Things To Do And Food To Eat In Fukuoka, Japan
By Scott Brady
Fukuoka isn't that small of a place. Actual numbers bring the population
to about the 5 million mark, with the city having roughly 1.3 million
people. With that amount of people around, you know there has got to be
something to do. On any day of the week if you look you will be able to
find something that interests you. There are often festivals in one area
or another in Fukuoka city. With a little help from a friend or the domestic
foreigner magazines and information centers you will be able to find out
where the festivals are being held.
The center of Fukuoka city will have to be Tenjin (though others may argue
it to be Hakata). It is the shoppers’ haven of the prefecture. Feel you
need to do a little shopping for some nice named brands from Italy or
France? head on over to Tenjin. Want to blow off some steam and hit a
bar (including foreigner bars)? Tenjin is the place to be. Want to meet
some new friends? Rainbow Plaza in... you guessed it, Tenjin, is the place
to do just that.
Right next door to Tenjin is Nakasu. Nakasu hosts nightlife entertainment
but tends to cater to the more affluent individual. However, Nakasu also
has a huge shopping complex named Canal City which has so many shops that
you wouldn't be able to count them all. The complex holds many restaurants,
two hotels, a large cinema and in the center of Canal City is an area
called Sun Plaza where it is common to find street performers doing their
acts.
Of course Tenjin and Nakasu aren't the only place you can have fun. I
live about 10 minutes away from Tenjin by subway in a town called Nishijin
and I can do nearly as many things here as I can in Tenjin. Bowling, swimming,
soccer, billiards, game centers, and even a movie theater are just a few
of the things Nishijin and the nearby areas have to offer.
Yahoo Dome (formerly Fukuoka Dome) is located in Momochi which boarders
the sea. Yahoo Dome is home to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. The Hawks are
a strong baseball team, beloved by the city and its residents. In fact,
there are only two teams in Japan's professional baseball league who attract
more than one million fans to their home games per year, and the Hawks
are one of them. When the Hawks don't have a home game you can sometimes
find other activities occurring in the Dome. Yahoo Dome hosts various
flea markets and concerts throughout the year.
Food, food, food!
As far as I'm concerned, Fukuoka has the best food to offer in all of
Japan (though I hear food in Sapporo is quite good). Fukuoka has its own
well known dishes and of course the chefs here are well capable of recreating
dishes found throughout the world.
Yatai
When night begins to fall on Fukuoka city you may suddenly notice many
little street vendors (usually operating out of their vans) popping up
all over the sidewalks. These vendors serve a variety of foods ranging
from ramen to yakiniku to tempura. Yatais themselves are really a site
to see.
Hard Rock Cafe Fukuoka
On the occasions when I miss American and Mexican food, I always have
the option to head on over to Hard Rock Cafe right next door to Fukuoka
dome in Momochi. Momochi is adjacent to Nishijin so indeed I am in luck.
Hard Rock Cafe Fukuoka boasts the largest restaurant of its kind in Japan.
The food is fantastic and of course the atmosphere is like all other Hard
Rock Cafes out there. The staff is very friendly and since I frequent
their establishment often I am treated extremely well with occasional
benefits.
Izakaya
Though not only found in Fukuoka, Izakaya restaurants deserve a notable
mention. Izakayas offer a wide variety of food and more importantly drinks
at a low price. University students as well as business men can often
be found in these restaurants chatting with colleagues and drinking up
a storm. All Izakayas offer a different ambiance, and with some searching
you will be able to find one that suits you.
Famous Fukuoka food
Fukuoka ramen
Have you ever had that cup O ramen or that freeze dried packaged ramen?
bah! throw that out and try some "Tonkatsu ramen" (pork ramen) famous
in Fukuoka and well know throughout all of Japan. First time I tried it
I was instantly hooked and to this day try and eat it once every week
or so.
Mentaiko
Another famous food which Fukuoka is renowned for is mentaiko (very tiny
fish eggs). To some people mentaiko may not seem very appetizing but please
don't knock it till you try it. Mentaiko spaghetti, as an example, is
a delicious treat around these parts. And there are of course many other
recipes which have use for mentaiko.
Transportation
Unlike the nickname given to New York, Fukuoka does tend to get a little
tired at night but usually not until quite late especially on weekends.
One of the reasons for this in my humble opinion is the transportation
shutdown at around midnight. That’s right, the subway, train, and bus
system all but stops once you hit the AM. Which leaves the weary and,
more often than not, drunk to either take a taxi home, walk, or I have
even heard the "I will just stay up until the subway starts again at 6:00
before I go home" line used by those who just aren't finished partying
when its time for the transportation system's last call. This isn't just
a Fukuoka special, for the shutdown happens throughout the whole of Japan.
Though the transportation system does shutdown at perhaps inconvenient
times, it is a wonderful system. Perfectly clean trains, buses and subways
(which are amazingly quiet) are the consequence of the shutdown for they
are all cleaned during the wee hours of the morning.
Location
Fukuoka is found on the southernmost island of the four main islands in
Japan. The name of the island is Kyushu. Fukuoka happens to be closer
to Seoul, South Korea than it is to Tokyo. Fukuoka prefecture is located
on the northern tip of Kyushu. S.B.
About the Author: I work for a translation company
in Fukuoka, Japan. I work under http://www.translators.jp/
and manage http://www.samurai-translators.com/
Source: www.isnare.com |
