japan diaries - fukuoka edition

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second time I've visited japan and it's just as magical and amazing as the first. I visited a couple new cities, fukuoka being one of them here. it's a much quieter city comparatively to tokyo, but just as lively in its own way. the two days was actually not enough for the amount of activities I wanted to check off my list! fukuoka is most definitely a city I would want to come back to explore more of.     

logistics

• flight from taipei, taiwan (TAOYUAN - TPE) to fukuoka, japan (FUKUOKA - FUK) $88 one way flight in may 2018
• we took a complimentary shuttle bus from fuk airport to hakata station (main station) and simply walked to our airbnb location in the nearby area of canal city/hakata. it was already quite late at night (9PM), I did not feel any danger walking through the streets.
• a pocket wifi is a must have in my opinion, some airbnbs throughout japan are kind enough to offer, but I liked having one with me at all times, in between airbnb accommodations. I got mine here with japan rail pass, the customer service is quite exceptional! (I had some issues with pickup but it was easily resolved with a email to customer service)

10 must see and do in fukuoka (only in fukuoka)

1. having traditional hakata style ramen at a night stand (yatai)
2. visit ACROS and enjoy a breakfast picnic or lunch in the park
3. check out the rooftop garden of hakata station, I read that the 9th floor of the station is also home to a food court with a beautiful tiling! I am a sucker for artsy tiles
4. watch a water/anime show at canal city hakata - similar to the world of color at disneyland 
5. have coffee at manu coffee for views of the canal, specifically the yanagibashi location
6. visit daimyo shopping district
7. explore fukuoka castle and find a high point to see the city skylines
8. visit the fukuoka asian art museum 
9. tenjin underground mall for souvenirs! 
10. walk, walk everywhere - through small streets, on big streets etc!

train system in fukuoka!

first meal in fukuoka, had no clue what was on the menu, and our kind server suggested the japanese basics - okonomiyaki and yakisoba!

ACROS building - opened in the middle of Fukuoka City as a center of international, cultural and informaiton exchange. an Acronym for Asian Cross Road Over the Sea

the beautiful ‘step garden’ of the building! The rooftop garden emulates a waterfall of cascading greenery.

shopping in Daimyo district, so many hip and vintage shopping in this neighborhood.

gyukatsu! deep fried wagyu beef cutlets

the water show at Canal City Hakata, a popular shopping extravaganza!

stationary galore!

the anime ‘one piece’ was the current show while I was visiting (May 2018)

vending machines galore!

having ramen at a yatai, such a great experience! I wish I had more nights in fuk to dine like this.

having traditional hakata ramen at a yatai, this was probably my absolute favorite throughout the trip! the broth was just sooo good.

had to take another photo mid way to capture the delicious moment.

above fukuoka castle to see the fukuoka city skyline

drools..

one of my favorite activities, writing postcards while at a cafe, I was specifically at the yanagibashi location but there are a couple sprinkled just throughout fukuoka

https://instagram.com/manucoffee/

traditional japanese thing to do, get a bento box before embarking on a long train ride, this was from fuk to osaka (about 2 hours on the shinkansen)

so many mister donut locations throughout japan, the strawberry pon de ring is my absolute favorite!! just the perfect amount of sweetness with a chewy mochi-like center. ahhh drooling just thinking of it.

want to hear more about fukuoka? ask away in the comments below! happy to share my adventures! stay tuned for japan diaries, naoshima, osaka, kyoto/nara, and tokyo edition.

xoxo, j