Hong Kong / Japan / Singapore... Hongpan! - March and April 2025 - Page 8

This is Kumamon, the mascot for Kumamato, where bears are extinct. He will appear for free at any event if you pay for his transport and accommodation. His likeness is also free to use for any product advertised in Japan, but costs money to use internationally. He is by far the most successful of all the yuru-hara (marketing mascots). Without Kumamon, Kumamoto would no longer exist. Fact.

Here comes a bullet train, yeah, you have seen them by now.

Now for the first of 3 hotel pics. My room is Roma themed, I expected a Colosseum. What I got was walls coloured like someone has vomited wine onto them, and a sink next to the bed / desk.

Nice head rest and wallpaper, just like Caligula had in his room.

The bathroom looks suitably dire. I now do not need to go to Italy.

Fukuoka has many canals, with the giant ramen streeted shopping centre named canal city. I will no doubt go there soon, but until then, here is another canal.

Only one option is realistic. Interestingly, is this a public safety warning of some kind? The red light district is to the left (the no side).

Fukuoka is also the city of many very large department stores. Here is one.

And here is another. Mitsukoshi wins this round.

There are a grand total of 4 people in this protest, for which the police are escorting them through the streets. This is exactly what happens now in Melbourne every weekend.

A war of the worlds alien is roaming the streets.

Here is my dinner. Lately the most famous ramen style is Hakata, although I just googled it, and the actual origin of tonkotsu style ramen most often called Hakata style is the nearby city of Kurume... controversial. It is thick and porky.

Look, it's properly dark! I crossed a few more canals on my way back to my hotel.

I had to wait a while to get a clear shot without girls bent over with their asses sticking out looking over their shoulders giving duck face (seriously, there were 3 groups I waited for!).

I avoided the busy area, but here is a busier area of the not so busy areas.

And finally, yes, Fukuoka does have covered shopping streets, they lead you to the Canal City shopping centre.
Tomorrows hike is shorter, I think, I thought that last time too and it wasn't.

Here is Tofuro-Mae station, if you are staying at Hakata you have to walk to Tenjin or transfer near Tenjin to get on this line, but then it is only about 30 minutes out of Fukuoka.

The first of the many ruins, remains of the Dazaifu government office. This location is also very near Dazaifu, the main tourist attraction near Fukuoka.

A food truck / market was setting up, burning various things.

Starting to rain, very lightly.

The first bit of trail was bitumen.

Some of the many ancient ruins, a rock wall.

Very dark again today, a theme of this entire trip.

Enjoy the view. There were a lot of view spots today, but no view.

Parts of the trail were of the mini ravine style we have come to love.

Next view spot.

Non ruined shrine, a rarity on this hike.

There is a road running through the middle you have to cross, but thankfully not walk along, right where you cross the road was a surprise amphitheatre.

More ruins, right by the road with a car park, and near the amphitheatre, so probably the most famous bit of this area.

Very steep with a few sets of ancient walls.

So popular they needed to put in a toilet.

This is the outlet from the toilet.

Now it is time for some fog shots.

No view today, so let's overdose on fog.

Photos do not properly capture fog, I say it was foggier than it appears in the photos.

More view.

These ruins are a bit suspicious to me, there is metal and concrete edging around the rocks. I think they just encased some cool old rocks they found.

No view, so I will take a photo of the photo explaining the view I could not see.

So many culturally significant signposted things.

The path down was dark and ferny.

Last bit is a nice garden with a few blossoms still hanging around.

And then I was back where I started, completing my loop, the hills now have fog which was not there when I started.

Behold, most of the Hakata station, there are big joined on shopping buildings off of both edges of this photo.

The Hakata station forecourt area had a food truck and art market thing, but it was already packing up at 6pm.

Here is my Coco curry and it was great. Half veg curry with added spinach and mushroom with 2 x crumbed chicken thighs, I got the very spicy number on their ever changing scale, and it was wonderfully spicy.

Where are the people? Note that the cloud had gone briefly.

An always open self serve butcher shop, because at 3am you might need some wagyu and optionally pay for it.

Tonight's canal. There will be more canals.

And finally, here is tonight's surprise shotengai, short and pathetic, but surprisingly with open shops in it.
Tomorrow is not a hiking day, and I have no plan, I think this is the first 'I have no plan' day of this trip other than perhaps the morning after I arrived in Hong Kong.

Here is Kidonanzoin-Mae station, IC card ok. It is a JR line, where every station has an overly complex name.

Right over the road, the temple experience starts, with a red one and flowers.

The area occasionally has no photo signs, but also no filming signs, no tripod signs, best spot for photo signs, please post on instagram signs, it was all a bit confusing, but they were very clear about no shorts. I think this was actually a no photo area.

The whole place is on the side of a cliff with slippery stairs.

There are also very very slippery caves, I urge extreme caution.

You can also go into the side of the cliff and breathe in some incense, probably a no photo area.

Lots of moss and rocks.

These are real turtles. I always have to look at them for a while before I can decide if they are real and alive, real and dead, or stone.

Lots of nice trees.

To get to the reclining Buddha itself (himself?), you must go through a tunnel lined with little mail boxes.

There were a lot of nice hills in the area. Here are guys forced to wear green skirts over their shorts.

I think this was again a no photo area, not sure why.

Behold, reclining Buddha. First with other people for scale.

And once again with no other people getting in the way.

I decided to have an ice cream. It was only $3. I have not had an ice cream like this for at least a decade, and the experience was not great. There was exactly zero flavour in the ice cream, I really think wherever it was made they ran out of the flavour. It was also not very frozen. The cone had a hole in the bottom, so most of it ran out of the bottom. Everyone else was getting it on their clothes as it ran out, I crouched down in a squat with my legs spread wide. There was no paper towel / napkin / serviette on offer to deal with this elaborate prank, and no bin for the bit of non absorbent paper they wrapped the bottom of the cone in, which you now had to take home with you. 0/10 would not recommend.
Wait I just remembered the last ice cream I had, a Japanese brand in Taiwan, Cremia, that was also terrible and I paid a fortune for it and ranted about it for a week afterwards!

Walking down the road was nice scenery, but it is a busy truck filled road.

Damn son, that's a dam!

The road loops around in a figure 8 to get up to it. I was having a great time.

You can shortcut some of the road with these dark enclosed lizard filled staircases.

The castle turret things are not for tourism, they are pumps etc. behind locked doors.

This dam actually has water in it.

It really is a long way down.

Great views from the top. I would like to walk along those hills.

And to get back to Hakata, you need to walk up many steps to the very elevated Chikuzen-Yamate Station, I had to wait 30 minutes for a train that is supposed to come every 10 minutes due to 'customer rescue'.
Today's temple does not get much press, but I think it compares favourably with many much more famous temples across Japan.

The Parthenon is on tour and currently in Fukuoka. I think I typed that the last time I was here.

This is the bit that joins the 2 halves of the Daimaru store, it is old and needs 'renewal'.

Time to head down into Tenjin Chikagi. A lot of people. A lot of cake shops.

Renowned for it's intricate roof.

The Fukuoka bank has a bunch of stained glass windows underground, because that makes sense, but even better they depict Europeans throwing rocks at each other.

I am sorry I did not get to go to the musuem of tasting soy sauce. I wonder if they all have hints of oak and citrus too?

Comic store guys of the world rejoice, there is a giant Mandrake in Fukuoka to satisfy your ultra violent schoolgirl fetishes.

Back in the department store area and everything is connected by sky bridges.

Lot's of sky bridges.

There is also the worlds crappest Shotengai, all closing at 7pm.

Instead you can go into any of a number of multi level brand new claw machine stores. I still do not understand the fascination with losing money trying to get a metal claw to grab a bottle of laundry detergent.

For dinner, dan dan noodles Hakata style. I think Hakata style meant no sichuan pepper? At least it was spicy. Actually it was very nice, and a big serve. I am now full of chilli oil.

And finally, here are a couple of the hundreds of 'Yatai' that spring up after dark. Yatai translates to sneeze tent.
Now I will go to bed early, because although tomorrow is a relatively short hike, close to the city, the forecast is AGAIN for increasing rain from lunch time, so I want to start early.