Fukuoka

For our Labor Day weekend, we decided to go on our first overnight trip since we've been here. We were a little weary of going too far because Typhoon Bolaven made last week's weather here really crummy and rainy. So, we decided to go to Fukuoka, which is about 2 hours northeast of us and the biggest city on our island of Kyushu. We were kind of bummed that we couldn't go someplace further, but we ended up having a great time on our mini-vacation.

 

We were happy that the boys (Leo!!) were pretty much angels the whole trip. It makes a drive much more enjoyable when I'm not turned around most of the time trying to entertain a screaming little guy. We had a bad couple hours a few weekends ago driving home from a beach day at Karatsu, but he's been good ever since so we're hoping he's beginning to enjoy our drives.

 

This is what a good road trip looks like.

 

 

 

We decided to take the long way up to avoid the outrageous tolls in at least one direction. We were happy about doing this because it took us through some towns that we haven't been to yet. Saga was our first stop a few hours in to the drive. We saw our first castle ruins there.

 

 

 

Wilson storms the castle wall! That was about as far up as he got.

 

 

Our next stop was at a shrine in Dazaifu which is about 20 minutes south of Fukuoka.  It was really a neat area with bright orange Japanese bridges, koi ponds, entertainers, a wonderful shopping area with tori arches down the whole street and a very peaceful Buddhist Temple a 5 minute walk from the shrine. We spent a few hours walking around and really enjoyed the area.

 

 

 

 

 

This was a kind of water trough where you helped yourself to ladles of cool water. It was a nice respite from the heat. After watching some people to learn how to do it, the boys got some water before entering the shrine.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the koi pond that the boys could have spent an hour at. There was a service going on in the main building behind the boys and behind them to the left is the paper wish lines. We paid our 100 yen and made a wish!

 

 

After the shrine, we headed to the shopping district.

 

 

Here was a store that sold only chopsticks. Nathan found a 2 pair set for $180!

 

 

Here is the Buddhist Temple that was off the beaten track.

 

 

After Dazaifu, we headed into Fukuoka and found our hotel for the night. We were in the Hakata area of the city, which is the original and oldest part. We had fun walking around a bit and then got some takeout Japanese and took it back to the room. The room was quite small, but Nathan and I had fun wearing the kimono type robes and slippers they had laid out for us.

 

The next day we did a little driving tour around the city. We were really impressed with how nice the city was. There is really great shopping there and I know you've heard it before about big cities in Japan - It was so clean! Tenjin looked like a neat area for shopping and the Fukuoka Tower was a cool skyscraper.

 

After our driving tour, we headed toward the Fukuoka Dome neighborhood to catch a Softbank Hawks professional baseball game.

 

Here is a picture of the boys playing with the Fukuoka Dome in the background.

 

 

The game was fun. It was different from games we've been to because there is constant cheering. I imagine the Japanese must get bored when they go to American baseball games because at their games they have a pep band and are always yelling some cheer. The boys both got naps in at the game - I think the constant chanting actually lulled them to sleep. We had fun even though it was a Hawks loss.

 

 

Here was a cute fan out front.

 

 

After the game we went back to the hotel and went for a walk. We stumbled on an amazing indoor/outdoor mall called Canal City. I didn't have the camera, but it was pretty amazing. There was a concert going on while we were there, too. Here is the web page. If you scroll down, you can see some pictures - it was pretty wild! http://www.canalcity.co.jp/eg/concept/index.html#c_01

 

The next morning we hit IKEA for some finishing touches for the house. I love that place! We took the expressway home and paid about $50 in tolls, but made it home in half the time it took us to drive there on back roads. Overall, it was a great weekend and we're excited for the next time we get to go to Fukuoka!