tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post7804458904389695738..comments2023-06-25T06:14:55.080-07:00Comments on Blog of Sean: The New Hakata StationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-42785252998425300142011-04-07T18:13:05.919-07:002011-04-07T18:13:05.919-07:00Thanks. It is really a shame that large condos ha...Thanks. It is really a shame that large condos have taken over places like your father in law's residence. Actually I live on a hilltop in the suburbs (Higashi Ku) and one of the main reasons we chose the place is because it still had natural tree cover and lots of birds. Its one of the last places left even out here where it is possible to see natural growth trees. Thankfully the slope seems to be too steep for anything to be built on it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our trees don't get chopped down, though I'm always worried about it happening.<br /><br />I'm doing a Phd at Kyushu University (Hakozaki campus), which is what brings me to Fukuoka. I've been here since 2008 and have about a year and a half left. I love the city and will be very sad to leave when its finished!<br /><br />Unfortunately I believe the streetcars in Kumamoto are gone too. At least I didn't notice any there when I visited a couple years ago.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681778110046124243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-24733863019777185672011-04-07T08:04:48.719-07:002011-04-07T08:04:48.719-07:00Sean
You are correct about the loss of the smaller...Sean<br />You are correct about the loss of the smaller scale around the central area sort of ruining the feel. <br />My father in law lived up in Ozasa on a hill top. He tried stoppong the building of massive condos on the hill tops all around the neighborhhod - he was right. The condos resulted in the loss of tree cover and the bird population plummeted! It was silent after the towers were built, the hilltop forests were the habitat of huge numbers of birds.<br /><br />The castle ruins were a high spot with a nice vantage point across town.<br />The street cars were really charming. They were like the ones in Nagasaki and Kumamoto (gone now?).<br />I was curious about what you are doing in Fukuoka exactly?<br />I lived there in 1978/79 and 1981. My wife is from there so I've been back many times, the lastime bein 2009.<br />I enjoy your blog, you notice all the interesting stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-15740166929025386282011-04-06T17:17:02.241-07:002011-04-06T17:17:02.241-07:00That is interesting. As a "train fan" I...That is interesting. As a "train fan" I've always wished they had kept the street cars here. I loved the ones they still have running in Nagasaki.<br /><br />It is kind of sad to hear how all the traditional homes were torn down. I've often thought that Fukuoka would be a much more attractive and tourist friendly city if they had set aside the area near Gion with all the temples as a historic preservation area with limits on development. It seems that as recently as the 70s that was still all traditional homes and quite attractive. Instead it now looks more or less like every other part of town - tall apartment buildings and eyesores all around!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681778110046124243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-64784513533398730822011-04-06T10:18:25.027-07:002011-04-06T10:18:25.027-07:00mark,
Yes it was a mix of old and new, lots more o...mark,<br />Yes it was a mix of old and new, lots more of the old and much lower. The high rise condo tower forest in the center did not yet exist. <br /><br />Many of the neighborhoods around Tenjin to the south and west (Yakuin, Kego, Sakaruzaka) had hundres of fantastic old classic homes and small apartment buildings. They are mostly gone now, the late 1980's bubble resulted in a building boom that leveled and replaced SF homes with all of the high rises. <br />I lived in a very old big traditional house surronded by a garden, I had my own room on a wing by itself (so nice). It is gone now, the family (we are stil friends) replaced it with a new structure but kept the garden - the old place was just too hard to maintain. <br />The subway really transformed the city, there used to be a street car system, it was taken out and was eventually replaced by the subway system. When I first arrived in Fukuoka in 1978 the street cars were still running on the east side and over to Kyushu U's campus (the street cars were phased out in early 1979).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-88457278117858808802011-04-06T01:42:16.960-07:002011-04-06T01:42:16.960-07:00Thanks for the interesting post. I've often w...Thanks for the interesting post. I've often wondered what Fukuoka used to look like. I've seen plenty of pictures but it must have had quite the different feel to it back then!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681778110046124243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-19191462225122219122011-03-31T05:30:30.524-07:002011-03-31T05:30:30.524-07:00Basically the station was the same until the recen...Basically the station was the same until the recent complete rebuild. <br />I was there is 2009 and saw the new station still under construction. Back in 1978 the Shinkansen was a techical wonder to me (I was 21 years old). It was all the original "Type O" train type. <br />I love Fukuoka! It has changed so much since the 1970's - the skyline was much lower and smaller in scale, the entire area where the tower and Fukuoka Dome is was under water! The land ended right behind Seinan University!<br />There was NO subway - they were building it and the whole length of the lines were a massive construction project.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-16074751728608219842011-03-31T01:05:44.816-07:002011-03-31T01:05:44.816-07:00Thanks for the comment, Mark! I hope you and your...Thanks for the comment, Mark! I hope you and your family enjoy your trip to Fukuoka, its a pleasant little city! I'm glad to hear that my blog may have given you some trip ideas!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681778110046124243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-10821268206576082122011-03-30T22:53:33.216-07:002011-03-30T22:53:33.216-07:00Love your blog, Sean. My family (Mark, American p...Love your blog, Sean. My family (Mark, American professor, wife, Japanese/American professor, three kids ages 5-6) living in Tokyo and planning our first trip to Fukuoka in early June. Got lots of great ideas from you blog! Thanks!!Mark Warschauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17915941389575920323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-15765507077739901152011-03-26T18:36:38.232-07:002011-03-26T18:36:38.232-07:00Interesting, the station must have looked quite a ...Interesting, the station must have looked quite a bit different in '78!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681778110046124243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4533323150763503385.post-72630147270545685812011-03-25T12:37:55.722-07:002011-03-25T12:37:55.722-07:00The Shinkansen reached Hakata in 1972.
I used to...The Shinkansen reached Hakata in 1972. <br />I used to ride it from there to points North when I first lived in Fukuoka in 1978.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com