Beach Day (and Night)

saturday i headed to fukuoka, a large japanese port city on the island of kyushu. it is known for ramen and late night partying. i headed down to visit cindy. of course, i overslept from the late night before, but yet somehow made it from my capsule to the train to fukuoka in 35 minutes. i am one quick lad when i need to be. and, let me just say, bless japan's train system - so many trains, so easy, and the bullet trains are fast! a shinkansen could get from new york to DC in an hour and change. we're talking speeds up to 250 mph! so comfortable, so fast, so wonderful. makes traveling easy.

i got to fukuoka station around noon, met cindy and together we grabbed some food from the supermarket and went to the beach. the beach in fukuoa actually reminded me a little of california - relaxed vibe, surfers, long stretch of beach, blue waters, and the buildings were strakly non-japanese and reminded me, in a less bourgeoisie way, of huntington beach. we went around the sand and down the pier to sit with cindy's friends, mike and arena (bf/gf - mike is in undergrad at cindy's university). mike is from vancouver but has lived in fukuoka for three years. arena is japanese, but is an avid traveler, having spent the most time in south africa. they were both very warm and friendly, and combining them, cindy, sushi, sun, breezes and warm, ocean water made a heavenly mix for a perfect day. honestly, that beach time may be one of my favorite days - unexpected, lovely, relaxing. gosh!

and cindy is just fucking awesome. first, i love that i haven't seen her in ten years (and only recently began emailing again), but that our conversations and interactions were easy and flowing, as if we'd been friends for years. that is a sign of a good person. cindy has grown and flourished - a beautiful, accomplished, worldly, traveled, happy person. after some time at michigan state, cindy moved to DC and interned for two years in the us senate - first for spencer abraham and then for daniel moynihan. then, deciding politics wasn't for her (at least the us senate) she moved out to fukuoka to begin study in rural development, where she is currently getting her phd. she has lived in japan and taiwan. she has traveled all through southeast asia - indonesia, east timor, china, thailand, korea - not to mention european countries. her knowledge of these countries is in depth and intelligent - much shaped from locals. she was in taiwan during the big elections a few years ago. she visited the DMZ in korea. she has been to conferences all over the world. she trained as a boxer. she bartended for three years at the biggest club in fukuoka (the happy cock). i could listen to her stories for hours - i am so happy for her, and so happy to have seen her again. she has climbed the list of good people i know in my life.

after some time on the pier, and then on the beach itself, watching a slew of japanese bands (one did a decent cover of "all along the watchtower," another butchered "american idiot") we headed to an internet cafe to relax and shower. then off to happy cock.

the club is not very big, but it was packed. first, all the floors were covered with sand, and beach tables and chairs were set up. everyone is in shorts and tanktops, or shirtless, with sandals. being a straight club (i think i was the only homo), i was both feeling a little out of place, and, rather turned on by the amount of shirtless japanese and blacks in the bar. (aaron! you can't touch!). the music was a mix of good hiphop remixes and bad reggaeton - half liked and half not so much. cindy was bartending, and she was working it! that bar was crowded, and cindy was all over the place, pouring drinks, entertaining the crowd, having fun. so fun to see her in her element. i paid 3500 yen for all i could drink - i think i well used that value to my advantage. after 2.5 hours, the club had gotten way to crowded, hot and hetero for me. if i am going to be crushed with people, sweating profusely and in a mob of drunk, dancing people - they better be gay men. hetero clubs are fine, but i need friends who aren't bartending there - i met some good people through cindy (she is well liked. a guy named greg chatted me up for a good while, saying "any friend of cindy is a friend of mine") - but it just got too much for me. so i went back to the internet cafe, watched some cartoons and went to bed.

i had a blast in fukuoka - seeing cindy, the beach, the club, the ramen on the street! ah! i'm very happy i rearranged to get down there. i just wish i had some more time to see the city, and more of kyushu. but honestly, i think i am beginning to tire. constantly on the move, not speaking the language, a transient traveler leaving people i meet in one city to go to another where i know no one, sleeping in hotels, hostel dorm rooms and internet cafes, on trains, sweltering heat - i can thrive like this, but i may be close to my time for now. if i were to keep going, i would need a nice week off - beaches and air conditioning. so while i love japan - and i am definitely considering giving my new job a two year try, and if i don't think it's for me, then just move to japan - i am ready to go home soon. i am excited to see Nara on monday and excited to have some more tokyo time, but getting home on wednesday will be nice. i am very excited for what's waiting for me. (hint: my two favorite males).