Japan Trip 2023: 8D7N in Fukuoka, Kashima, Yufuin & Mojiko
Finally I am back, here to the Land of The Rising Sun – Japan. This time, I were in Kyushu, the airplane landed me right at Fukuoka Airport, located right in the middle of the city. From here, we accessed to various area in Kyushu conveniently, at our own pace.
As I have been to some of the places in Kyushu such as Aso, Kumamoto, Arita and Nagasaki many years back, this round, I picked up some other places to explore, such as Kashima, Yufuin and Mojiko.
Read below for more day trips to do when you are in Kyushu
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Aso
Arita
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Japan Trip 2023: 8D7N in Fukuoka, Kashima, Yufuin & Mojiko
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| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In | KL/SG SG/ Fukuoka | Hakata/ Saga | Hakata/ Yufuin | Yufuin/ Hakata |
| Breakfast/ Brunch | Hotel Breakfast | Hotel Breakfast | Hotel Breakfast | |
| See Shop | Arrival at Fukuoka Airport Checked-in hotel | Hakata > Hizen-Kashima Yūtoku Inari Shrine Yūtoku Monzen Shopping Street | Hakata > Yufuin By Yufuin no Mori 3 | Snoopy Tea House Yufuin Yufuin > Hakata By Yufuin no Mori 2 |
| Lunch | Ikkousha Hakata Station | 7-Eleven Konbini | Ekibento Milch Cheese Cake | Milch Donuts Snack 目利きの銀次 博多駅筑紫口店 |
| Tea See Shop | Maizuru Park FUK COFFEE @ Parks Hakata Station | Hizen Hamashuku Glad Café & Bar HAMA Bar Hizen-Hama > Kohoku > Hakata Il FORNO del MIGNON croissants | Kinsho Croquette B-Speak Roll Yufu Mabushi Shin Goma Ice Cream Lake Kinrin | Yodobashi Hakata Tenjin Underground Mall |
| Dinner/ Supper | Mizutaki Toriden Hakata | Kisuimaru KITTE Hakata Ichigo buffet from Supermarket | Dining Towakura | Ichiran Ramen |
| Stay | Tokyu Stay Hakata | Tokyu Stay Hakata | Yufuin Bettei Itsuki | Tokyu Stay Hakata |
| Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In | Hakata/ Mojiko | Hakata/ Tosu | Hakata/ Dazaifu | Fukuoka/ SG SG/ KL |
| Breakfast/ Brunch | Hotel Breakfast | Hotel Breakfast | Hotel Breakfast | 7 Eleven Konbini |
| See Shop | Hakata > Kokura > Mojiko > Shimonoseki | Hakata > Hizen-Hakata > Tosu Tosu Premium Outlet | Dazaifu Tenmangu Starbucks Dazaifu | Bye Bye Fukuoka 🙁 |
| Lunch | Karato Market Kaiten Karato Ichiba Sushi | Outlet Food Court | 芳々亭 太宰府本店 | |
| Tea See Shop | Shimonoseki > Mojiko Mojiko Retro Blue Wing Moji Bridge Kaikyo Plaza | Tosu Premium Outlet | Hakata Deitos JR Hakata City Queue for Press Butter Sand Deitos for more ichigo | |
| Dinner/ Supper | Nikuichi | Family Mart Konbini (because of crazy strong wind) 🙁 | Goh 日本酒専門テイスティングバー 百薬 | |
| Stay | Tokyu Stay Hakata | Tokyu Stay Hakata | Tokyu Stay Hakata |
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Getting to Hakata from Fukuoka Airport is pretty easy; you may opt for these few options below:
Bus:
About 15 minutes ride by Bus, taking you to Hakata Bus Terminal. Priced at ¥ 270 per way.
Subway:
Subway Station is located at the basement level of the Domestic Terminal. Take the free shuttle bus from International Terminal to Domestic Terminal (about 10 mins ride), then follow the subway sign to Fukuokakuko (Airport) Station. Hakata Station is just 2 stops away from airport; ticket per way is ¥ 260.
Taxi:
About 10 to 15 mins ride from Airport, cost is about ¥ 1,500 to ¥ 2,000
As for my experience, I took the subway to Hakata when I arrived at the airport and taxi ride from hotel to airport on the last day.
The taxi ride costed me ¥ 1,930 from Tokyu Stay Hakata to Fukuoka International Airport.
Do take the One-day Subway Pass (¥ 640) for unlimited ride if you are planning to explore the city area, alternately, it will cost ¥ 260 per way to Hakata and Tenjin area.
1. Savour the tonkotsu ramen in Ikkousha
First thing first, RAMEN! Tonkotsu ramen is Hakata’s local specialty food, well known for its soupy frothy pork bone soup base ramen with its thin strand of slurp-y noodles.
We hopped over to Hakata Station’s Ramen Street because my first option is freaking long queue and I had to go on Plan B. There are many choices here at the Ramen Street, and I picked Ikkousha because Shin Shin Ramen and Ganso Nagahama were crazily long queue too.
Hakata Ikkousha’s best seller with extra pork slices – Ajitama Chashu Ramen (¥ 1,150)
Frothy, soupy, cream. Best starter for our trip! Their ajitama was seriously heart alluring, in orangey red egg yolk. Not to miss out their gyoza which is another must order too!
I wish to taste on all the Hakata ramen brands, but stomach space is limited for us to check out all.
Getting here:
Located inside Hakata Station’s Ramen Street, 2F DEITOS.
2. Picnic in Maizuru Park
Tried catching up the last bite of Ume season and yet, ume trees bid me goodbye. Well, I still get a total of three trees left for me to take up some photos.
How not to do some picnic here?! We had the gorgeous Ichigo Daifuku 大福 and enjoyed the cooling breeze in the park.
Getting here:
About 10 mins’ walk from Ohorikoen (Ohori Park) Station, near the Fukuoka Castle Ruins
3. Coffee break in FUK COFFEE @ Parks
Made a pit stop for coffee break at the nearby FUK COFFEE; also to get a power shot after a red eye flight.
Hot Latte (¥ 550) with an add on flight (¥ 20) for the gram. No doubt, milk here made coffee tasted extra delicious!
Eggy smooth custard pudding (¥ 500) topped with a huge scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream (¥ 100). A must have here! Doink Doink in texture, super silky smooth egg custard pudding with the burnt caramel syrup, very memorable!
Getting here:
About 3 mins’ walk from Ohorikoen (Ohori Park) Station.
FUK COFFEE @ Parks
1-4-20, Arato Chuo-ku,
Fukuoka 810-0062
Opens from 8am to 10pm
4. Savour down the tummy-comforting Fukuoka’s specialty 博多名物 – Mizutaki 水炊き
Mizutaki is also known as Japanese chicken hot pot dish, the traditional food in Fukuoka prefecture that one must check it out when travelling in Fukuoka. I had mine in Toriden Hakata Honten. The broth was filled with chicken essence, rich and very very tummy comforting. (Full detailed post coming up soon, I promise).
Tip: Reservation is highly recommended. I got my hotel’s reception to make the reservation for me.
Getting here:
About 2 minutes’ walk from Nakasukawabata Station 中洲川端
Toriden Hakata Honten
10−5 博多麹屋番ビル 1F
Shimokawabatamachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka,
Japan, 〒812-0027
5.Train ride out of Fukuoka with JR Kyushu Rail Pass
We got the JR Kyushu Rail Pass that covers 5 days Northern Kyushu Area at ¥ 14,000 and started our journey to Kashima, Yufuin, Mojiko and Tosu, mostly by day trip to all these outskirts areas.
Train ride excites me! I am a big happy kid!
6. Visited to the Yutoku Inari Shrine
Located in Kashima City, southern Saga Prefecture, Yutoku Inari Shrine 祐徳稲荷神社 is one of the three most famous shrines dedicated to Inari. This shrine has more than 300 years of history, gorgeously stand along at the steep hillside of the valley.
There is this Ume tree in front of the building. One of the shrine handler (? I think) told me about the name of this ume but I forgot, and he told us a short history of this shrine. Gorgeous!
Getting here:
Yutoku Inari Shrine is about 10 minutes’ taxi ride from Hizen-Kashima Station. Alternately, you can take bus that runs 1 – 2 trips every hour.
7. Pit stop for Sakura!
Spotted the sakura blooms in front of the Kashima Sight Seeing Information Center, we immediately stopped by for hanami and photos-shooting!
8. Drink drank drunk in Hizen Hamashuku
This is the main activity that made me come all the way here to Kashima City. I was up here for the Hizen Hamashuku, the sake brewery streets that housed many famous sake brands, for example Sachihime, Mitsutake and the award winning Nabeshima. As you walk along Hizen Hamashuku, you could get the aroma of the Sake brewing process. It smells so good with the scent of the rice fermentation running around the street.
We had fun tasting sake in some of the breweries, shopping for sake and umeshu bottles; and had the superb amazing draft Nama-Zake in Hizenya!
9. More drinking in HAMA Bar
Cute little bar that built next to the small station itself, HAMA Bar is where you can taste on all the local Kashima Sake.
I finally get a chance to taste the Nabeshima Junmai Daiginjyo and my brain literally bombed up with that first sip. It was very fruity and elegant. Detail post soon! (I promise). And I will be back!
Yes, a drunk face. LOL
10. Take a ride on the vintage sightseeing train – Yufuin no Mori
BUCKET LIST TICKED! Yay! Finally stepped onto this Yufuin no Mori that brings the passenger to the beautiful town, Yufuin – a famous onsen town that is located in Yufu, Oita Prefecture.
Yufuin no Mori runs 2 to 3 times a day, bringing passengers into Yufuin. And there is also slight differences between Yufuin no Mori 1, 5 and Yufuin no Mori 3. I shall cover this on a full detail post so that you will know which one to chop or which car seats to get. This train is covered by the JR Kyushu North Kyushu Pass and JR Kyushu All Pass. Reservation is a must to board on this train.
The train is so vintage-y sweet that you will wanna take a photo with it too!
Also, this train sells really cute bento, the town’s famous desserts and all sorts of Yufuin no Mori related merchandises! Really cute!
11. Explore the small town of Yufuin
This place is filled up with tourists from all over the world as compared to the rural area I went the other day. Take a stroll to explore this cute little town from train station, to the main shopping street and Yufuin Floral Village; finally you will come to the Lake Kirin that is famous by its morning mist.
Not forgetting to check out loads of good stuff along the streets. I had the B Speak’s “P roll” roll cake, Kinsho Croquettes, Unagi Mabushi and Bungo Beef in Yufu Mabushi Shin Ekimae and really delicious goma ice cream (white and black sesame). Just prepare yourself a good load of stomach space to fit in all the good stuffs here.
12. Stay in the most shiawase onsen ryokan
We splurged for a good night stay here in Yufuin Bettei Itsuki, came with half board experience. We were spoilt with the private onsen (indoor and outdoor), extremely heart-wowing kaiseki dinner with all you can drink option, super amazing breakfast and most importantly the ultimate comfortable futon bed.
A shiawase ryokan stay that cost about ¥ 32,000 per person. I cannot wait to be back for their omotenashi and we were very well taken care by the staffs.
The futon bed was exceptionally comfortable; I didn’t manage to wake up for the morning view of the mysterious misty Lake Kinrin. Next round then, I must go check out the morning mist of Lake Kinrin
13. Slurp up a bowl of Ichiran Ramen
How not to get a bowl of Ichiran Ramen when you are in their place of origin?! I had mine in Tenjin Underground Mall, totally no queue for this!
14. Check out the Sushi Battle in Karato Market 唐戸市場
Another new day! We hopped on the limited express train that brings us to Kokura Station and then changed a local train to Mojiko. Then, we took a ferry ride (¥ 400) from the ferry terminal, Kanmon Kisen to Shimonoseki, which is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the main island. This place is very well known for pufferfish and you will see numerous statue of pufferfish along the port for you to do photo-taking. There are even big pufferfish statue inside the Karato Market.
From Friday to Sundays, Karato Market will host the Sushi Battle event, where you may get sushi, sashimi, chirashi don at the best price! You can pack them off and have a picnic with your “hauls” by the pier. Everyone is doing so!
Getting here:
Take limited express train from Hakata to Kokura (about 50 minutes), and transfer on a local train to Mojiko.
Take the ferry ride from ferry terminal – Kanmon Kisen Ferry Terminal, just opposite Mojiko Station to Shimonoseki Ferry Terminal (¥ 400). The ferry journey takes about 5 minutes.
15. Enjoy the beautiful historical buildings at Mojiko Retro
Mojiko or Moji Port is located at the northeast part of Kitakyushu area, Fukuoka Prefecture. Moji Port was once an important international trading port since late 19th century, but now remains as a tourist attraction with many very well-preserved western style buildings from the Meiji and Taisho Periods.
Mojiko Station, the oldest station on the Kagoshima Line.
Former Moji Customs Building, an eye catching red brick building is now an art gallery which is free to enter.
Blue Wing Moji Bridge (behind), the pedestrian draw bridge with Kanmon Strait view. It will level up and down six times a day, for boat to pass.
That’s the tallest building here is the high-rise condominium “Retro Hi-Mart”. There is an observatory deck at the 31st floor of the 127m height, offering a magnificent view of Mojiko Retro district, Kanmon-kyo Bridge over the Kanmon View and Shimonoseki area.
16. Beef night in Nikuichi
Nikuichi is a yakiniku BBQ restaurant that offers quality Kuroge Wagyu beef from Kyushu at really very affordable price. We had the 7-Assortment Cuts Set that is good to feed for 2 to 3 pax, priced at ¥ 3,980 and added on many orders later for the cuts we want. Detail post will up soon.
I came over two to three times but couldn’t get a table, so I made a reservation and took the last table on one of the nights, at 9pm! This place is so popular that they take only reservations, always full for walk-ins.
Tip: reservation is highly recommended.
Nikuichi
1 Chome−2−18 Ｍビル 1F, Hakataekiminami,
Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, Japan, 〒812-0016
17. Shop till you drop in Tosu Premium Outlet
Took the half day tour to Tosu Premium Outlet because shopping in outlet is one of the must-do in Japan. No photos my hauls because I totally forgot to take photos. I’d spent quite a bit in this outlet. LOL.
Getting here:
Take limited express train from Hakata Station to Tosu Station (covered by JR Pass). From there, take a taxi straight to Tosu Premium Outlet. The cost of the taxi ride is about ¥ 1,900
18. Check out the unique Starbucks in Dazaifu
Located on the way to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, this Starbucks is designed by the world’s renowned architect, Kengo Kuma. This is an astonishing architecture that is built with over 2000 wooden cedar batons, interwoven into lattice structures using traditional kigumi woodwork technique, a Japanese method that is used to create the framework for housing.
Starbucks Coffee Dazaifutenmangu Omotesando
3 Chome-2-43 Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0117, Japan
Opens daily from 8am to 8pm
19. Pray in Dazaifu Tenmangu
Dazaifu Tenmangu is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan. It is very impressive, vibrant and happening, with has so much to offer and so many to explore over here. There are 6,000 plum trees at ground, if you come at the right season, you may be able to check out the plum blossom, which normally happens around late February to mid-March.
Dazaifu Tenmangu’s main hall is currently undergoing a major renovation. However the temporary offering hall is available at the moment.
I was there around mid-March; I still managed to catch a few plum blossoms.
After offering a prayer at the shrine, do take some time to check out the colourful amulet at the amulet counters. The amulets come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, bringing good fortune. Different designs bring different meaning and purposes.
Also, you may check out your fortune by drawing an omikuji at the omikuji station.
20. The finale meal in Goh
It seems like we have practiced this since our last trip to Japan. Jessie and I dated for one great last meal before leaving Fukuoka this time, and we picked Goh. Chef Goh’s new place is located inside this new building – 010 Building. Here at Goh, there are only one 14-seats session, per day. The charming chef makes everyone gather around at a large table and enjoy the meal together. Gonna talk about this in detail 🙂
Goh
010 BUILDING
1-4-17 Sumiyoshi, Hakata-ward, Fukuoka-city,
〒 812-0018, Japan
21. One last excitement – drink-all-you-can in Sake Bar
Many thanks to Jessie for searching round the map and asked for recommendations. We managed to get ourselves one last round of drinking session in a local sake bar after our dinner! This sake bar has so much to offer.
If you find yourself couldn’t handle much of the drinking, there are also other options to check out the sake you are interested in. There is sake flight, or sake by glass (at a price).
Of course, I picked up the drink-all-you-can and found another new love — Kaze no Mori. I managed to try all the Kaze no Mori series available in the store. I also managed to try out the Juyondai and one of the Aramasa, of course they come at a price.
日本酒専門テイスティングバー 百薬
3 Chome-16-41 Haruyoshi, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0003, Japan
Opens from 5pm to 1am
