Fukuoka Day 2
After arriving in Fukuoka on Christmas day, our super hectic 9 AM to 9 PM tour around the city finally commenced on the 26th of December. Fukuoka is a very small and simple place compared to other places in Japan I’ve been to (Tokyo, Nara, Kyoto and Osaka specifically) but it has its own charm, I believe. It used to be a merchant town with a very rich history, being the gateway to Japan a long time ago. I definitely wouldn’t mind visiting this place every so often - such a quaint place perfect for a much-needed peaceful vacation.
Photo-heavy entry ahead:
Early morning at some random street. I love how everywhere you go in Japan, it’s always so clean and orderly.
Couple holding hands before crossing the street.
Hakata-bei at the Rakusui-en Garden. The locals didn’t want the ruins of original Hakata buildings to go to waste after the war so they made these patterns and used the materials to create these famous Hakata walls. Recycling at its finest.
Lovely Japanese garden. Here also lies a reconstructed Meiji period tea house where I was able to try out their maccha tea along with some complementary Japanese sweets.
Authentic green tea that was rather bitter but meshed so perfectly with the sweets served with it.
Took a photo of this vending machine because my brothers ended up getting addicted to Suntory Boss Coffee Rainbow Mountain Blend.
Passed by Canal City for about 5 minutes on the way to Kushida Shrine. Canal City had a grand sale the day before I left Fukuoka so I ended up going here the second time during my stay.
In Kushida shrine, there was this magnificently decorated float dedicated to the gods Ohatanushi-no-mikoto, Amaterasu-omikami and Susanowo-no-mikoto.
Our tour guide Hiro-san showed us an artwork of how men would look like during the Yamakasa festival. She said her previous tourist clients would always giggle after seeing this. I could only imagine.
She also mentioned something about this rock in the shrine that locals use to determine whether or not someone is fit for sumo wrestling. And of course my 100-105-pound brother Juju accepted the challenge.
Heard a story about the wind of god or kamikaze.
After Kushida Shrine, we went to Tochoji Temple, a family temple of the Kuroda family, lord of Fukuoka province.
The sight to see here was this Fukuoka Daibutsu or the Great Buddhist statue, one of the largest wooden figures of the seated Buddha. Used my ninja skills to take this picture.
Behind the statue is a small museum in a dark tunnel of sorts that shows a collection of paintings of hell, etc. However, at the end of the narrow tunnel, where the light eventually goes out, you can find a thick ring if you’re lucky. They say you can go to heaven if you find this ring. I did!
Giant five-story pagoda.
Failed at showing the epicness of it for the sake of taking an artsy fartsy shot with a tree in front of it.
One of the regular temple visitors asked me out of the blue where I was from, and gave me a really interesting gift. He gave me a Delta airplane figurine, which I guess he carries around with him everywhere. And now it’s with me! I hope this means more travel opportunities in 2012. Thanks, Delta-san.
If Ultraman transformed into a car, this would be it.
A few blocks from Tochoji Temple was quiet Zen garden in the middle of the neighborhood.
Suddenly, my collar.
Managed to snap a photo of Family Mart while on the way to Tenjin. Everyone here is crazy about KARA! Gekidan Hitori is pleased.
Picture of a girl in the bus mirror. Quite eerie, yes? My brothers were joking how much creepier it would be if I opened this photo in my laptop and found the girl looking at me all of a sudden. Ahh, chills.
Snaps of people on the way to Tenjin…
…where people look like aliens!
Had lunch at one of the most popular sushi restaurants in the area. I wasn’t able to ask what the restaurant was called but I still vividly remember their gourd logo.
Stockings at 0-4°C. All that fur on her ankles might’ve been her savior.
Obligatory Arashi photo.
Two girls looking like they’re having a very fun conversation. Snidel paper bag, I see you!
My brother Chase. It’s all bokeh behind him but after lunch we headed straight to Dazaifu City via subway. Dazaifu may be a very popular tourist destination, but a lot of locals also go here to pray for success in their examinations.
And for the strangest reason my siblings and I were all so coordinated.
Had a ¥700 cafe au lait at one of the coffee shops there. I don’t want to think that I just paid for the immensely dainty cup and saucer lol
Some local treats like Umegae-mochi (sweet rice cake with bean jam) and Onigawara Monaka (sweet bean jam sandwiched in mochi wafers) were being sold on the way to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.
This shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, also known as the god of learning.
Found a street performer in the area who was able to make this monkey stand on a pole.
The girls on the right were brisk walking because they were in such a hurry to get to a place with a heater. Brr.
Girl at the Dazaifu station.
It was freezing like crazy when we decided to go to our last stop of the day…
Fukuoka Tower stands at 234 meters, making it the highest seaside tower in Japan. Fun fact: They change the lighting and decorations around the building depending on the season. They would have, of course, the standard lighting on an ordinary month, but they would have a “Milky Way decoration” in July and August, a “St. Valentines Day decoration” in February and March and a “Blue Christmas light decoration” in November and December.
Just after sunset, this was how the wonderful city of Fukuoka looked like when I was there. <3
Back at Amu Plaza in Hakata Station, we had a late dinner. We were already so hungry but we decided to brave the waiting line for this much-hyped restaurant.
The verdict? BEST RAMEN I’VE EVER TASTED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. All the ramen that I’ve tried now fails in comparison.
Where can I find authentic barikata Hakata noodles in Manila?!
Best Christmas Gift: N SEOUL TOWER GIFT BOX
During our Korea trip last November, I took my friends to the N Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan. Before we left, we passed by the souvenir shop and bought some stuff. In one of the shelves, my friend Camille saw a pile of blue and orange boxes and asked us to take a look at it ourselves. It was actually a gift box (according to the sample) complete with stationery/souvenirs of N Seoul Tower. We all decided to buy one since it only cost 7,500 Won or around 300 pesos (in the Philippines.)
Even though i kinda have an idea regarding the contents of the box, I decided not to open mine yet until Christmas. I then made it as a Christmas gift to myself.
Then on Christmas, I finally got to open it!
The contents of the box are:
- 3 N Seoul Postcards
- a Wordbook
- an index tab
- a 6-inch ruler
- a 24K Gold Flate (for your cellphone)
- 2 N Seoul magnets
- a magnetic bookmark (yes, its magnetic!)
- a keychain
- a button pin (though I didn’t see any pin)
- a pen
I think it’s one of the best gifts I ever bought and I also suggest giving it to friends, cuz you know it’s only worth 7,500 Won. For those who want, just go to the N Seoul Tower souvenir store by the deck. And I hope they still have some left! :)
Vote for your favorite Korean Souvenir PRIZE!
Ever since I signed up for the Korea Tourism Organization website, I’ve been joining their contests whenever one comes up. It’s really cool how they promote Korea by giving away free roundtrip tickets, Korean souvenirs etc.
Keep it up KTO, someday I’ll win those round trip tickets to Korea! ^_^
Anyways I joined one particular contest this October, and all I had to do was answer a survey regarding which should be the most ideal Korean souvenir. Then I was surprised come first week of November to see my username as one of the winners of the 8GB USB.
I was excited for the package to arrive, but then I had to go to Korea by the 21st (and i actually went to the KTO during my trip) I felt that I should have just claimed it there :) December came, still no package, I have forgotten all about it.
Then I went to Singapore for 4 days, when I came back from the airport a small box had greeted me at home.
It was the package from KTO! The USB box was so cute! Of course, it went straight under the Christmas tree. The Best Christmas Gift EVER!
THANK YOU KTO! :)
Singapore New Year Countdown 2011 Fireworks : First Burst : (by zoompict)
I miss this view from the Marina Bay Sands Skypark! ;)
OFF TO SINGAPORE!
Will be back in 5 days!
Check out my Wordpress Site for the meantime: <mytravelitinerary.wordpress.com>
Will update regarding my trip/s SOON! :D
2nd Blog Post: “What usually happens on a flight bound for Korea.”
My Blog: mytravelitinerary.wordpress.com/blog
GET ME OUT OF HERE ALREADY!
Before boarding I spent almost 3 hours doing the ff. just to kill time (bathroom-eat lunch-fix hair in the bathroom-walk around-bathroom-watch planes lift off-draw scenes viewed outside the boarding gate.) And FINALLY! At around 330PM we started boarding the plane. I specifically chose the seat at the very back right next to the window because I only wanted one seatmate so it’ll be easier to get in and out when using the toilet. I don’t like being hassled. A lot of the passengers were Koreans and I think I only saw around 10 Filipinos in that plane, lucky for them they can visit the Philippines whenever they want. But for us, we need to go through that hell of a visa application (you have no idea what my friends and I went through at the Korean Embassy) anyways, will tell ‘THAT’ story some other time.
I was so excited to lift off so I can finally get some shut eye since I wasn’t able to sleep well the night before, due to the said excitement. But the plane passed and turned to what seemed like a few kilometers already, and half an hour has passed since they closed the doors. To myself I was like,“Whats taking so long? I can already see Terminal 1 from my window!!!” RUNWAY TRAFFIC? So yeah after almost an hour the plane started that loud noise it makes and finally lifted off.
Tried to sleep, but I couldn’t anymore so just spent the next hour looking outside my window trying to figure out where we were on top off, silently saying, ‘GOODBYE Philippines, hope to not come back anytime soon.’ Kidding.
View from my window
I think this is the Northern part of the Philippines
Would you believe that the flight attendant actually thought I was Korean?! I was so surprised when he gave me that Korean version of the immigration slip. But of course I had to call his attention and asked for the English one. (As much as I want to test my Korean writing skills.)
SOMETIMES THESE PEOPLE ARE FUNNY WITHOUT EVEN TRYING
I had a Korean seatmate during the flight and there are times that I couldn’t help but laugh at him and his friends. One of them had a weird sailor hat on, maybe for fashion purposes? And every time the flight attendant would be giving out those pieces of paper for immigration and customs he would scratch his head as if he doesn’t know what to do then eventually asks one of his friends. I got to talk to him twice when he borrowed my pen since he didn’t have any but the real funny part was when we were about to land. The flight attendant was reminding everyone to straighten up their seats. And one of the guys in front of me had his reclined, the flight attendant said, “Sir, please straighten up your seat. Thank you.”GUESS WHAT HE DID?! He immediately sat up straight. As in with his back straight! I seriously felt like dying at that moment.
Well after that funny incident, the plane finally landed at around 830PM (Korea time) and we were about to exit the plane. One bad thing though about being seated at the very back is that you have to wait for everyone else to leave before you do. And eventually I did after like 10 min. Not bad.
ANNYEONG KOREA!
First Post on my new WordPress Page!
NEW BLOG: mytravelitinerary.wordpress.com
November 21, 2011 (Monday)
Changed my Tumblr header just for the trip.
Finally the long wait is over! After almost 9 months of planning and waiting, I’M FINALLY GETTING OUT OF THIS CITY!
I couldn’t sleep the night before, due to the fact that my friends (Camille, Rhea, and Tania) were flying to Korea that night and my flight wasn’t until around 4PM the next day. So I’d be flying alone, for the first time! I wasn’t scared at all, and a bit excited actually because I always wanted to travel by myself. 
“YOU SHOULD MEET MY FRIENDS IN SEOUL!”
My uncle together with his son, Kuya Will, who was visiting from Canada at the time drove me to the airport. Kuya Will, during his stay here in the Philippines told me about his trip to Korea a few years back, he even offered to give me the contact numbers of his friends in Seoul. But I didn’t get their contact numbers since I had no idea who they were. He used to be in a Hip-hop dance crew back in Canada and some of his friends from there came to Korea and became famous. I WASN’T CONVINCED AT ALL. But during our trip to the airport he still wrote down the names of his friends and told me to ask whoever I meet in Seoul if they knew who these people are.
I never knew I’d regret being so clueless in the days to come.
EXCITED MUCH!
We actually got lost on our way to the NAIA Terminal 3, and even if we did I was still EARLY! My Cebu Pacific flight leaves at 355PM, I got to the airport around 1130AM. Going thru check-in and immigration was a breeze, only took me about half an hour. There weren’t a lot of people at the airport that day, is it really like that? I was used to the very crowded NAIA terminal 1, but this time all I saw were Koreans who I guess were also boarding the same flight as I was. I feel Korea already!
I wanted to check my Twitter or Facebook updates to see if my friends were doing well on their first day in Seoul. I made a Music Company Tour Itinerary just for them so they could all be fan-girls and stalk some stars while waiting for me. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi wasn’t working, so I had the next 2-3 hours of nothing to do while waiting to board. GREAT.
MY NEW BLOG IS HERE!
<mytravelitinerary.wordpress.com>
Please do check out my Blog! I’ll be writing about my recent trip to Korea here together with some travel tips/suggestions, including past and future travels. I have one post as of the moment regarding my first day, but I’ll be adding to it in the next minutes/hours/days.
I may have a new WordPress Page but I’ll still be posting here in Tumblr :)
Just got back from the BEST TRIP ever!
I love Seoul, Korea! <3
Will post pics, videos, reviews, and travel tips in Korea SOON!
But for now, watch this!
I am not in this episode yet, so watch for the next! ^_^
