W
e decided to visited this town after a documentary on TV. We stayed in an Hotel in a area that did not look very nice during the day but in the evening with all the lights from the restaurants it was a very nice area. Our brunch was a ramen (noodle soup with meat or fish , noodles and vegetables and each region has their own way of making the “ramen”) in a local place. That was really nice, however we will never get used to the habbit of slurping the noodles. It do not sound nice when everybody around you is slurping with noise. On the other hand it is the perfect way to eat it! We have to admit.
From there we went to a nice beautiful park and wanted to visit the Castle. There was not much left of the Castle so that was a disappoinment.
In the evening we went to discover the famous food stands next to the river. These stand have place for about 10-12 people and they all have their speciality. We were really looking forward to eat there but the waiting lines for every stand were really long. So, we decided to go into those typical narrow side-streets and jump into a nice small place with only japanese locals and no english menu. This place was specilized in meat and we really were looking forward to meat after all this fish. So, we had a great local delicious diner wit a lot of sake 😉
The sake is served in a wooden box so that any sake could be spoiled when they served it until the edge is not lost! You throw back back into your glass if there is more space.
The next day we started with a typical japanese breakfast and then we did a walking tour with a local guide. The tour was short (only 3 hours) but very nice and useful. We have visited places and heard stories we should never done on our own. Visited 3 beautiful temples, a very big great buddha, really hidden in a place that is not indicated by signs or so. A small factory where silk is handmade and a tea shop where we have learned how to make the macha (japanese grean tea). A wonderful morning.
Then shopping time. Inside streets with hundreds of shops surrounded by enormous department stores. Those stores also includes several restaurants. Incredible! It was very crowded because it was a free holiday in Japan. They celebrate the start of sprimgtime with an official holiday. We should do that too!
We ended up in a coffee place where they do the coffeebean-burning themselves in the shop. That is really nice and a great concept.
In the evening we had diner in a place recommended to us by a blogger. This place is specialized in eel since 1892. We had to take our shoes off at entrance and we were served by classic japanese dressed women. What a wonderful ambiance and the eel, prepared in several ways, was delicious. Never knew you could do so much with eel.
The next day we leave to Beppu. Fukuoka was a nice city and really worth to visit but you have to know where to find the interseting things to visit, those are hidden. The ambiance of the town is really nice. It is just great to walk around and taste the athmosphere.