YukiApril 26
Fukuoka
Miss day 8? Catch up here.
In the morning, I enthusiastically picked up my pocket Wi-fi from Mori-san at GenkiJACS 2F reception before class, and prepared myself for an adventure! Armed with it, I left school not long after lunch, determined to find Daiso, which Katiya had said was right next to Hakata Station.
I got there pretty easily, but getting inside the actual building was difficult. Maps kept wanting me to turn right, but I couldn’t see a way to get in besides a staff entrance, and there was no crosswalk. So I went left instead, into another mall.
Satisfied that I was definitely not in the right area, I left via another exit on the same side, and found that I had simply not walked far enough (this is a common problem). Crossing the street, I headed inside and followed the colored arrows on the floor to Daiso!
Daiso is a 100 yen store that sells an enormous variety of products, from ceramics to skincare to snacks to stationery to clothing and way more. Most things are ¥100, and items that aren’t are marked with a price. I was so happy to find a shower pouf and travel compression bags there, as well as lots of omiyage material!
(I am editing my Daiso haul video, so I’ll update this post when that’s done!)
It was not too difficult to find my way back to Hakata Station, though I was hesitant about every turn. Once inside, I went to the larger Midori no Madoguchi, which is between the Chikushi Gate Exit and the ticket machines, and decided to observe before jumping into a line for anything.
As a result of my sleuthing, I noticed a section specifically for JR Pass holders, with self-service counters and forms in multiple languages. Rather than just walking up to the counter and asking them to find trains for you, you fill out your information and the dates, times, and destinations of the shinkansen you want to reserve.
I wrote on the form that I already had a JR Pass (and therefore didn’t need to buy one), and took it to the counter.
Thankfully I’d already looked up the trains I needed, because the guy didn’t write down the non-reserved train number I would have to take like the lady from Shinagawa Station did. In any case, that was taken care of quickly, and I headed back towards Sharely Style.
On the way, I decided to stop at this cute little place called Pumpkin House. The staff cook and prepare rice and a bunch of side dishes, (including pumpkin of course!), for use in bento. You go inside, pick a box, and make your own!
Payment is by weight; I believe it was ¥190 per gram. So I filled my large box with a bunch of vegetables and shelled out ¥1062 for it! But it was super delicious and I managed to spread it out over the next several meals, so it was a blessing.
Back at Sharely Style, I spoke to the receptionist about the floor drains in my bathroom, which I said were clogged. The next day, she came and looked at the situation.
Turns out the drains normally have water sitting in them.
That’s incredibly weird.
When I asked her why, she said she didn’t know. All the drains in the building are like that. She did clean them for me regardless, which I appreciated. Although she told me they would replace the bathroom fan “next time”, and even asked what time frame would be good, they never did.
On my last day, I left a Japanese note about it in the key box with my key. Hopefully they didn’t ignore it…