Hey, peeps!
It’s 4am here in Fukuoka and I’m wide awake. Not gonna fight it, though, because we fly home tonight and I want my body to start adjusting back to the Hawai’i time zone. Although we’ve only been here 3 days, it really seems like we’ve been on the road much longer … probably because we came straight from the Merrie Monarch in Hilo. I know the boys, especially Alex, are pretty tired and need to get home to rest and recharge.
Yesterday, our final performance for Hawaiian Airlines’ inaugural flight celebration was at the Solaria Plaza located near the main Tenjin train station. We had performed here before with HTJ so we were very familiar with the venue and surrounding area. Afterward we had lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Nanak … yum! I had the lunch special – chicken curry (medium hot), tandoori chicken, salad, lassi (yogurt drink), and a HUGE piece of freshly baked naan bread! Needless to say, I really needed a nap after that feast! Later that evening, Mark and I took our friends Melissa, Cat, Joe, and Kai to eat at our favorite Ippudo ramen shop near our hotel. I was still kinda full from our lunch but still managed to put down a steaming bowl of shiro Hakata ramen with tender slices of char siu pork, some delicately fried gyoza with this great yuzu chili sauce, and of course … an ice cold mug of nama (draft) beer! I was totally stuffed after that but the others stopped off at Mister Donut and the local Family Mart convenience store for some dessert … burp!
Gonna shop for some omiyage to take home today … may also try to go to Chikae restaurant for their lunch special if we have time. This normally very expensive Fukuoka seafood restaurant serves an awesome lunch special for only 1200 yen. You get a choice of a sashimi or soba platter which is filled with so much food that I have a hard time finishing it … something you rarely hear from us local boys! Might also try to hit Nanak and Ippudo once more before we leave tonight, but that may be asking too much of my stomach. So much delicious food and so little time (sigh!) ….
Next blog will be from home sweet home!
Aloha, “Dad”