Kicking back on the Kyushu coast

  Hakata/Fukuoka, Japan
Monday, November 6, 2006

The city of Hakata/Fukuoka probably wouldn't be a destination for us if it weren't for the fact that we're hoping to catch the hydrofoil to South Korea tomorrow. That said we, had a nice relaxing time of it, exploring all the shopping opportunities, in the up-market Tenjin area and the impressive boutiquey Canal City shopping arcade. Jim spent his time perusing the latest men's fashions and I managed to find a "Lush" handmade cosmetics shop to stock up on plenty of smellies!

We did find some time to absorb some culture - we visited two of the city's shrines. The oldest Zen temple in Japan, Shofuku-ji was originally founded in 1195 by Eisai who introduced tea to the country from China. Tocho-ji is home to the largest wooden statue of the Buddha in Japan - it's over sixteen metres tall and quite imposing.

As ever on our travels we've been keen to sample all the culinary delights the city has to offer. We had an amazing dinner at our Ryokan - there were 12 separate dishes as well as rice and dessert - and took the opportunity to eat Fukuoka's famous speciality - ramen style noodles in pork stock soup - absolutely delicious!