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52 Fujis #23 – Fujisakigumae – Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

Fujisakigumae is the most southern of the 52 Fujis, and, in 2007, it was a good 1150km (715 miles) from where I was living. I had no idea how in the heck I’d ever be getting round to making my way down to Kyushu, the island that forms the big southwest chunk of Japan. I took some comfort from the fact that four of the 52 are in Kyushu, not far from one another – so it wouldn’t just be a mammoth undertaking for the sake of one underutilized station in the countryside. Still, I’d decided to put them off until … well, I didn’t know. I’d figure it out later. Something would turn up while I tucked this logistical funfair away in the future Fuji files.

The future came a lot sooner than expected though, when I was invited to a wedding in Kumamoto, right in time for a summer holiday.

Fantastic. That old two birds with one stone thingamajig.

There’s a hairy moment at Haneda airport when it is announced that Kyushu is being battered by a particularly savage rainy season, and the plane might not land at Kumamoto. It might land at Fukuoka instead. Or just turn around and come right back; the airline hasn’t made up its mind. When it does, nothing ends up changing at all – we touch down in a very wet Kumamoto right on schedule.

It turns out the hotel is pretty close to Fujisakigumae – nowadays this is the kind of thing I check before I go, but I was a lot more lackadaisical back in 2007. The wedding isn’t until 4pm in the afternoon, so the day after arriving, post breakfast, even though the rain is continuing to relentlessly batter the city, I wander over to Fujisakigumae.

The way there is mostly by way of a shotengai – one of those funky covered shopping arcades you find in most Japanese cities – ironically enough, given the weather, this one was called Sunny Road.

Fujisakigumae station is tiny, and hidden away off the main street. There’s a single train on the platform and I note there’s nothing really to note except that.

There isn’t much hanging about as a result, so it’s round the corner to visit the shrine which the station serves, Fujisaki Hachimangu. The original shrine was founded in 935, but burned down during the time period in which Tom Cruise & Ken Watanabe became friends, or as the more historically accurate version of that story is known, the Satsuma Rebellion. That site is now a baseball stadium, and this one was built at the end of the 19th century. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

There’s not really a lot of fun to be had thanks to the downpour, so I decide I’ll take some pictures of pigeons sheltering from the rain. It looks like they’re pretty much the only living things around until I hear a voice behind me saying “Hi!” in a tone that doesn’t sound entirely friendly.

I turn around and give my happiest “Konnichiwa!” to the big sweaty guy in the pink shirt standing there. He’s taken aback and asks me if I speak Japanese. I tell him a little, hoping that if I have broken any sacred rule that bans pigeon photography within this particular shrine’s confines, he won’t be able to tell me off properly if he thinks I don’t understand.

Inexplicably, he then asks me if I speak English. I say yes, wondering where this is going. He thrusts out his hand with two English leaflets about Kumamoto at the end of it.

“Kore wa – This is … pamphletto?”

I nod, yeah, we use that word too. Pronunciation differs, but full marks for effort.

“About Kumamoto. A present for you.”

I accept, offer thanks and bow. He gives me a nod then stalks off in silence.

FUJIS LEFT AT THE END OF JULY 7th, 2007 : 36/59