Japan Travel: Discovering Fukuoka in Kyushu
Tips and useful information for exploring Fukuoka city, Minoshima Shotengai, Fukuoka Hakata Train Station and collecting your Japan Rail Northern Kyushu Train Pass.
(originally published in 2017 - not updated)
A relaxing day in the city
I knew that we’d be jet lagged and didn’t know whether my health would be affected by travelling and time change/medication issues (thankfully, not this time), so planned the first few days to be really gentle, flexible and staying close to our Kyushu base.It is always tempting to jump straight into rushing around sights and going on excursions when you want to pack as much into a fairly limited time. I think that the first time I travelled after becoming unwell I somehow equated a break, the change in scenery, the opportunity to leave the house for the first time in 18 months to also mean a break from the illness; from this painful experience, I came to realise that accepting limitations and careful planning is needed to minimise any potential issues, making things much more achievable and enjoyable in the long run. Lesson learned!
Sumiyoshi Shrine & Minoshima Shotengai.
So, on a cold but beautiful morning, we took a walk around the tranquil Sumiyoshi Shrine near our hotel before heading off to Minoshima Shotengai, the 'kitchen of Hakata', to have a look at the food stalls and take in the old-time ambience. It was very quiet and few shops were open but it was interesting to see the community spirit, as locals met to chat in groups and vendors made their sales.
Winter is citrus season in Japan, so we picked up a bag of delicious mikan (mandarins) from a grocery shop and perused all the fascinating fruit, vegetables and fish before heading to Hakata station on foot. It was a longer walk than expected and a bus would have been a better option.
I suppose the term 'fascinating fruit and veg' may seem a tad amusing (or boring), but I'm very easily pleased!! The produce really is quite different to what we have at home and the food, food production & culture is so different that exploring food markets, producer stalls and supermarkets really interests me. It opens a window to real Japan.
Fukuoka JR Hakata Train Station.
Hakata station, as a functional train station, is quite easy to navigate and manageable in size. In its guise as Hakata City, including shopping malls and food courts, it is very large and it would be easy to spend virtually a whole day without leaving. Excellent station information and maps are available at hakatastation.com.
Tips for exchanging your JR Pass at Hakata Station
Primarily visiting to obtain our 3 day Northern Kyushu Passes and to make some seat reservations, it provided all the amenities we needed and was an ideal stop-off to recuperate from the walk and plan our next move.
Top tips:
If you don’t need your rail pass immediately, you can get it forward dated, allowing you to pick it up when it’s quieter or rather than trying to do it when rushing for a train. We did this with all our passes on this visit.
When forward dating, it’s a good idea to attach a note to your exchange order with the dates you’d like validity to run to avoid any misunderstanding. On the first day you actually use the pass, it will be checked (and sometimes stamped) at the ticket gate.
Hakata station has two JR exchange counters, the larger of which seemed to be constantly busy whenever we passed; there was nobody waiting at the other one. If you get stuck in a long queue, be sure to check the other counter, which is nearby.
If you know the trains and times you wish to make seat reservations for, it’s handy to do this at the same time as getting your pass. Here's a separate post about this, but the easiest way is to fill in a JR pass seat reservation form or have details clearly written down. It makes the easier for all involved...and will leave more time to stand in line at the addictive mini croissant stand nearby!
The freshly baked, warm mini croissants from Il Forno del Mignon at Hakata Station come in three varieties, sweet potato, plain and chocolate. There is always a line but it moves very quickly. They are ideal to grab for breakfast on the go...or any other excuse you can think of...and are totally addictive. Sold by weight, just ask for however many you want and they will be weighed to ascertain the price. (My favourite was chocolate but we tried all three flavours in the interests of research!)
Trains, trains and more trains.
As John works in the rail industry, we were intrigued to find out that there is a shrine dedicated to railways (and a mini train) on the roof of the station’s main Amu Plaza mall. Known as Tetsudo Jinja Shrine, it can be accessed easily by lift.
We headed up to the pretty roof garden (Tsubame no Mori Hiroba Plaza) to find the a little engine running around a looped track, much to the delight of local children brought by their parents and grandparents. The viewing terrace afforded great views, including flights making the city centre landing into Fukuoka airport.
Because we were in the vicinity (and I was on a 100 yen shop mission), we headed over to the Yodobashi Camera store situated nearby to find the Can Do shop within (Can Do is one of the major 100 yen shop chains, along with Daiso and Seria). Unfortunately, they didn’t have what I was looking for but my disappointment didn’t last too long, as we stumbled on a branch of Genki Sushi on the same floor.
Conveyor belt sushi - another train!
Although we’ve visited Japan 3 times now, we've never eaten at a kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi restaurant. We checked the machine at the entrance and it indicated there was hardly any wait, so grabbed a couple of tickets that allotted our seat numbers. Easy to use, with an English version touch screen, simply order what you like and it whizzes up to you on a little train. At the end, pay your bill (which is allocated to your seat number) at the exit. You can keep tabs on the mounting cost on your screen.
There was much more available than sushi here, including hot dishes, desserts, hot, cold and alcoholic drinks - these are brought by waiting staff, so don’t worry about only getting only half a cup of coffee after it’s zoomed around balanced on a plastic train! Prices are very reasonable and it’s a good stop for a quick lunch or dinner, especially if you are still tired or phased and not in mode to interface fully with humans yet.
Top tip:
The legal age for drinking alcohol in Japan is 20 and is enforced strictly - they will come and check.
Getting around Fukuoka
Metro vs Bus for accessibility
For the rest of the afternoon, we explored the shrines and shopping areas of Fukuoka, mainly by foot but also occasionally using the easy-to-navigate metro to dart from one area to another when tired. Stairs presented the same access issues at stations, as mentioned in my post about luggage. However, a good bus network offers an alternative to climbing up and down, although I'm not sure how accessible these are otherwise.
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| Preparing to pass through the mouth of the giant Otafuku mask for good fortune. This mask appears at the gates of Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka for 2 weeks at the end of January. |
Visitor card vs Suica/Icoca IC card
We really didn’t use the metro system that much, so decided against purchasing a visitor transport card, although there are a few useful options available if you’re spending more time in and around the city. A useful place to start for information is the YOKANAVI Fukuoka City Guide. We used our existing Suica IC cards instead - these Tokyo region cards are fully compatible with IC accepting services in Kyushu.
Finding the Daiso 100 yen shop at last!
Happy (cheap) shopping.
Finally, we finished our day in the absolutely huge Daiso 100 yen store in Hakata Bus Terminal shopping mall, next to the train station and I was happy! We headed back absolutely exhausted and in need of more sleep ready for the next day and our first planned excursion to Nanzo-in at Sasaguri, followed by a scenic train trip from there to Dazaifu. Spoiler - that journey didn't go quite as planned!
