Discovering personal Paradise
I'm back from Japan and finally ready to talk about all the wonderful wonderful things that have just made this year of struggles a little more worth it. (But first, let me try to get into a coherent writing voice.)
Now day one begins roughly at 11.30pm when I was completely and totally late in arriving at the airport. We, at 12am were roaming around the airport and suddenly found that as a group we had a great urge to eat. Soph and I found that the universe did not want us to have Milo, and we all ended up snacking at Burger King. And we were all hungry because well it was a red-eye flight. We managed to settle in rather comfortably into our flight (I was so tired I slept through the ascent, which was a first) and proceeded to continue sleeping until food came around. Hidden beneath the foil is a yummy two fillets of Saba fish and Shibazuke rice, with veg on the side. A good old regular Japanese Obento style breakfast which was yummy and extremely fulfilling.
For those who plan to travel to Fukuoka after reading this (if it interests you wildly) please note that the domestic terminal is not near to the international terminal you land in. It's also likely that you will have to take a bus from the plane to the international terminal as well -- Basically, hooray for buses! Getting to the main metro line (most attractions run along the Kuko line) means another bus ride to the domestic terminal- and please expect to carry your luggage. Depending on where you stay, not all train stations will have escalators that breach surface. That means lugging luggage up the stairs, as we found out when making our way to our Hotel.
Bless this hotel in all ways. Beautiful lobby, sits on top of a shopping mall, is totally accessible from multiple points, is a literal stone throw away from the station exit and is hear like 5 major shopping areas including the Tenjin Underground Malls, Mitsukoshi Department Store, Parco, Tenjin Core, and Daimyo, all of which were amazing shopping locations. Hakata station (an even bigger shopping centre sitting on top of the main JR transfer line) is a 30 minute walk away, something we managed with google maps (to my dismay because I literally detest walking) (To my great surprise it really wasn't so bad.) Rule of the gane- have roaming. Walk around. It's pretty amazing to do so, on hind sight.
BEHOLD THE FUKUOKA POKEMON CENTRE! It's a huge store that basically sells all kind of pokemon merchandise you could possibly think of, not limited to giant Whalimer plushies that are almost a meter long and food items- I basically bought a lot of socks. A whole ton. Other things include phone cases and figurines, and basically it's intensely beautiful to see and be in. The day we were there they were also playing this thing they kept chanting called "Pokemon Bingo". Winners won a plushy, it was really really fun to see the kids and the staff being so involved and pumped up in the delivery of this game segment. It was beside huge bookstore Maruzen and a place that specialised in selling the TOMY trains (I think). Generally, it's an amazing place and if you're there visit it at the 8th floor of the Hakata Station!
Before I continue the rest of the post that will (hopefully) outline the first 3 days of the trip, I would like to give great thanks and love and much admiration to Phee, Gem, 'Issa and Steph for putting up with me endlessly and enduring my surly silences (when I had them) and my relentless teasing and never-ending stupidity during the 7 days of the trip. You are phenomenal women and have really given me an experience that I will forever be grateful for and one that I would love to repeat again with all of you (although maybe you wouldn't want to repeat it with me XD). All in all, all of you were amazing wonderful trip buddies and amazing friends that I will treasure eternally for the great friendship and kindness you have offered to me both here and in Japan.
Thank you for the love, thank you for the journey. (And hopefully, more to come!)
Now day one begins roughly at 11.30pm when I was completely and totally late in arriving at the airport. We, at 12am were roaming around the airport and suddenly found that as a group we had a great urge to eat. Soph and I found that the universe did not want us to have Milo, and we all ended up snacking at Burger King. And we were all hungry because well it was a red-eye flight. We managed to settle in rather comfortably into our flight (I was so tired I slept through the ascent, which was a first) and proceeded to continue sleeping until food came around. Hidden beneath the foil is a yummy two fillets of Saba fish and Shibazuke rice, with veg on the side. A good old regular Japanese Obento style breakfast which was yummy and extremely fulfilling. For those who plan to travel to Fukuoka after reading this (if it interests you wildly) please note that the domestic terminal is not near to the international terminal you land in. It's also likely that you will have to take a bus from the plane to the international terminal as well -- Basically, hooray for buses! Getting to the main metro line (most attractions run along the Kuko line) means another bus ride to the domestic terminal- and please expect to carry your luggage. Depending on where you stay, not all train stations will have escalators that breach surface. That means lugging luggage up the stairs, as we found out when making our way to our Hotel. Bless this hotel in all ways. Beautiful lobby, sits on top of a shopping mall, is totally accessible from multiple points, is a literal stone throw away from the station exit and is hear like 5 major shopping areas including the Tenjin Underground Malls, Mitsukoshi Department Store, Parco, Tenjin Core, and Daimyo, all of which were amazing shopping locations. Hakata station (an even bigger shopping centre sitting on top of the main JR transfer line) is a 30 minute walk away, something we managed with google maps (to my dismay because I literally detest walking) (To my great surprise it really wasn't so bad.) Rule of the gane- have roaming. Walk around. It's pretty amazing to do so, on hind sight.
BEHOLD THE FUKUOKA POKEMON CENTRE! It's a huge store that basically sells all kind of pokemon merchandise you could possibly think of, not limited to giant Whalimer plushies that are almost a meter long and food items- I basically bought a lot of socks. A whole ton. Other things include phone cases and figurines, and basically it's intensely beautiful to see and be in. The day we were there they were also playing this thing they kept chanting called "Pokemon Bingo". Winners won a plushy, it was really really fun to see the kids and the staff being so involved and pumped up in the delivery of this game segment. It was beside huge bookstore Maruzen and a place that specialised in selling the TOMY trains (I think). Generally, it's an amazing place and if you're there visit it at the 8th floor of the Hakata Station!
In the next picture is one of the best conveyor belt sushi's I've had in my life. Between the five of us we ate a whopping total of 7k Yen of sushi, but for the quality we were getting it's basically a steal. We even ate Uni and Mackerel, and I did see Amaebi going around the conveyor. Personally I went for a really yummy Maguro, among other things. But generally, amazing sushi at an amazing price. As we would soon find out food in Fukuoka is amazing and terribly affordable, and therefore putting the controls on eating was more or less an intense affair that required a lot of motivation from one another to walk away from the food and revisit it later.
Without a doubt I can say the highlights of the first day were definitely enhanced by our first trip to Ichiran ramen, considered one of the (or the best) Tonkotsu ramen in Japan. We went early so we didn't have to queue, and it's IN THE TENJIN AREA, making the location of the hotel even more optimal than before. We got lucky during our first visit and since we were a party of five on the weekend they gave us the only seats in the restaurant where you can face each other and eat. Ordering is done by Coupon at the first floor and the firmness of your noodle and strength of soup can then be decided later, among other choices you need to make. The little window you see in the background of this picture is how you let the kitchen know what your preferences are and how they serve you the food! Once they're done they let down a little bamboo screen that shields you from the kitchen- nifty! It was a great way to end off the first day, and on the right over here you can get a peek of the ramen I ordered that night :D
Of course it wouldn't be right to have it without the onsen-tamago (which is called something else here that completely escapes me) and you have to literally spend some time cracking the egg gently out of the shell. The standard Ichiran ramen comes with two slices of the Chashyu and a choice of thick or thin green onions! Yummy.
I didn't opt for the spicy red sauce at all during this round of Ichiran and do learn from my mistake AND NEVER DO THAT. The spicy sauce gives it a kick like nothing else and is incredibly delicious. Of course to me, this ramen is top-notch, and wasn't expensive either. The noodles itself will only set you back 790 Yen. The egg was about 80-120.
Because I'm already exhausting myself from typing, I am going to end this recount here for now :P Tomorrow I'll try to find the energy to continue writing for day 2 and 3.
For now!
Comments
Post a Comment