After Shimonoseki, the next stop was Fukuoka. During Golden Week, Hakata is famous for a huge festival called Dontaku. Not that I had much interest in the festival itself, but schedule-wise there wasn’t really anywhere else to go, so I decided to drop by.
The Canal City Fukuoka Washington Hotel, next to Canal City
I arrived at 8 in the morning, and the traffic wasn’t bad yet. I parked the car and wandered around town until hotel check-in time. Breakfast had to be sorted too, of course. I don’t remember whether this hotel was always this colorful, but it looked really great. If it weren’t for the parking issue, it would have been nice to stay here. Turns out there are plenty of cheap parking lots in town, so I needn’t have worried so much..
Fukuoka cityscape
A river runs right through the middle of the city. It’s not that big, but it always looks great.
Buildings
Just a random shot..
Entrance to Maizuru Park
There’s a big park right in the middle of the city. Honestly, there isn’t much to see in a park, but it was on the way, so I stopped by.
Entrance to the Fukuoka Castle ruins
The castle hasn’t been rebuilt, but the place has its own charm.
Cherry blossom garden
The cherry blossoms were all gone already, but in April it must be an amazing sight.
Rugby practice on the field
Watching young people running around outside on such a bright, sunny day puts me in a good mood. Brings back memories too. Somehow, traveling in Kyushu feels like time travel.
Exit
Heading to the next stop.
Wisteria in the civic park right next door
The wisteria flowers hanging down like chandeliers are beautiful.
Magical..
A park that makes you want to take a walk. Having parks like this everywhere is part of Japan’s charm, I think.
Peony garden
I forgot the exact name, but it’s a garden open to the public for free.
Maizuru Park scenery
Lots of people out for a stroll.
The lake
Somehow it reminded me of Ilsan..
There’s a bridge too.
Fukuoka Tower
I’m not a fan of towers like this, but I came by just to get my bearings.
Kyushu craft beer event
There’s an event on for Golden Week. Lots of families there.
Yahoo Dome
Seeing it in person, it’s seriously imposing. The top seems to be made of copper, and the parts catching the sun glitter gold. SoftBank must really be raking it in.
The shopping mall next to Yahoo Dome
Not cheap, and nothing special. After this I took a bus back to Tenjin. I covered all this on foot, so the morning schedule was pretty hardcore.
The Dontaku parade
Processions like this went on and on. Huge in scale, but it didn’t look like much fun..
Even the Girl Scouts joined in..
The garden at Riverain
There’s a garden like this on top of a six-story building. I wandered around to Riverain for lunch, but the restaurant I was heading for was closed. I can’t just eat any old thing, not even for one meal, so I switched to a famous place right nearby.
Yodobashi in front of Hakata Station
After lunch, on the way back to the hotel, I stopped by Yodobashi. I spent 30 minutes there picking a mouse pad I liked. Thanks to that I ended up with a mouse pad I’m happy with, but my personality really makes life hard for me.