Nippon Adventure: Fukuoka

After all the planning and going through a hectic time at work and school, I've been waiting for the day I returned to Japan. I wanted to go places that I have not been previously and to start somewhere other than Tokyo or Osaka. So it was either flying into Japan via Sapporo or Fukuoka and ending my bag packing trip with a lustful shopping in Tokyo. There wasn't much places to visit if I were to go down from Sapporo and risk radiation exposure, hence I concluded to start my adventure from Fukuoka and make my way up to Tokyo.

I planned only a night in Fukuoka as there wasn't much attraction and I do not wish to risk going around Kyushu as language would be a barrier. I could understand simple Japanese but conversationally numbed. So it was best to stay within city limit.

There were bunch of attractions in Fukuoka which were accessible by the Green Loop bus service. The bus
however has a 30 mins frequency and the approximate time of arrival on the bus stop signage wasn't accurate. I waited a lot for the bus but it was a direct bus to all the attraction and cost only ¥700.

First stop was one of e furthest attraction on the bus route, Hawk Town which is a baseball stadium and shopping mall. My main attraction was the mall. I was once again awed by the items that Japan has to offer. I went crazy at ABC Mart and Toys R Us but subdue my shopping urges by telling myself I'm on a bag packing trip. I left the mall empty handed but with a mental shopping list.

I didn't really went into the stadium due to no interest so I moved on to the next attraction, Kyoto Tower. If an actually see the tower from the stadium and it was a walking distance but I wanted utilized the buss pass so I waited for the bus instead. Luckily it wasn't that long.

My trip will normally include a visit to an observation deck where available and Kyoto has one. I thought it was an office building with an observation deck on top but was suprised that it was mostly beams and pylon that run the whole building. I got to know while taking the glass elevator down and saw the internal structure of the building. Since Kyoto Tower is one of the feature tower of Japan, it has it's very own mascot, stamp and souvenirs. I was tempted to get the long mini baumkuchen souvenir but it was too long to bring along on a bag pack, and they were out of magnets. Hence I only managed to get a stamp of the tower.

After a long wait for the Green Bus I made my was to the Ohori Koen. It's a large park with a huge pond and 3 connecting islands. People were either running, walking their dog or just wandering around. There was a canoeing event on the water as well. The walkway around the pond has so much activities that I decided to stroll across the 3 island. It was such a peaceful stroll with lovely sceneries.

There is another attraction near Ohori Koen which is the Fukuoka Castle Ruins. There wasn't much in the area except stone pillars and foundation of the castle with no physical castle. I made my was up to the highest point where the castle stood and was mesmerized by the view. While walking down, I noticed a bunch of tour group walking with a tablet in hand and moving it around. As I walked closer, I noticed that the tablet will show the section of the castle where the tablet was pointed. That was such an amazing idea. The tour group was nice enough to share the view with me and the image showed how grand the castle was.

After settling my check-in to the hostel and wash-up, I made my way to Canal City shopping mall. It's located at the back of the hostel and has a overhead passage directly to the mall. Canal City is huge with a water feature which I thought ran directly from the river through the mall but it wasn't. He main mall was quite huge but the shops are mostly small. You can find brands such as Muji, Uniqlo, ABC Mart and such but I found the joining building better with Bershka, H&M and a lot more known brands. I had to maintain the urge to shop so I just walked out to Hakata station to change and reserve my seating for the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.

It was roughly 10mins to walk from Canal City to Hakata station and roughly 15-20mins to walk to Hana Hostel from the station. I'm amazed that there were a lot of people loitering outside the station and felt like Sundays at Orchard Road. Hopefully you get what I mean but to my surprise, they were all Japanese taking pictures of the decorated station for the upcoming Christmas.

I was glad that I only spend a day to cover Fukuoka as there wasn't much attraction unless I proceed down to Beppu for some onsen experience. Though an advise by a friend, I must understand Japanese to be able to survive in Beppu. So Fukuoka was good enough. I might not shop in Fukuoka but the prices there was slightly lower than the other cities I've been to especially for toys. Some clothes are rare to find as well as I didn't find the same design at the same brand at the other city. At least I wasn't something I regretted not buying.

More photos of Fukuoka. So next stop, Hiroshima.