TacoCat’s Travels #97 (Japan 4.0: Fukuoka): Itchin' for Ichiran, Snacks and Arcades! 🍜

Hey Hive/Steemit!

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, after a usual late start, we decided to go visit Fukuoka Castle! Or we intended to, until we found out that the castle actually doesn't even exist anymore! Turns out it was destroyed during the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s and only a few towers, gates and inner walls are left standing.

Oh well. At least we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset. Anyway, here's the rest of that day!

22 May 2017. Monday.

It was quickly getting dark since the sun was setting so we made our way back towards civilization after grabbing a couple more photos.

Soon enough, we found ourselves back in the city and in front of Ichiran Ramen! We were kinda hungry by that point and decided to go for it since there wasn't too long a queue.

What's interesting about this Ichiran was that there was a live performance in the building at the time!

There were people on the second floor of the building dancing and playing instruments on the balcony! It was so cool! Of course, I imagine it's more for the passers-by on the other side of the road to see (like us) since it's pretty hard to see them otherwise, but the music sure carried over some distance.

video

Anyway, we queued up and entered the restaurant and as always, ordered from the vending machine in the line.

I still can't get over how useful this ordering vending machine concept is! Especially now with covid and safe distancing and all that. But I guess other countries have them in different forms. Singapore for example, has kiosks at McDonalds' where you can order and make card payments. After that you'll get a number and just wait for your food to be ready and collect your food from the counter. So simple!

We pretty much got the standard ramen since it was pretty good last time. And also the cheapest. But I chose to have mild spice this time since it was a little too spicy at level 2.

After a little more than 5 minutes, our ramen arrived! I think I should just choose medium spice next time cos this time it wasn't enough!

I posted about Ichiran before in the last Osaka series when we ate it for the first time, and I mentioned the individual booths were pretty iconic and unique to Ichiran but a little cramped even for me. And this was still true of course, but it was still a unique experience to eat beside each other but separate. 

After that, we just took a nice nighttime stroll. There was a huge mall nearby so we decided to head there to take a look.

We passed by quite a few izakayas along the canal, and it reminded me of Clarke Quay in Singapore where there used to outdoor bars where people would sit and drink. But I think the crowds got too rowdy at night and since the no sale of alcohol after 10pm rule got established, these places kinda disappeared. There are still a couple of cafe-like places there and the usual restaurant/bars but it's not really the same.

Izakayas are pretty unique to Japan, especially Osaka since Dotonbori has a huge canal running right through it. They always seem to be located along canals for some reason. I guess the ambience and scenery helps.

To this day though, I don't think I've ever tried eating at an izakaya like this. Most of the time they seem to be crowded with people drinking and smoking so we tend to avoid them.

And I also think they might not be regulated health and safety-wise, and after I fell sick in Taiwan I've gotten more cautious about eating street food. Not that I've ever had that problem in Japan but still. You can never be too careful.

There was a huge mall called Canal City Hakata that was on many Google searches so we decided to check it out!

And we found out why it was called Canal City pretty quickly; not only was it located along the canal but actually had a mini canal right inside running through the atrium!

This was also where they had light and fountain shows!

The place kinda smelled of chlorine but the rainbow lights were so pretty, reflecting in the fountains.

There were even water spouts bouncing all over the place.

Unfortunately, it was a little late when we arrived there so most of the shops were closed. But our favourite cafe was still open so headed there for some dessert/supper!

We had milk tea and a strawberry croissant to share. I think it was a seasonal item because we've never seen it before. I'm not really a fan of strawberry flavoured stuff in general, so this was just alright for me. A tad sweet for my liking though but I think for people who like strawberry stuff will be a fan of this.

We didn't get to explore much of the mall since most of the shops closed so we left after a quick lookaround. We did get to see this beautiful reflection on the way back at least! With a cool spotlight to boot!

We were pretty tired from all that walking so we leisurely made our way back to our airbnb to retire and rest.

23 May 2017. Tuesday.

We must've been really tired the next day because when we left it was nearly dinner time! So we had an early dinner at MOS Burger since I was craving some fast food.

Sean had a yakiniku rice burger, while I had the teriyaki chicken burger. He also ordered a melon soda since it was the only fast food place that offers it. It's a little too sweet and gassy for me but he likes it.

After that I think we headed to JR Hakata City to see more of the mall since we didn't fully explore it the first night. They had this weird purikura machine that was angled way too high that we were barely in frame.

We headed to Tokyu Hands and they had Mario-themed plushies there!

And even some goofy glasses!

Sean looks like he could be in a KPOP music video with these:

We also had some fun in Daiso:

Sorry if this isn't that interesting, and I think most people will think that we're wasting our holiday time when we could be out sightseeing and stuff but we just like to chill and have fun.

For supper, we went to McDonalds and I saw they still had pancakes late at night! But it wasn't just any pancakes, they were mini ones! I've never tried them before and I was really curious so we decided to get a box.

They looked so cute!

They came with a small packet of maple syrup and apricot jam which I thought was a weird combination. I'm not really a fan of jams though since they're a bit too sweet for me.

And of course, we ended the day by playing some games at the arcade! Like Pacman air hockey:

Mario Kart:

This rigged rifle shooting game:

The best one yet - a neko atsume crane machine with huuuge plush toys! And guess what -  we actually won!!!

Credit goes to Sean for this win and I think we only played it a few times! We got so lucky with that and I think to this day it's our biggest crane machine win!

And with that I guess that's all for now! What a great note to end on! Tune in next week where we visit yet another place above the city.

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 #96 (Japan 4.0): The Mysterious Ruins of Fukuoka Castle 🏯

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