Impressions of Fukuoka
September 2008
Daytime Leasure Pleasure
The modern Momochi area facing the shore, with the Fukuoka Tower as its main landmark.
The (scary) view up Fukuoka Tower from underneeth. The tower is the second largest in Japan, only topped by Tokyo Tower, as they proudly pointed out.
Looking down on the modern apartment and office buildings of the Momochi area, most of which with a heliport on the roof.
View on the man-made sandy beach, with a wedding chapel attached.
We were surprised to find the vast beach nearly empty, although the gentle breeze made it really pleasant to be there, far nicer than in the stifling heat of the city centre.
Ohori Park with its large lake in the middle of the city.
Last but not least Canal City, which was right next to our hotel (in fact we had views on the central roundabout from our room). As the name suggests, the shopping and entertainment complex has a canal running right through it with occasional water plays, making it quite a refreshing and pleasant place to hang out.
Fukuoka Nightlife
Fukuoka gets really lively by night along the Naka River, with food stalls ("yatai") lined up on one side, and nice bars and restaurants directly looking out on the water on the other side.
We totally enjoyed the lively atmosphere at the yatai, which most famously serve ramen noodles in a pork broth (tonkotsu). It was really yummy, and also very entertaining to watch the people strolling along, and the cooks handling the ramen noodles and other condiments behind the counters.
And the Culinary Highlight
Inside the Kawataro restaurant, we were seated at the counter, facing the kitchen, with a large pool in between. As we sat down, I suddenly felt a splash of water - by one of the living squids jumping up.
Out of the water...
...literally straight onto the lunch table: this is as fresh as it gets! The tentacles (which were prepared as tempura later) were still moving as we ate the slices of sashimi. Note the almost transparent colour - it gives you an idea of how tender it was.
