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BONDS IN OKINAWA
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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

– St. Augustine

Adventures in Fukuoka - Play Ball!

5/15/2017

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Yahuoku! Dome where the Softbank Hawks call home - and the first stadium with a retractable roof in Japan
For our last full day in Fukuoka, and since I didn't feel like Nate had the full Japanese baseball experience, we headed over to the Yahuoku! Dome to see if we could score last minute tickets to the Softbank Hawks.
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Check out the chip flavors in Japan :)
Lucky for us, we were able to score some tickets but it was standing room only.  And it was TAKA Girl day - I had no idea what this meant at the time but there was lots of pink and we got free jerseys!  #score #souvenir 

After some research, I found out this is one of the Hawk's nicknames - taka - 鷹, meaning hawk.  So it looks like this game was encouraging the Hawk's female fans to attend - clearly I was in good company!
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Checking out festivities before the game
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Seems believable
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Taka girls!
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Taka Girl day!
I talk about my first experience at a Japanese baseball game when I first attended with Nate's family back in Osaka, but to recap, these are some of the many reasons why I love Japanese baseball games and think everyone should attend:
  • Visiting fans have their own special section where chants and songs are led for the teams.  Each team seems to have their own gear - whether it's special sticks you bang together, horns, drums, and I've even seen umbrellas. 
  • Each team’s fans play/sing music when their team is batting and each player has their own special and unique song.
  • The food, the beer, the atmosphere.
  • Fans are so fanatic and invested here, constantly making noise and singing unique songs throughout the game
  • 7th. Inning. Stretch.  You buy these skinny balloons that look like little sperm, blow them up, wave them around while singing a special song, and then everyone simultaneously lets them go while they fly around wildly in the air (and always seems to make me giggle)
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We headed to our standing room only seats but were met with fun fans around us.  People come prepared for the games with their own seats, blankets, and snacks - basically creating their own picnic before and during the game.
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Making friends before the game
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Loving my free jersey
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I need a backpack full of beer - she was awesome!
Getting pumped for the game!!
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Here we go!!
Part way through Nate and I saw seats only a few rows up from the field, so we headed down around the 4th inning to get a better view.
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Having fun at the game
YAAASSSSS!! BALLOON TIME!!!  My fav!  We need to do this in America!!
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Balloon time!
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Balloon time!
Cheering on our team through the leftover balloons :)
After the game, I felt like Nate finally had the Japanese baseball experience - and something I recommend to anyone heading over to Japan!  Even though there's not much English, it's hard not to stop smiling or having a great time, listening to the chants, and cheering/clapping your team on!  

We went to go check out more of Fukuoka on our last night, heading to Nakasu Island, one of Japan's busiest entertainment districts, but specifically Oyafuko Dori (which roughly translates to "street of unruly children" due to crammed schools that once lined the street.
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Fukuoka Tenjin
We found a tasty yakitori bar where we ate lots of delicious little plates of meat and appetizers!
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天神信長 親不孝通店 Yakitori on Oyafuko Dori
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天神信長 親不孝通店 Yakitori on Oyafuko Dori
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天神信長 親不孝通店 Yakitori on Oyafuko Dori
After dinner and drinks, we hopped back on the subway to head back to our hotel.  We couldn't resist stopping by our new favorite pastry shop we discovered in the subway building filled with lots of delicious goodies.  We may or may not have gotten more bites before bed...
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Tasty pastry shop
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Tasty pastry shop
Before catching our flight back to Okinawa, we had time to visit one more spot, Tochoji Temple.  This temple was built in 806, making it the oldest Shingon temple in Kyushu.  It was founded by the famous monk Kobo-Daishi (Kukai), when he came back from China and prayed for Tantric Buddhism to spread to the east.
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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The Great Buddha of Fukuoka
One of the main attractions at the Tochoji Temple is the Fukuoka Daibutsu (Great Buddhist statue).  This statue took 4 years to carve and is the largest statue of a seated Buddha in Japan.  It stands at 10.8 meters tall and weighs 30 tons.  In addition, the ring of light behind Buddha is 16.1 meters high and has numerous images of Buddha also carved into it.
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Tochoji Temple
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Buddhas lining the walls of the temple
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Tochoji Temple
It was a pleasant way to end our last trip to the mainland before heading back to the states!  Until next time!

​- The Bonds
Follow in our Footsteps:

Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome
​
2-2-2 Jigyohama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken
(walk from Tojinmachi subway station takes 15-25 minutes)
​
天神信長 親不孝通店 (yakitori)
3 Chome-4-14 Tenjin, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0001, Japan
Hours: 5pm - 1am


Tochoji Temple
2-4 Gokushomachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0037, Japan
​(Near Gion station)
+81 92-291-4459
Hours: 9am - 4:45pm
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    Megan Bond - AUTHOR

    Just a girl raised in California and loved exploring Southeast Asia with my husband!  We're back in the States but still exploring the world as much as we can!

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