Happy-Go-Solo

Castle Hopping: Fukuoka Castle Route Map (June 2026)

A photo route map tracing my second walk around the Fukuoka Castle ruins, from Akasaka Station up through the second bailey and Matsunokizaka to the main bailey and keep base, then back via the third bailey.

2026.06.23

Castle Walk Route

Castle Hopping: Fukuoka Castle (June 2026)

My second visit to the Fukuoka Castle ruins: lotus on the moat, a slower route through Matsunokizaka, and an excavation under way at the keep base to investigate the castle's long-rumored keep.

2026.06.23

Castle Hopping

A Tabletop Journey: Suzukake (June 2026)

Still wrapped in the afterglow of kabuki, I headed to Suzukake, a long-established wagashi shop beside the Hakataza, for a quiet solo bowl of anmitsu topped with vanilla ice cream.

2026.06.22

Solo Gourmet

A Tabletop Journey: Hakata Ikkousha (June 2026)

The finale of the trip was ramen, of course: a light shio-tonkotsu ramen with a seasoned egg at Hakata Ikkousha in Fukuoka Airport's Ramen Runway.

2026.06.22

Solo Gourmet

Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle (June 2026, Day 2)

Numbered stones awaiting their turn, a crane finally in motion, the aerial privy, old photos laid over the now, and signing up as a reconstruction castle lord.

2026.06.15

Castle Hopping

Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle Route Map (June 2026, Day 2)

A photo walk through the route I took on day two at Kumamoto Castle, from lunch at Komurasaki to the live worksite at Iida-maru and a Kumamon cake to finish.

2026.06.15

Castle Walk Route

Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle Route Map (June 2026, Day 1)

A companion route map for Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle (June 2026, Day 1), following the walk from Kumamoto Airport's tourist card to the castle keep and great ginkgo.

2026.06.14

Castle Walk Route

Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle (June 2026, Day 1)

A castle keep brought back to life, and stone walls still lying in ruins. A solo day at Kumamoto Castle as it is right now, mid-recovery.

2026.06.14

Castle Hopping

June Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Matinee (June 2026)

The matinee of June Program at the Kabukiza Theatre, seen from a dobu seat by the hanamichi. Yukihime’s cherry-blossom snowstorm reached my hands, the new kabuki Lone Wolf and Cub was full of beauties, plus Hayato’s masking tape, a Kabukiza-only tenmusu bento and a long-awaited taiyaki.

2026.06.08

Kabuki

Tōhaku Noh: Funa-Benkei (June 2026)

A Noh performance staged inside the Tokyo National Museum, watched from the front row, where an Important Cultural Property mask became Shizuka Gozen and then the ghost of Tomomori.

2026.06.07

Nohgaku