a city I never planned
Fukuoka by accident
Fukuoka was never really on my list for Japan. It was simply where my ferry from Busan arrived. So I had done very little research on the city itself, and I was open to be surprised. And surprised I was... but not just in a good way.
Somewhere on that boat ride, I got amazingly sick. I didn't realize a "quick boat" meant going over the waves like a maniac, and I get car and boat sick. I was so disoriented that I lost my wallet. Quite stressful. In the two days that followed, I saw the inside of six or seven police stations (not quite the sightseeing I had in mind).
Losing my wallet also meant my first introduction to Fukuoka was on foot, because there was no way to pay for the subway. First stop: Hakata Station. From the harbor, in one go, with a trolley. Little did I know that this walk would be the best introduction to the city. Fukuoka is a mixture of old and new, right next to each other. Along the way, I came across a temple walk I had never heard of. So of course, I followed it for a bit.
Food
Hakata ramen, and the five rules
Fukuoka is the home of Ichiran, and Hakata ramen is its own thing: a rich tonkotsu (pork bone) soup with very thin, straight noodles. Locals eat them firm. You can even pick your hardness: yawa (soft), futsu (regular), kata (hard) or barikata (extra hard).
My tourist map came with five ramen rules. My verdict? A little bit salty, but I very much enjoyed it.
The five ramen rules
- Sit at the counter for the full experience (at Ichiran, it's single booths).
- Taste the soup before adding anything.
- Eat first, post later. A tough one for a photographer.
- Order your kaedama, a noodle refill, before your bowl is empty. Leave enough soup for it.
- Drink all the soup if you love it.
Good to know
- Lost something? Subway station counters have a free phone interpretation service. They called the police station for me, even though I wasn't even buying a ticket. Very kind.
- Wiring yourself money? With Western Union, the name has to match your passport exactly. They almost didn't give me my own money.
- The subway has three lines: Airport (orange), Hakozaki (blue) and Nanakuma (green). From the airport, switch to the Hakozaki line at Nakasu-Kawabata, or to the Nanakuma line at Hakata.
- Subway manners: speak softly, let people out first, hold your luggage, and don't walk around staring at your phone (almost everyone ignores that one).
- Hakata Station is huge: Shinkansen, JR lines and the subway, with KITTE Hakata and a department store right next to it.
- Hakata Old Town is close to the station: once the largest trading port of medieval Japan, full of temples and shrines, with a 130-year-old shopping street of traditional crafts.