The Birmingham of Japan

A & I have been trying to work out which UK cities Japanese cities correspond to. It doesn't really work that well - Osaka is probably a bit like Manchester, but clearly better, and while it's hard to pigeonhole Kyoto, though it may be a bit like a supercharged Oxford. However, Fukuoka is definitely like Birmingham. Everyone we told that we were going there asked us why? We had to explain that we were using it as a base for Nagasaki and Beppu. There is very little to do in Fukuoka, but it has a string of bars and good transport links. Just like Birmingham, though probably warmer.

As indicated, we didn't actually spend any time in the city itself during the day, though the bars were fun - A in particular liked a bar that had impromptu karaoke with her, a random Korean and a Japanese businessman. I preferred the sushi restaurant where I could get horsemeat sushi. However, both Nagasaki and Beppu were fantastic visits. Beppu is a little ridiculous, having some splendidly kitsch and overblown 'hells' or hot springs. But they were much fun, and there's a great gimmicky restaurant by the Tourist Information, where you can cook your lunch in the steam. In fact, there was steam everywhere - we saw some coming up from a hole in the tarmac in a car park. It's put to best use in the onsen of course. Nagasaki was less absurd, with the inevitable memorials to the bomb, though Hiroshima did it better, and the less said about the nonsensical peace statue the better. However, the museum was still moving. Better were the string of temples to the south and the Glover gardens. I hadn't realised how international the city had been, and the legacy of this internationality and Christianity shines through. It also had Anna's favourite beer and gyoza bar where we spent one of our favourite early evenings of the holiday.

Oh, and the regional speciality of Kyushu (the western island where all these are located) is Shochu. Do not drink it ever; it was used as a disinfectant in the Edo period - this seems as appropriate now as then.