Our next stop in Fukuoka ended up being a fun little stopover! Then we headed to Nagasaki, which ironically ended up being one of our favorite spots in Japan.
Fukuoka - Japanese Professional Baseball Game
Our first night in Fukuoka we went to a Japanese Professional Baseball Game. It was quite the experience! We honestly don't know if we will be able to go to another baseball game in North America again. Compared to the Japanese, American baseball will seem REALLY boring!
In Japan, the fans really get into the game and they actually have entire sections of what we would consider a "pep squad." The visiting team even has a traveling pep squad. While their team is up to bat, the pep squad does cheers and chants, and they even have trumpets and drums to keep the noise level up and the squad on beat. We were still humming some of the chants a couple days after the game because they were so catchy!
Asahi Beer Brewery Tour
Also in Fukuoka there is an Asahi Beer Brewery, so we thought it would be fun to go on that; plus it was a free tour with some free samples at the end. However, when we called to reserve our time, the only time they had spaces left was at 9:30 a.m.; so we signed up! The tour was mostly in Japanese (and Korean, because we were with a Korean tourist group) but we were able to see the factory floor, but they did just have videos for the explanation as it was Saturday. But EVEN at 10:00 a.m. they still gave us our free drinks of beer! So when we left around 11:00 a.m. we were feeling a little buzz; I don't think our bodies were used to it that early!
Nagasaki
Our next stop was in Nagasaki. This was the first place in four days that we were able to escape the rain. Maybe that was partially the reason we liked it so much, but it was definitely one of our favorite cities in Japan. The train trip there was also really nice with some great scenery of the farmland and the shoreline with fishing nets in the bays. Nagasaki is basically a city nestled between the mountains and the ocean; and as the city has expanded, many of the houses are built along the mountainside. This was where we got a really good taste of the cherry blossoms -- they were in bloom everywhere and it provided for some really scenic photos. We spent some time walking around the city and up into the hills to get some good views of the city and area below.
Atomic Bomb Hypocenter & Peace Park
The second day we went to the Atomic Bomb hypocenter and Peace Park. There several monuments have been placed in remembrance of the August 9, 1945; and along with it, Japan's pledge to maintain a peaceful world to never have that type of destruction happen again. We weren't really sure about going to the Atomic Bomb museum and whether it would be skewed in the Japanese's opinions, but we were pleasantly surprised that the information there was very objective. They had several photos and actual artifacts found after the atomic bomb went off and it was a very eye opening experience to see this type of destruction up close. They provided information about events leading up to the bomb, after the bomb (until current times), as well as the harmful effects of the radiation. All which was very humbling.
Nagasaki Ropeway
In the afternoon we went up the Nagasaki Ropeway (a cable car) and got some great views of the area. The weather was so nice that day, we even walked the 5 km down to the bottom. Although it was a bit dual purpose, as it was also a money saver!
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