Fukuoka & Jamaica: Patties and Jerk Chicken

I was recently in Fukuoka, Kyushu (Japan) attempting to have a vacation. I'm not sure how well the vacation part worked out, however, the city made an unexpected impression on me.

Fukuoka is located in the southern part of Japan and its capital is called Hakata. From the descriptions of my friend who used to live in Kyushu, Fukuoka sounded like the Tokyo of southern Japan. When it was suggested that I visit the city though, I wasn't thrilled. I guess I'm more of a sub-urban type of gal. Anyways, I went. Upon arriving at Hakata station, I was taken aback by the lack of organization that I'm used to in Kansai. Passengers did not line up for public transportation. There was a lot of bundling at the bus and train stations. The only saving grace was that they did not really push while entering the bus or train. I say not really because I got pushed once but decided to call it a mistake.



Another surprise I got about the buses was that some of them did not operate on a schedule. At the Hakata bus terminal, there was a list of all the buses that stopped at the spot but no schedule was available for the buses. So I waited for about 15-20 minutes then went back inside the train station for lunch (I couldn't wait any longer with my empty stomach). After lunch, I only waited for about another 10 minutes for my bus. The bus ride then lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes!! Whoever wrote that review that said it's best to use the bus to get to the Nokonoshima port was crazy!!

So, anyways, my first stop in Fukuoka was Nokono island. It's an hour and 15 minutes from Hakata by bus and about 20-30 minutes by subway. From the port, Nokono island is only about a 10 minute ferry ride. The island is rather small and cozy.

In the picture on the left, I was standing at the port, looking across at Nokono island. So you can see that it is quite close.

Upon arriving at Nokono island, I went to a flower park called 'Nokonoshima Island Park' that seemed really beautiful on the internet. The sources from which I read online, however, failed to mention that outside of spring, the park was mostly green. I saw fields with signs that showed which flowers would grow there in another season.

There were a few flowers around though. Most of the sunflowers were dying, but in the midst of death, there is always life, so I went in search of the life in the field of drooping sunflowers and found a few lone flowers still holding on. 

 I also found a few other flowers around. They were not strikingly beautiful, but without them, the trip to the garden would have been futile. So, I am happy I got to see them.

My plan was to go the beach afterwards, however, the beach closed at 5 pm and so I was left with nothing else to do with my afternoon. So, I returned to the town of Hakata and roamed the streets.

Roaming the streets of an unfamiliar town can be very rewarding if you stumble upon things you didn't know existed. While searching for a night market, that turned out to be only on Saturdays, I stumbled upon a Jamaican restaurant. I stumbled upon this Jamaican restaurant and saw patties on the menu. Can you imagine my joy! I had to give it a try. So, I entered and ordered a patty before even sitting down. I also ordered a banana frozen desert that I managed to finish before the patty finished baking.

While waiting for my patty, I realized that the TV was showing the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China and the long anticipated Usain Bolt 100 metre race would be shown in about 10 minutes after my arrival. Seriously, what are the odds of finding such a place by accident late at night?!

When the patty came......

When the patty came, I was unpleasantly surprised. It was a cocktail sized Jamaican patty for 250 yen!! A regular Jamaican patty is regarded as a meal. In fact, I used to eat one patty for breakfast or lunch some days. A cocktail patty is a bite size patty - rather a two bites size patty, because after two bites it will be gone. Cocktail patties are usually finger food for uptown functions.  I could not believe the restaurant in Fukuoka really charged me 250 yen for a cocktail sized patty. In Jamaica, that would be less than the price of a full house regular sized patty from Juici Patties, a popular patty chain. A full house patty contains vegetable, cheese and meat.

Despite its size, the Fukuoka patty was tasty. It tasted like patties made by small patty shops in the country - tasty, but not quite the same standard as the bigger patty chains. I enjoyed the little patty and silently wished I could waste more money and buy a box to bring home with me. At the end of the 100 metre race, everyone in the bar celebrated Usain Bolt's win then I proceeded to leave. The bartender, who had spent 9 months in Jamaica previously seemed sad that I was leaving so soon and asked if I didn't want some patties to take back with me. I thought she meant discounted or free patties, so I asked about the price and she quoted the same price - 250 yen. I kindly declined and told her it was tasty but too expensive for my poor woman pocket.
(I wish I had taken my camera out with me that night because I have no pictures of this cozy little bar to show:()

The next day, I stumbled upon another place offering Jamaican food for sale in Fukuoka. This time, it was the back of a truck, something like a big hot dog stand by the roadside.

The Jamaican roadside truck back was selling Jerk chicken in pita bread for 500 yen. The Jerk chicken was quite tasty, well seasoned and a nice complement to the pita bread. 

In summary, my trip to Fukuoka wasn't very interesting in terms of sightseeing and adventures. However, it was interesting in an unexpected way - I found delicious Jamaican food in two places completely by chance!