Day 4 Across the Rice Fields of Itoshima

Time to warm up my self

It almost lunch time, so today i am going to continue my bicycle trip around the studio Kura. This time i went to the Karatsu way which is towards east side.

The view across the Studio Kura

In case you still not sure where or Fukuoka is, Fukuoka or (福岡市 Fukuoka-shi) is the capital city of Fukuoka prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan. It was considered as one amongst the world's most liveable cities, Fukuoka was praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting.

Green houses

A writing in front of a Shrine

A small house on top of hill

They usually have this cute signs on road construction area

another road construction signs

The countryside here at Itoshima - Fukuoa, has many things to offer from incredibly fresh air, the sun might be a bit hot but the good thing is this area is close to mountains and beach so it gets windy a lot so i rarely even sweat :) You can also see some farmers harvesting on the fields, they have a lot of variety of rice, fruits, and vegetables as well! Some of them even have their own vegetables right in front their house like Hiro family was. They have greenhouses, forests, temples and not to mention the warm and friendly people of Itoshima. So as you wonder around and gaze a lot to the sceneries you can kind of lost your self in space of time i guess (which i did hehe). Some japanese people whom i met while i stayed here said that they have traveled to some other cities in Japan, but they finally agreed that Fukuoka is a eventually a good place to stay.

Meal that i ordered, i think it's called horumon (grilled offal)

Day 3 Getting around Studio Kura part 2

I suppose to make an artwork during my stay, before i go to Japan i already have a rough idea about what i'm going to make. Now what i need to do is collecting reference and researching stage. In order to make an artwork that is inspired by japanese culture, the best way to do it is come and see the culture! So after finished collecting some resources for my project, it's time to take a real fresh air. The bike is now working, sugoi! (awesome). I left the studio and went to see the shrine / temple that's just behind the studio. 

Hiro-san doing some painting with kodomo (kids)

Right above the shrine, there is a hill / small mountain that we can climb on foot. It's really not necessary to have a path-finding skills to go all the way to the top, because there are this small paths have been cleared out for us just enough to walk through, you just need to watch your steps because it might be slippery! After climbed down the hill, i went to different direction towards Fukuoka city.

The bamboo trees are very tall

The view from the hill

The shrine located just below the hill

The road towards Fukuoka city has more restaurants and supermarkets compare to the opposite one. Maybe the area is more closer to the city side so the scenery is feels different here, the rice fields are nowhere to be found! So if you want to shop for your daily needs, this area might give you more options. I wanted to cycle around further, but since the day is getting dark i decided to head back to the studio. On my way home, there was a beach which i passed by earlier not far from the studio. I just stop my bike for a while and wait until the sun vanished to the horizon.

Yup, just to proof this wasn't from google map

Day 2 Getting around Studio Kura part 1

Ohaiyugozaimasu! 
Had a good sleep last nite, which explains why i slept until 9 AM. After get up, i ate onigiri for breakfast then i went to studio to take shower and check my emails. Earlier, Peter mentioned there is a tasty Ramen Shop nearby our studio. I wanted to take bicycle to the Ramen shop, but unfortunately the bicycle that was parked outside the studio was not working, so i have to wait for Hiro-san ottosan (father) to take it to the bike shop for a repair. 

Dining table inside the house

The kitchen has all utensils that we can use

Rice cooker and some stuff at the kitchen

The stairs to my room

Entrance of the room upstairs

On the left of the entrance is where i sleep

The view from the window beside the stairs

There is another empty room that is connecting

Get a glimpse of breakfast in bed

I diceided to use this room just to put my stuff and luggage

The front view from the window upstairs

Me at the front side of the house that i stayed

Back side of the house

The left one i think is a small workshop, on the middle is the Studio Kura, and at the right is Hiro's parents house 

Some paintings inside the studio

So I decided to walk to the ramen shop nearby the house, which took only about 15 minutes. It was kind of small old type of restaurant, the owner shop however doesn't seems to speak english. I have a "secret weapon" japanese- english phrasefinder with me but i haven't managed to read all of them. With very limited japanese, i can only say "konichiwa, ramen gyoza kudasai." A relief after she nodded her head, then i took a seat waiting for my order. After anxiously wondering how the meal will be, the meal finally come and turned out it was a good choice, it was just awesome! The portion was quite big and just nice for one person, you can even order a bigger one if you are super hungry. It was so tasty that i slurped away the soup until the last drop haha.

 

The Ramen Shop

Inside the Ramen shop

Danger : Slurping the soup might cause sudden sleepiness :D

Get the taste of the Gyoza

Oishiii!

Can't resist to try Goku's Kamehameha

After finished with a nice meal, i continue my walk exploring the surroundings. Turns out there are many shrines located around nearby the studio. It's really good to see something different from the things that you are ussually deal nowdays like buildings, computers, cars, shopping mall, this is just a perfect getaway to retreat yourself from those things. The people in here are very nice and friendly, the pace is slower than what normally feels when we're at the city. 
It was really calm and quiet environment, at noon the weather is a bit hot maybe around 26 - 28 C but the good thing the area is near the beach and mountains so it's quite windy.  So if you are planning to come to Japan after march, it is considered a good time to come because after june is rainy season and the weather is a bit humid. When i reach back to studio i met hiro's ottosan and he told me that the bike has been repaired, arigato gozaimasu! 

Almost all houses have garden and some of them own vegetables as well

A temple gate beside a shop

Back view of the house where i stay