For the Chuseok holiday weekend, my friend Christine and I decided to skip on over to Fukuoka for a few days of ramen and relaxation. Fukuoka is a short 30 minute plane ride from Busan, so if you find cheap airfare it’s totally worth it. Otherwise, you could pop on over via ferry, but that takes a little longer. Either way, it’s well worth a visit.

Fukuoka is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan and is also the biggest city on the island, so that means lots of beach and city to explore. Compared to Tokyo and Osaka, Fukuoka feels a lot more laid back and a little more genuinely Japanese. If you’re looking for party central or “weird” Japan, this isn’t really it. Saying that, however, I found Fukuoka a lot more enjoyable than Osaka. I consider myself a pretty easy-going girl, and Fukuoka is a pretty easy-going city. To each his/her own.

We stayed at Guesthouse Nakaima (click here!), a really nice little place right in the middle of everything. The guesthouse was clean, well maintained, and relatively quiet. We ended up in the mixed dorm, so I’m sure things were quieter elsewhere.
At Guesthouse Nakaima, we were a short walk from a folk museum, shopping, and Kushida shrine. Realistically, we were a comfortable walk from everything in Fukuoka, so we only took public transportation when we had luggage. Take your sneakers! They’ll come in handy.

At the top of my recommendations is a bike tour. We went with Fukuoka Bike Tour (click here!) and were happy with our choice. We took the tour on our second day in Fukuoka and got a good glimpse of areas we’d like to explore more, got to knock out historical spots, fish markets, the beach, and got to eat some pretty nice ramen near the docks at Hakata port. Our guide was knowledgeable about everything we passed and loved telling us more about the things we saw. I would definitely recommend taking a bike tour, especially if you’ve only got a few days to explore Fukuoka. Four or five hours might be a little lengthy for some, but we cycled it no problem. The ramen at the end of the tour was greatly appreciated, though. If you do the bike tour, eat a good breakfast beforehand.

While we were out and about in the city in the evening, we were able to peruse Fukuoka Freedom Night Market (click here!) and enjoy a few local bands. The market is situated on the small island between Hakata and Tenjin and is lined with lots of food stands and vendors selling handmade goods. I’m assuming the food in the stalls is good, because the stalls were constantly packed with local businessmen after work. Unfortunately, we were too distracted by ramen recommendations to sample any. The market takes place on Saturdays in September.

Another thing we were lucky enough to see was Music City Tenjin (click here!). Music City Tenjin is a free music festival that takes place over two days and hosts live music at 10 stages sprinkled throughout the city. We plopped down at the main stage one day to watch what we discovered was a Japanese r&b/Backstreet Boys/90’s hip hop group perform whilst sipping beer. Leather jackets in 80 degree weather didn’t stop their gyrations. We were not disappointed. I wish I had pictures, but your imagination will have to do. Cameras were prohibited, and I’m not much of a rebel.

Shopping was a highlight during our stay in Fukuoka. My personal favorite place to shop would have to be Daimyo. Daimyo is a neighborhood made famous for its vintage, recycled, hip aesthetic. There are vintage shops, branded stores, adorable coffee houses, laid back pubs, and lots of places in between lining the streets there. If you’re a fan of people watching or scoping out street fashion, Daimyo is the place to go.

If you’re a fan of contemporary(ish) art, head over to the Asian Art Museum after grabbing a bowl of ramen at Ichiran (conveniently located nearby!). Their interactive art exhibit, “Art in Wonderland” was absolutely amazing, and I would love to do it again. It featured interactive art in lots of different forms; digital, sculpture, video – you name it, it was there. My favorite piece was a digital storybook (pictured) where the viewer wandered around the room and an animated story was projected onto a page they were given at the door. Everything in the exhibit was imaginative and original. I loved it, and I usually detest most “modern” art.

On our last full day, we decided to visit Dazaifu to take photos and visit a more traditional side of Kyushu. Dazaifu is home to Temmangu Shrine and is a great place to buy traditional souvenirs and sip tea in cozy tea houses. It’s a pleasant 45 minute train ride from Hakata station.

My final word of advice is to visit an Onsen late at night. We went to Yunohana onsen around 2am, right up the street from Daimyo area. It was a nice walk from our guesthouse, but it was totally worth it. A beer beforehand doesn’t hurt, either.

Onsens have stolen my heart.
No offense, jimjilbangs.

Fukuoka, I’ll be back.