “Calm down” with no “please” or “sorry.” But on our second attempt, brandishing our once-in-a-lifetime tickets, we suddenly became “madam” and  “sir.” And my English suddenly started working (in other words, they started to listen to me a bit more carefully). Our seats were secured and we were escorted to our seats in a relatively courteous manner. My business class experience started like that, but as for the actual flight… to be honest, I didn’t felt so much difference as the price (if I’d paid the retail price) shows. The seat itself was wider, and I didn’t have to worry about an awkward armrest battle against someone sitting next to me,

but once I fell asleep, there was no difference. About the in-flight meal… I confess I expected too much when I saw the appetizer.

The main was…just a bigger portion of what I was familiar with in economy class though it was presented nicely and the service were polite and timely.

Anyway, who would have an appetite for a full meal (salad, main, desert and snacks) at three in the morning? 

  A good thing was, now I can brag about my business class experience – just like the above!

Then there was something convenient in a train that I haven’t seen before.

It seems to have been designed to allow multiple people to hold it without touching each other. Very clever, but what is this called?

I also got a new vocabulary this time: skycheck. Which does not mean manually recording analogue radio broadcast onto a cassette tape (you would understand what I mean only if you are Japanese borne before the late 60s). When you travel on a smaller plane, you will get your carry-in luggage confiscated at the door of the plane you fly in, and get the bag returned on arrival. We confirmed this definition with the steward who took my bag away. So this should be an “official” term in airline industry. By the way, would I use this terminology in the rest of my life? I can’t imagine any example sentence now.

Further, on this trip I learnt a lot from taxi drivers.

This time we used taxi for the first time instead of hiring a car at the airport, which turned out much more enjoyable, safer, and more economical than paying about $70 a day for a small car and driving it timidly on the right hand side of road. The only problem with taxies was that it was not easy for me to figure out how much tip we were expected to leave. A local tourist information website suggests 15-20% should be expected and I have learnt from a blog friend of mine that it is smart to round off the total amount (fare and taxi) to the next dollar amount. Despite having knowledge on the rules, I always got confused when I got off a taxi and leave either too much/too little tip. How could I compute how much (round off (15 % * 11.75 )) is when the driver looks at me with an expectant look and I am supposed to leave the car as quick as possible for the next client? 

Apart from the awkward tip issue, I have learnt a lot from talking with them (strangely, I could communicate well with them and I understood what they said in Mid-west American English very well). Their lectures indluded:

·        Their Christmas family feast (They do not always eat Christmas pudding, etc.) and their views on holidays (Christmas is much more important than New Year’s Day, etc.);

·        Driving a car in winter (snow tires and tyre chains are not allowed there as they damage road surface, they use all-weather tires instead, etc.);

·        Their working condition (working hours and wedges—their wedges paid by the company are quite low, but they can earn about 100 dollars a day as tips—is it taxable?)

Last but not least, I got on local bus by myself for the first time in America, which was, to be honest , a bit of adventure because I might get off at a wrong place and could not go anywhere as the busses run about once an hour.

In Fukuoka, at least for me, using bus service to the city centre is a kind of luxury. I am simply not willing to pay nearly \400 to move less than 10 km.  But in the town where we stayed, the public transportation was much cheaper. Once you pay $2 you can go everywhere. On the bus, I learnt a bit of sociology as well. Using a bus as a means of transport seems to have a different meaning there where EVERYONE drives: it’s not a luxury, but a kind of social welfare because you can’t, not don't, drive for some reasons—do you know what I mean? My fellow passengers didn’t try to eat me or kill me,  and there was no apparent danger at all, but I felt as if I had blundered into some kinds of documentary films— a quite different world from the America that I have seen in English textbooks which are probably as unrealistic as your Japanese language textbooks, in which people are polite, friendly and kind.