Haneda to Fukuoka
We’d spent the night at a hotel at the airport because today we were starting the day with an early domestic flight to Fukuoka. It’s cheaper than the train and takes 1h instead of 6!
Fukuoka airport is only a 10 minute subway ride from the centre of the Hakata (Fukuoka) city, so it wasn’t long before we were having an explore in a new place.
We started off by going to a few shops I’d pinned, craft ones for me, anime ones for Mike, followed by a lunch of the local speciality of ‘Hakata Bite Sized Gyoza’ pan fried gyozas about half the size of normal, so it’s common to have quite a large portion!
They were super crispy, filled with pork and cabbage, and cooked in an iron pan so they all stick together. We paired them with some edamane and potato salad (a staple of Izakayas)
Ohori Park
After lunch we had a stroll around Ohori Park
Fukuoka Tower
From the park we took a bus to Fukuoka tower
We arrived a little before sunset and had planned to stay until it got dark for an alternative view of the city, but unfortunately the observation floors were fairly small and with limited seating that was all taken. Our feet were getting too sore to stand around for another hour so we headed back to our hotel for a break
Canal City
After a rest we headed back out and walked along the river, past the yatai food stalls the area is famous for. We didn’t stop and eat at one as we had other plans for dinner.
We went to Canal City, a large 90s shopping mall with a fountain show (bit random!). On the top floor is the ‘Ramen Stadium’, a selection of different ramen shops serving the local Hakata style tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen.
We went with something slightly different and had Hakata tonkotsu tsukemen instead of ramen – tsukemen has a thicker and richer broth than ramen, and the noodles are served separately. You then dip the noodles in the broth as you eat them. We may have also had some more bite sized gyozas as a side as well… Needless to say, it was all very yummy
Kushida Shrine
We walked back to the hotel via Kushida Shrine which was illuminated
