Mitsubachi Fest 2012

Well its been some time since I last posted :/ Guess I should at least complete my long overdue Japan trip journal xD

22/6 Day 7 - Mitsubachi Fest

That evening, I met Jun to travel to Linus's home to get the tickets for the event. We then rushed down to a live house in Omotesando, Harajuku for Mistubachi Fest!

Short introduction to Honey Bee Management, the guys behind the Fest:

Honey Bee is a Japanese talent management company, under Sony Music Group Japan. They do a host of stuff, from music production, composition, to live production and providing backing musicians. And of course, they have a stable of really great musicians. For many of us (fans of YUI, that is), Honey Bee became "famous" due to e.u.band, which is YUI's live band consisting of bassist Backy, guitarist Kuro-chan, drummers Chris and Mai Mai, percussionist Sakura and keyboardist Arisa. YUI's producer Hisashi Kondo is also from Honey Bee. 

How did I get the opportunity to attend the Fest? Well to cut the long story short, Jun and Linus, the YUI-Lover "foot soldiers in Japan", attended several Mitsubachi Kaigi (meetings) in which Honey Bee met with fans and asked for their ideas and suggestions. This led to that, coincidences led to opportunities, and I ended up with a ticket! (Big shout out to Jun and Linus, thanks you guys!)

It was my first ever visit to a live house so I didn't know what to expect. I ordered a beer at entrance and promptly gulped it up on an empty stomach (didn't have time for dinner). No wonder I felt a little tipsy during the first few acts.

I was looking forward to catching Chelsy, but a few other groups and singers were pretty good too! I liked Moss Green in particular, she had really captivating vocals and sounded really good live. And of course, the highlight of the show was Chelsy!

Oh wait, before I continue, more on Chelsy:

Chelsy are a 4-girl band (3 now that their vocalist left, but I'll keep it at 4 for simplicity's sake) under Honey Bee Management, consisting of leader Arisa (keys), Mio (vocals/guitar), Shizuka (bass) and Ami (drums). 4 cute, bubbly girls in a band, playing YUI-influenced music? What else can you ask for? :DD

I was squashed in the front together with a bunch of YUI/Chelsy fans, and was quite amused by the crazy stuff they did while Chelsy were rocking on stage. As for the perfomance? I really enjoyed their songs; they played all originals which were friendly to the ear, including a couple of really rocking numbers. It was quite interesting to see the contrast in personalities - Arisa was cheerfully prancing about her keyboard, Ami was smiling all the way (but you could see the concentration in her expression), Shizuka was coolness personified (I love her backing vocals) and Mio sang with lots of emotion.

I confess that I wasn't too impressed by Chelsy the first time I heard their music (I thought they sounded too similar to YUI), but after that live my impression of them changed :D It also helped that Shizuka was starting to grow on me xD

First, some pics of Chelsy,  (I brought my camera, but I forgot to insert the SD card, so I was stuck with 5 internal memory photos -,-)

Chelsy's Ami, Arisa, Shizuka and Mio!

No points for guessing my favourite member!

The line-up for the night! Great talent on display :D 

After their set I hung around at the back to catch some of the other acts, which were equally impressive and polished too! To my surprise, staff and members of Honey Bee started streaming in, including Hisashi Kondo, Backy, and the Chelsy girls! We managed to steal a picture with Hisashi, while I got a pic taken with Shizuka and Mio thanks to Jun! (the following photos were taken with Linus' camera).

Linus, me, Hisashi Kondo and Jun! (lol @ HK's expression)

Shizuka and Mio!

The crazy YUI fans!

After the event ended, we took the chance to meet some of the performers for a chat and took lots of pictures! It felt really surreal to be face-to-face with people you've been seeing on stage during concerts, much less talk to them! They were all really nice and approachable, and I managed to exchange a few words with Backy :D

Big sister Mai Mai :D

Super nice guy Backy!

Chelsy/e.u. band keyboardist and MC for the night Arisa! 

After Mitsubachi Fest I realised that Honey Bee really tries to connect with the fans, which I think is awesome. There were no barriers between us and the artistes, and they were all very willing to interact with the fans. Of course, credit goes to the fans who were exceptionally nice and respected the artistes (can't say the same for fans of other, more popular groups)

It was late by the time the event ended and I hadn't had dinner so I was famished. Together with a bunch of Japanese fans we headed to a nearby Ippudo outlet for some ramen supper and beer :D Had a long, YUI-and-Chelsy-related chat before heading back to the hotel. On the way back I passed by the live house, and nearly bumped into Arisa and Shizuka rushing out with their bulky instruments (trying to catch the last train, probably?). Guess its tough being a musician eh?

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23/6 Day 8 - Tokyo University, Meiji-jingu 

The next day I met up with Kevin who gave me a short tour around his town and Toudai (Tokyo University), and got introduced to the delights of tsukemen, which came with an impossibly hearty seafood broth. Think of the thickest, tastiest prawn mee stock, and multiply the shiokness by 10.

Just noodles, an egg, and a bowl of wicked broth

Toudai's clock tower, made famous (to me) by Love Hina XD

I took a train down from Toudai to Harujuku and took a short hike to Meiji-jingu shrine, taking a break from all the heat. Bought a good-health charm for the girlfriend and just enjoyed the peace and cooling breeze blowing through the shrine grounds. I was feeling a little ambitious and walked all the way to Shibuya to pay a visit to the gigantic Tower Records store there. Bought Fukuhara Miho's latest album "Best of Soul Extreme" :D

Spent the night at Haneda Airport, where I discovered the awesome Itoen green tea. Yes, I discovered it only during the last few hours I had left in Japan. Sad that I didn't think of buying a whole crate to ship back home.

Well, that concludes my June 2012 Japan trip! Apologies for taking so long ><

Hisashiburi!

Whoa, has it been 6 months since my last post? It's been too long. To all my friends, 久しぶり(long time no see)!

Why the long absence from this place? Frankly, after coming back from 6 weeks in Hong Kong, I kept wanting to create a long post describing all the stuff that happened over there, but the evil person called Mr. Procrastinate kept pulling me back. Eventually I forgot about it and there you go - 6 months have flown by. I guess last semester was a pretty busy one, and together with my growing usage of Twitter, I've neglected this place :/

Video killed the radio star? No, Twitter (or for some, Tumblr) killed the Blogger!

So let's see, what have I missed out for these past 6 months... you know how shows like The Walking Dead like to do a recap of the previous episode? "Last time, on the Walking Dead..."

1) YUI HHITS Live in HK

Words cannot describe how I felt during my very first (and last) YUI performance

2) 6 weeks GSS in HK

Food, food and more food :D

3) Got meself an Android - HTC Desire S

Its an excellent phone. Sleek, compact and very usable

4) Back with the band

For the UK Bound bash

5) SCANDAL Asia Tour in SG

Tomomi!

6) Genting

Nope, didn't win money

And of course, back to the daily grind of school, lectures, tutorials and examinations. Had a really enjoyable holiday in December as well, so I can't complain.

So thats it - 2011 was a very eventful year. Lets hope for a equally eventful 2012 (in a good way, of course). As Ueda in Trick puts it - 「どんと来い！」　"Bring it on!"

Anyway, if you've noticed (or tried to access this place by typing the old address), I've changed the title as well as the blog address. Why "The Budget Geek (thebudgetgeek.blogspot.com)"? Well, for one it'll be easier to type without all those goddamnned dashes. And secondly, I realised I'm not a conventional, at-the-forefront-of-technology kind of geek. I'm more of a if-you-don't-need-it-don't-get-it kind of geek.

I hope to post up budget (or value) suggestions for tech buys in the future, so watch this space.

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In other news, Adele's album 21 is the best selling album of 2011. Thank god, real music is still being appreciated. Not trash like *cough* Baby *cough* Friday *cough*

香港へ行きましょう！#YUI

I will be heading off to Hong Kong in about 15 hours' time for GSS (Global Summer Studies) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong! Which can only mean one thing - 6 weeks of awesomely good food! (which is probably the only reason why I go there 8D)

Last time I was in Hong Kong in 2010, (here and here), it was to attend SCANDAL's very first one-man show overseas...

This time, by a stroke of insanely good fortune, I will be attending YUI's very first live outside Japan!!



How fortunate was I?

Her concert will start tomorrow, 26th June, at 8pm. Guess when I will be arriving in Hong Kong?

...26th June, at 10am

MIND-BLOWING! *boom*

Although I won't be at the airport to welcome her (by now she'd have touched down in Hong Kong, as well as touched several of fellow fans' hands D:), being able to attend her live is an incredible lucky coincidence.

I will cherish it.

Enjoy it to the very last second.

YUIさんとYUI-LOVERSの皆さん、一緒に最後までお楽しましょう！

Top 3 lists of top 10 things of 2010!

Its that time of the year again! That time when people are penning down their resolutions for the new year (mine is 1680 x 1024), when the music in departmental stores start to change from "Jingle Bells" to "Ying Chun Jie Fu", and when school children start dreading the start of school once again...

Yes, its the last few days of 2010. And its time for the annual reflective "Top 3 lists of Top 10 things"!

What have you done for these past 12 months?

Top 10 significant life-changing highlights (oh all right, a lil' exaggeration here)

1) Screwing up my left knee and tearing the ACL
2) Falling out of love and falling in love once again
3) Buying and learning bass
4) QUIS (and all those performances!)
5) Forming Natsukashii
6) Travelling to Kyushu (and doing a YUI stalker tour!)
7) Flipping credit card application forms in an ulu part of Jurong
8) Travelling to Hong Kong to catch SCANDAL live
9) Catching MUSE live in Singapore
10) Learning Japanese

Top 11 Music Discoveries (sorry, had to squeeze in 1 more!)

1) SCANDAL - Temptation Box
2) YUI - Holidays in the Sun
3) Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Magic Disk
4) Fukuhara Miho - Music is My Life
5) The Bawdies - There's No Turning Back
6) Ayumi Hamasaki - Rock 'n' Roll Circus
7) Utada Hikaru - Single Collection Vol. 2
8) Orange Pekoe - 10 Anniversary Best Album Sun & Moon
9) Marie Digby - Unfold, Second Home
10) chatmonchy - Awa Come
11) Olivia Ong - Olivia
Top 10 Gaming Experiences

1) Starcraft 2 (just got it 2 days ago!)
2) FIFA 11
3) Assassin's Creed 2
4) Left 4 Dead 2
5) Mass Effect 1 and 2
6) Street Fighter 4
7) Team Fortress 2 (you can't grow tired of this game!)
8) Resident Evil 5
9) Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (awesome expansion to the best RPG in 2009!)
10) Bioshock 2

In case you've been a loyal follower of this blog for the past 2 years, you'd have noticed the omission of 2 lists, namely "Top 10 Geeky exploits" and "Top 10 Green exploits", this year. Well, to be honest, I can't really recall anything geeky or green I did this year, other than fixing my keyboard space bar and keeping the air-conditioner off.

Maybe its about time I change the name of this blog once again. Which is highly unlikely, since the name kinda stuck with me already.

Oh well. Guess I'm about to become a not-so-green-and-not-so-geeky-normal-person.

Hope you had a meaningful 2010! Now, on to 2011!

夏: YUI - Holidays in the Sun

Its been 2 long years since YUI has released an album, the last being "I Loved Yesterday".

2 years and 3 months on, her long-awaited 4th studio album has finally been released on the 14th of July! Including 5 singles, 1 remake and 7 new compositions, "Holidays in the Sun" manages to capture the essence of summer. From the cheerful "Summer Song" to the melancholic "Please Stay With Me", YUI brings you on a roller coaster ride through the ups and downs experienced during the holiday season.

While most of the tracks are pretty much standard YUI fare, she does spice up the songs with a dash of creativity here and there, notably in "Shake My Heart" and "es.car". Its also evident that YUI's lyrics are maturing somewhat, continuing a trend first spotted in "I Loved Yesterday".



Tracklist:

1. to Mother
2. again
3. Parade
4. es.car
5. Shake My Heart
6. GLORIA
7. I do it
8. Please Stay With Me
9. Summer Song
10. Cinnamon
11. Driving Happy Life
12. It's all too much
13. Kiss me

Notable tracks:

1) to Mother
From the title, its quite obvious that this song was written "to mother", and it wasn't a coincidence that the single was released around Mother's Day. The lyrics are exceptionally touching, telling of the strains between mother and child, of taking others' kindness for granted. The song itself is simple and straightforward, and marks YUI's first time playing the piano in a song.

3) Parade
This track really gives off a summer feel, using the sounds of the acoustic guitar and bongos to add to the carnival atmosphere. I wouldn't be surprised to hear this song being played in a beach bar or something like that. The lyrics are surprisingly frank, about wanting to openly display love between 2 people, instead of being shy about it.

4) es.car
I love this track. The opening intro really sets the tone for the song, upbeat and carefree. What really distinguishes this track apart from the rest is the solo - a piano solo, rather than the usual guitars. The accompanying strings also provide a nice touch the song. Interestingly, the title comes from a very long escalator (hence the name escar) on the island of Enoshima. From the song, its not hard to imagine a sunny day spent with a loved one out having fun on date.

5) Shake My Heart
It seems everyone is experimenting with various instruments this season. "Shake My Heart" includes a brass section to spice up an otherwise normal-sounding song, giving that oomph-factor (lol). The chorus is also unbelievably catchy, with a whole choir backing YUI. In an interview she mentions attempting a gospel-esque track, which I assume is referring to this.

8) Please Stay With Me
My favourite track out of the whole album. Its a sad, emotional song from start to finish, and it really struck a chord with my heart when I first read the lyrics.

"If I say I want to meet you, will it cause (you) pain again?
Even though my tears overflow, my love
While we pass each other by, you become more dear to me
Please Stay With Me"

Kanashii, ne? And she sings it with such emotion its difficult to not be moved by the song.

10) Cinnamon
A rather happy-go-lucky track, and from the opening guitar riffs you can already feel the urge to bop your head along to the tune. The lyrics are also written in a somewhat whimsical, sweet and fun way - of the exchanges between a couple arranging to meet up.


The rest of the songs are equally good as well, but these 6 tracks stood out in particular. Note that I chose to introduce her newer songs because I could still form impressions of them. Older singles like "Summer Song" and "again" have been played countless times til' I can't really think of what to write :P

Now for some short notes about the other 7 tracks:

2) again - Opening theme for FMA: Brotherhood. As you'd expect for an OP, a very powerful and deep song. The pre-choruses in particular pack a punch. YUI-style rock at its very best!

6) GLORIA - Released as a single before "to Mother". A very catchy song, especially during the chorus, and was written as a form of encouragement to students taking their exams and pursuing their dreams. I listened to this a lot during my exams last semester :P

7) I do it - YUI originally wrote this song for Stereopony, and decided to include her version in this album. Another one of her classic rockin' songs, alongside "Rolling Star", "Daydreamer" and of course "again".

9) Summer Song - Her oldest single on the album (it was released in 2008, 2 years ago!), and literally brings out the summer feel of the whole album. Happiest song on the album :D

11) Driving Happy Life - Another of YUI's "happy" songs :P It does fit the title very well, I can imagine zipping down the expressway with the windows down, blasting this song from the stereo.

12) It's all too much - Theme song for the movie "Kaiji". Very very deep lyrics, as well as a very emotional sounding chorus. Beautiful song, beautiful lyrics.

13) Kiss me - Unsurprisingly, a love song by YUI. But the surprising part is how frank and in-your-face the song is, and she sings it with that whispery voice during the verses - goosebumps :P


"Holidays in the Sun" should be released in Singapore soon (overseas version), so if you like what you hear, support YUI by buying the album! :D

Journey to the South of Japan - Kyushu! #8

Day 10 - Shingu, Fukuoka

*YUI stalker alert*

I woke up super early (and dragged my dad along as well) to make a trip to Shingu (YUI's hometown) for a short beach visit. The train ride was pretty short, and the train itself looked very old-school!





We cut through a small forest to reach the beach, paying a visit to a small shrine on the way. The pine forest was nicely maintained, especially with the various shapes and sizes of pine trees. Eventually we could see the sea!





The beach was totally deserted, save for a couple of elderly walking their dogs on the sand. Still, it was beautifully clean and the sea water was sparkling clear. After 2 weeks of driving around and walking on concrete, it felt good to feel the sea breeze, hear the sound of the waves and plod around in the sand. I did get a sunburn though, the morning sun was blazing (even though it actually felt chilly).

We headed back to Fukuoka to meet up with my mum and sis for a breakfast of (guess what?) ramen! Next on the itinerary was a visit to Hawk's Town and Yahoo! Dome.

Hawk's Town is really just a very large shopping centre, similar to VivoCity. Together with the Yahoo! Dome, it forms the home ground of Fukuoka's baseball team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. And true to the name, I spotted a couple of hawks soaring high in the sky above the Dome.





Zepp Fukuoka was also located in the area, as well as a Hard Rock Cafe. I was particularly interested in Zepp Fukuoka (a live house) so I went to check out the premises. It had an underground and industrial feel to it, judging from the thick steel doors. One day I'd love to attend a live performance in one of these live houses. The performances for that night went along the lines of "RUDE", with fierce looking bands plastered all over the poster. Not my kind of music :P



We took a short walk to Fukuoka Tower, located adjacent to the Yahoo! Dome. It was nothing more than a glorified observation tower, but the view from the top was great!





We then took a bus to Marinoa City, a large outlet mall located on the outskirts of Fukuoka. I didn't have much to see, other than a very interesting shop selling all kinds of random stuff (their version of a chapalang shop). I bought a couple of vinyl stickers for my guitar and bass, and that was about it. I had wanted to get myself a new pair of sneakers, but the prices weren't that great, and those that were cheap didn't have my size. Curse my size 10.5 feet!

We headed back to Tenjin for some more shopping (I headed straight to the music stores), followed by dinner at this really nice restaurant. The waitress looked exactly like Ayumi Hamasaki in her younger days! I wanted to take a picture but she was busy serving other customers and so I couldn't get a shot.

My dad ordered a dish he'd been craving for days - live, transparent squid



It was still moving D: and the skin kept changing colour whenever something touched it D:
Needless to say I didn't touch it at all. I prefer my food cooked and very much dead, thank you very much.

Day 11 - Fukuoka

The next morning we visited a local seafood market.



There wasn't much buzz since it was a Friday morning, but it was still interesting to look at all the fresh seafood on sale. My dad, being the "tam jiak gui" that he is, decided to try a live abalone. Unfortunately it was quite tough and wasn't very nice.

We then took a short subway trip to Ohori Park.



The lake in the middle of the park was filled with HUGE carp! And judging from the number of people throwing food into the lake, I could tell why. We took a little walk around the lake and chanced upon a some Mandarin ducks and a couple of egrets looking for their meal.





As we made our way back to the park entrance, I spotted a group of kindergarten kids having a picnic in the middle of a field with their teachers! Why didn't my kindergarten school ever organise something like this? ):



We took a subway back to Tenjin for lunch at Shin Shin Ramen, a ramen place favoured by many local celebrities and bands. *YUI stalker alert!*



All the walls and every available space above the counter was filled with signatures from various musicians, singers and indie bands! Besides YUI, I also spotted Nico touches the walls, The Okamotos, Supercar, ACIDMAN and many others!







And of course, the reason for their popularity was their ramen! I can safely say that the bowl of Shin Shin ramen I had could beat all other ramen that I've had during my stay in Japan. Usually most people judge a good bowl of ramen from the soup stock, right? Well almost every ramen I've had had very tasty stock. But this was different. The stock was good alright, but the noodles, an often overlooked ingredient, had a very distinctive taste! I could just eat the noodles by itself!



I was thoroughly satisfied after that lunch. What a way to complete this Kyushu journey, starting off with a bowl of ramen, and ending off with another bowl of the very best. In a way, this trip can be summarised into a few words - a castle/shrine visiting, jigoku/onsen viewing, ramen tasting, YUI stalking trip.

And so I've come to end of my narration. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it and looking at the photographs! For more photographs visit my Facebook page, or my Photobucket album :D

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Phew, finally done with it. I can now go back to posting random stuff about my not-so-interesting daily life.

Journey to the South of Japan - Kyushu! #7

Yesterday was my last day of work, so I finally have lots of free time now. Which is not a good thing really, I'd rather be doing brainless work than to have to think of what to do. Anyway, I guess I'll finish up on my Japan trip (it's taking too long XD)

Day 8 - Beppu

The city of Beppu is famous for its hot springs, both bathable and the not-so-bathable. After a nice breakfast in a little bakery, we took a walk along the coastline and found a sand-bathing spot. You're supposed to lie flat on a bed of black, hot sand, while workers shovel sand all over your body. Its supposed to be good for the skin, but I don't see why I would want to be buried and baked alive.



Anyway we went on to see the main attraction in Beppu, the 9 "Hells of Beppu", which really refers to hot springs for viewing, not bathing. Try bathing in 100 degree waters :P

The first one, Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell) was coloured a spectacular blue.



Next was Oniishibozu Jigoku, which had pools of bubbling mud.



There were a few others which were not as interesting to look at, such as the Yama Jigoku which had a mini-zoo (of all things) that was quite sad to look at. The animal enclosures were amazingly tiny, and a poor hippo was forced to open its mouth waiting for tourists to throw vegetables in. I couldn't stand to look at it. There was a crocodile farm at another Jigoku (again, I don't see the link), and a Tatsumaki Jigoku (geyser) which spout every 30mins.

The Shiraike Jigoku was one of the more beautiful ones, with a pond of milky white water.



And of course, the Chinoike Jigoku (blood-pond hell), which had a pond of blood red water.



After lunch we headed out of town to see a waterfall. We couldn't pinpoint the location on the GPS so it was more of looking at a map and driving in the general direction, hoping to see a sign on the way. Luckily, with the help of a roadside stall owner, we managed to find the waterfall - Higashishiiya Waterfall

It was quite a spectacular sight.



There was a girl sitting on some rocks, looking at the waterfall pensively, checking her handphone from time to time. I wonder what was going through her mind.



While we were about to leave a group of artists came and found spots to sit on, before starting to sketch out the scenery. Quite interesting! And they looked quite good too!



We headed back to the city after that, where I holed myself up in a Book Off second-hand bookstore to hunt for CD bargains. And I emerged from the store with a haul of 5 albums and 2 singles. The damage? About SGD$100, which was a steal considering the original price would've been somewhere in the $200 region. Still, I recieved a lemon single, the CD case was cracked at the hinges. Well, you win some, you lose some.

Dinner was a great bowl of (what else?) ramen! :D The waiter who served us was a Nepalese and his English was good! He said he was studying there and took up a part-time job to pay for his studies. The ramen, like every bowl I've had in Japan so far, was excellent. When can I ever be satisfied with the ramen in Singapore?

While walking back to the hotel I heard the sounds of that same busker wafting from the underpass again. Hardworking dude! Maybe we'll see him strike it big in a few years time heh.

And so that marks the last night in Beppu. Next - back to Fukuoka!


Day 9 - Beppu - Hita - Dazaifu - Fukuoka

On the way to Fukuoka we stopped by in Hita and Dazaifu.

We visited Mameda Town in Hita, which consisted of 2 streets running parallel, with rows of old-rustic shophouses on both sides. There were many of speciality shops, selling goods ranging from soya sauce, cakes, rice crackers (I bought one :D), bamboo crafts, sake and ice-cream. Speaking of which, I had a cone of sake ice-cream :D Tasted pretty light and refreshing, no alcohol taste at all.



Next was a short drive to Dazaifu, which is famous for its Tenma-gu Shrine.







Plenty of students there, all praying for success in their studies I suppose :P

Since it was still early, I persuaded my dad to make a slight (ok, it was rather long) detour to Fukutsu to visit the Miyajidake Shrine. What's the significance of the shrine, you might wonder?

*YUI stalker alert*

Well, only YUI fans would understand :P The shrine appears in her "Muffler" video, and is mentioned in the song as well.

For the non-YUI fans, the shrine houses the largest "Oshimenawa" or a giant straw rope in Japan, as well as the largest bronze bell and largest Taiko drum. Talk about big.

But the most spectacular feature of the shrine was this:



A perfectly straight line all the way to the coast! Amazing, ain't it?

Unfortunately the shrine was undergoing major renovations so I couldn't get a picture of the main hall. Still, the straw rope looked pretty impressive!





As evening approached we decided to head back towards Fukuoka for dinner. Along the way, I again persuaded my dad to stop over at a Chinese restaurant, "WEST" for dinner. Yes, you guessed it, something YUI related again. It was the restaurant where YUI worked part-time, and also the place which sold her favourite "supaiku" or sweet 'n sour pork.







I did try the "supaiku" and it tasted more sweet than sour, but good nonetheless. We had ramen (chinese style) and some fried rice, and all were surprisingly good! Chinese food, with a Japanese flavour, is how I would describe the meal.

We then headed back to our hotel in Hakata, Fukuoka, took a subway to Tenjin for some shopping and that was it for the night!