Life in Fukuoka, Japan: Karatsu, Japan

Mark and I headed out to Karatsu this morning. We caught the 11:14 am train. It took about an hour to get there. The train stopped at twelve stations before getting to Karatsu, which is the next to last stop on that track line.

It was a beautiful trip along the coast. We had good weather and very clear conditions so we were able to see a lot of areas that we had not seen before. The water was so blue. The train was not very crowded so it was comfortable, quiet and warm.

Once we got to Karatsu we went to leave through the exit when we learned that we did not have the right tickets. I tell you, I needed a basic lesson before venturing out. We learned about the day passes just a short time ago, so that is what we bought. Well, we learned that you can't use them for that. That would have been fine if I had known that before hand. Oh well, live and learn. We paid for the tickets and were able to go on our way. (We realized that we wasted 1,200 yen......)

As we were leaving the station we stopped at the little touristy area to get a map. They were very helpful and even gave us an area we could get bikes if we were interested in that, she showed us how to get to the Karatsu Castle, and gave a few other suggestions. Such a helpful young lady.

We headed out to visit the castle first. We could see it as we were walking towards it. It was set up on a hill. Very beautiful, although there was a lot of construction going on at the castle. Once we arrived at the castle we saw all of the stairs we were going to get to climb. I love it when we get a free stair master workout. As we continued to climb it seemed as if the stairs were going to go on forever.

The view from the top was breathtaking. The water was so blue and the sky was very clear. A lot clearer than it has been lately. We paid to go in the castle, which is now a museum. We saw a lot of things, but since we can't read Japanese yet we couldn't get the full message or importance of the items.

After walking around the castle we decided to look around the area below the castle. There are some very nice little shops. I saw a couple of wild cats that the locals feed. They were very cute, although Mark called them mangy.

We wanted to look at the shops (touristy area) before eating and heading back. We did not see a lot of Karatsu, but out goal was to get there to see something new and see what else we might want to go back to see in the future. It was very quiet there today. I am not sure if it is because it is right after the holiday, or if it is just a quiet place.

We bought our tickets to return to Meinohama. We would only have about 20 minutes before the train came so we decided just to grab a snack from the "Family Mart". We would be able to eat once we returned home. Since I still do not know what all the dishes have in them it is harder for me to go to a new place (well, if I actually want to be able to eat what I order). Many of the meals have "hidden" meat things in them. It is hard for Mark because I am sure he would like to be able to just stop any where are try something new.

When the train arrived we got on and found a place to sit. We were not so lucky because we had a couple of very obnoxious teens in our car. They were terrible. Laying down on the seats so no one could sit there, hanging by the hand rings and trying to do gymnastics, as well as being as loud as possible. I couldn't believe their behavior. It was something I had never seen here before. I guess it goes to show you that there are crazy people all over the world. I have a little video, but I am having trouble getting it from my phone to the computer. Once I do I will share it.

I hope you all enjoy the photos.

Tomorrow we are doing things around our area, and then Saturday we are going to Nagasaki.