Fukuoka
2026-07-10
Today we ate breakfast from FamilyMart at 10:00. Then we walked to Nakasu-Kawabata Station and took the train to Nanzo-in Temple. It was very hot and humid today (95 Fahrenheit) and it felt like I was gonna die walking up the stairs to see the reclining Buddha statue. After taking pictures of the Buddha statue, we had ice cream (same location). Then we walked around the temple some more before heading back to Hakata Station. There, we ate Ichiran ramen, which was hard to find but there was no line (it was 14:00). We then walked to Hakata Port Tower. They had a museum which we checked out before heading up the tower. We took photos from the top of the ower and then walked back to the hotel. After a quick break, we walked to Canal City. On the way there, we saw people doing practice runs for the Hakata Gion Yamakasa. We also saw decorative floats (Kazariyama). In Canal City, we went to Taito but they didn’t have maimai, so we looked around for somewhere to eat and ended up going to Saizeriya again. Finally, we went home and went to sleep early because we will go on a tour tomorrow.
Reclining Buddha Statue at Nanzo-in Temple:
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Buddha’s feet:
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Ichiran ramen:
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View of Fukuoka Hakatafuto Port from Hakata Port Tower:
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Kazariyama:
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2026-07-11
Today I got up early to get on a tour bus which leaves at 8:00. We went to Hakata Station and bought breakfast at Lawson before boarding the bus. On the way to our first destination, I ate the onigiri and melon pan I got from Lawson. At 9:30, we arrived at Nyoirinji Frog Temple. They had a lot of frog statues there. Then, we went to Lake Kinrin and arrived at 11:30. We took photos at the lake and then walked around Yufuin Floral Village. They had a lot of shops and food stalls. I had a beef croquet and a crab cream croquet. There was a cool glassware shop called Glass Forest Yufuin. They also had a separate music box shop on the second floor. There was a 5.5 million yen music box on display that plays “My Heart Will Go On”. My mom bought a music box as a gift and had the recipient’s name painted onto it. We walked around some more and I had lemon ice cream, Monchhichi Mitarashi dango, and pudding mochi from Goemon. Then, we got back on the bus and went to Beppu Kamadojigoku. We looked at a bunch of hot springs and my friend went in the foot bath. Afterwards, we went to Umi Jigoku, which was close by, and looked at more hot springs, a garden, and a shrine. Finally, we went back to Hakata Station, where we ate cold soba. We then browsed a bookstore, Maruzen, before taking the train to Tenjin Station to play maimai at Round1.
Wind chimes at Nyoirinji Frog Temple:
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Frog statue at Nyoirinji Frog Temple:
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Lake Kinrin:
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Yufuin Floral Village:
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A very expensive music box:
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Hot spring at Kamado Jigoku:
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Hot spring at Umi Jigoku:
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2026-07-12
Today we woke up early again to go on another tour. First we went to Takachiho Gorge and rented a rowboat for 30 minutes. It was hot and humid as usual. We rowed down the gorge and took pictures of Manai Falls. There were a lot of couples here today. After we had our fun rowboating, we bought sweet potatoes from a vending machine for lunch because we didn’t have enough time to go to a restaurant and there were very few food places to go to. Then we went to Aso Sanjo Terminal, but due to a tourism helicopter crash 7 months prior, access to the crater on Mt. Aso was restricted. Then, we went to Kusasenrigahama. I had Aso soft serve ice cream, milk, and yogurt from a shop nearby. Then we walked in the field and took pictures of Mt. Aso. We also went up Komatate-yama Hill. There were a bunch of people riding horses. This was our final stop before heading back to Hakata Station. We ate Ichiran ramen for dinner and then browsed the mall. We spent the most time at Suruga-ya. Finally, we went home.
Manai Falls from above:
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Manai Falls:
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Kusasenrigahama:
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People riding horses in Kusasenrigahama:
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Hakata Heart Post:
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Mononobe Alice tapestry at Suruga-ya:
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2026-07-13
Today I woke up at 11:30 and went with my friend, brother, and sister to get lunch at Tonkatsu Matsunoya. On the way to the bus stop, we saw runners practicing for Hakata Gion Yamakasa. Then, we took the bus to Uminonakamichi and rented 4 bikes for the day. We arrived at 14:00 and had to return the bikes by 17:00. We biked around the park and got sunburned after 2 hours. The park is very big and there’s a lot of things to see there. After returning the bikes at 17:00, we took the train to eat at Hama-Sushi in Hakata Chiyo. I ate a ton of food because I spent the last 3 hours biking, but it only cost 15 USD. Then, I played maimai with my brother and sister while my friend went to an izakaya. After an hour of maimai, I went home with my siblings.
Runners practicing for Hakata Gion Yamakasa:
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Biking at Uminonakamichi Park 1:
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Biking at Uminonakamichi Park 2:
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Biking at Uminonakamichi Park 3:
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Biking at Uminonakamichi Park 4:
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Our stack of plates at Hama-Sushi:
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Maimai at Round1 Tenjin:
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2026-07-14
Today I woke up at 7:00 and ate breakfast at Ichiran with my brother and my friend. It was the original Ichiran shop in Nakasu and there was no line. Then we went to Hakata Station and boarded a bus to Nagasaki at 9:06. It took about three hours to get there and we got off the bus at Peace Park. First, we went to the hypocenter of the atomic bomb explosion. There was a black monolith constructed to mark the hypocenter of the explosion. The atomic bomb exploded 500 meters above this spot. We then went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. We saw various exhibits about the damage caused by Fat Man. There were stairs from destroyed buildings, coins that were melted together, a replica of the bomb, etc. Then, we went to go eat lunch at Komeda Coffee. I had a burger and shaved ice. After eating, we went to Peace Park and saw the Fountain of Peace, Peace Bell, and Peace Statue. On the way to Glover Garden, we stopped by Morimachi to eat Mr. Donut. I had a Pon de Ring and a Golden Chocolate. Then, we arrived at Glover Garden at 17:15, which was 45 minutes before closing. We paid the entrance fee and walked around looking at the western-style buildings and the view of Nagasaki Harbor. We left at 18:00 and took the bus to Nagasaki Station. I ate KFC for dinner there and then took the express bus back to Hakata Station. The bus departed at 20:00 and arrived at 23:00.
Black monolith at the hypocenter:
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Fat Man replica:
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Fountain of Peace:
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Peace Bell:
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Peace Statue:
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Glover House:
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Statue of Glover:
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View of Nagasaki Harbor from Former Mitsubishi No.2 Dock House:
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2026-07-15
Today we went to eat ramen at Ichimujin Enokida for lunch. Their gimmick was that they had unlimited mentaiko. It was good, but the mentaiko was very salty. Then we went to Yodobashi Camera near Hakata Station. There were three floors of electronics and we browsed cameras, drawing tablets, PCs, pianos, etc. We then went to Ohori Park and rented a swan boat for 30 minutes. There was a Chinese family that cut us in line for the swan boat. We paddled around Ohori Pond and then I ate soft serve and milk afterwards. It was almost dinner time so we went to try Sushiro, a conveyor belt sushi chain. It was pretty similar to Kura and Hama-Sushi in my opinion. We went back home and bought some donuts from Mr. Donut on the way.
Mentaiko ramen:
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Wacom drawing tablet at Yodobashi:
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Great egret at Ohori Park:
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Chinese family that cut us in line at Ohori Pond:
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2026-07-16
Today we checked out of the hotel at 10:00 and we went to check in our luggage at Fukuoka Airport. Then we went back to Nakasu-Kawabata Station to eat Ichiran one last time before my friend flew back to home. We went to Fukuoka airport again and took pictures at the observation deck. We also browsed the shops in the airport. Eventually it came time for me and my friend to go our separate ways. I boarded my flight, JAL 2056, for Osaka Itami Airport (ITM) while my friend boarded his flight to Haneda Airport, where he will transfer to his flight to LAX. I landed around 16:30 at ITM, took the bus to Osaka-Namba Station, and then took the Yotsubashi line to Hanazonochō Station, where our hotel is. After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we went to Shin-Osaka Station to eat at Osaka Manmaru. I had fried skewers and other small dishes.
Ichiran Original Shop:
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Observation deck at Fukuoka Airport:
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Yodo River from JAL 2056:
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Dinner at Osaka Manmaru:
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