TacoCat’s Travels #109 (Japan 4.0: Fukuoka): Foodie Fun!

Hey Hive!

So if you didn't catch the last couple of posts, we're currently on a journey in Fukuoka that we went on back in May 2017! Neither of us had ever been to that part of Japan before and since there were some cheap flights we decided to go explore a new region together! Here we go!

Last week, we finished up our day-long journey in Huis Ten Bosch, which is a theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan which recreates the Netherlands by displaying life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings! The name Huis Ten Bosch translates into English as "House at the Woods/bush", and is actually the same name as a palace in the Netherlands too! And after 6 posts, we finally got done exploring it! And we ended the day with a nice stroll while enjoying all the lights.

28 May 2017. Sunday.

We were so exhausted after our day at Huis Ten Bosch so we slept in pretty late the next day and by the time we left it was actually close to dinner time already! Woops.

So we went back to Canal City Hakata to explore it more since the last time we came here was when everything was closed, unfortunately. And they had something called a Ramen Stadium here which sounded interesting so I was curious to check it out.

Turns out the so-called Ramen Stadium is just an entire floor in the mall full of ramen restaurants; with each restaurant specialising in a different type of ramen hailing from different regions!

We were pretty hungry after not eating the whole day, so we just chose one that wasn't too crowded so we didn't have to wait.

This restaurant seemed to have a mix of different types of ramen from different areas so it seemed like a good pick if you want to try the best from each region. Supposedly.

I think I chose a Hakata ramen since we were in Hakata, and I wanted eggs so I decided on the Ramen Jinambo!

I think Sean ordered the Ganso Najimatei if I'm not mistaken, since we have never tried Fukuoka ramen before.

It was pretty empty though, and I was glad so we didn't have to wait too long. And pretty soon, our orders arrived! I think this was my Ramen Jinambo:

And this was Sean's Ganso Najimatei:

The ramen itself was pretty alright, but maybe a tad below average compared to the other ramen we've had in Japan. I'm not sure if it's the Hakata style or just this particular restaurant, but it was pretty meh. I did finish it though since I was starving by that time. But it still made me pretty full so that's good.

In the atrium there was another fountain light show and it was beautiful! The rainbow lights were definitely giving off a rave vibe. I think there was some music playing then too!

And it ended with a big fountain finish in one of my favourite colours! Beautiful!

We looked around the mall for a bit but there wasn't much else to see besides a couple of shops but they were meh too. So we left and just enjoyed a nice scenic stroll outside the mall along the canal.

Eventually we were in the mood for some dessert so we headed to our favourite cafe - Hoshino Coffee!

And we ordered their standard signature souffle pancakes! Crispy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside; absolutely delicious!

It's one of our favourite desserts ever and it's perfect for me since I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

After that, we just walked around the area, and explored the nearby shotengai next to our Airbnb before retiring for the night.

29 May 2017. Monday.

The next day, we didn't really have much plans but I did find out about this place called Marinoa City and it was near the beach so I thought it'd be nice to go check it out.

So we went there and the first thing we had was lunch at this fancy-looking restaurant because nothing else was open I think. And I guess this was also the first time we've had Western food in Japan, at least for this trip.

The restaurant itself looked pretty fancy, compared to all the Japanese fast food places we always go to.

There was even a deck where you could enjoy an ocean view!

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the menu so I have no idea what restaurant this is and their signatures, so I apologise for that. But I believe we got a set which includes a main, a salad and a drink. Neither of us really like salads, but for the sake of health and not wasting food I ate it.

We also got some bread as appetisers and Sean ordered a carbonara for himself too.

For the set main we ordered a pepperoni mushroom pizza to share and it was actually pretty good! The carbonara was alright, but a little plain. It was a lot of carbs though so it was super filling and I was so full after that! But the pizza was definitely the best.

The mall was pretty standard but there was an arcade so you just know what we did! It's-a-Mario Kart time!

After a couple of games, we left the arcade and found this wall outside that looked so cool!

And across the mall, we found this very cool-looking building that I think is also a church. It was so white and majestic It looked like it was made of white chocolate!

We ended up in this carpark of the shopping complex and the sky was blue and cloudless!

Perfect weather to enjoy an ocean-view sunset!

This church really stood out here in the middle of nowhere, and didn't look like it was in Japan at all! The architecture was so unique and cool!

After that we headed back to the shotengai near our place and came across a P's First, which is a pet store chain in Japan! And they always have all their adorable puppers and kitties on display!

P's First is one of the cleanest pet shops I've ever been in and it's always a treat to see all the cute pets playing and sleeping! Look at the miniature shiba with his cute scarf!

For dinner, we headed to one of our favourite meat places, Gyu-Kaku, for some yakiniku! This time was different because we got to sit Japanese style on cushions on the floor! It was truly like having a bbq in an authentic Japanese ryokan!

They had the special 3-in-1 meat set again and we bought 2 of those since it's our favourite and it's apparently a seasonal menu item that's only available for a limited time.

Time to get cooking!

What a delicious meal! The meat was marinaded to perfection, and we grilled it up real nice so it had a slightly burnt taste but still savoury and juicy. Absolutely yummy!

After that we wound down and went grocery shopping! If you didn't know, one of our favourite pastimes is legitimately grocery shopping! Sean and I love going to the supermarket and strolling down the aisles looking at different snacks and stuff, or seeing what we can try to cook.

And of my favourite things to do in supermarkets is taking shots like these! I love the reflections on the fridge doors and the emptiness of the aisles. Of course the shot is only nice if there are no people around, so I can't exactly do this in Singapore since it's always so crowded but at least we could do it here.

And with that, I guess that's it for now! Sorry there wasn't as much content but we did need a break from Huis Ten Bosch so yeah.

Thanks so much for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

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Check out my previous post in this series!

TacoCat’s Travels #108 (Japan 4.0: Fukuoka): Light of My Life 💡

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