Things To Do And Food To Eat In Fukuoka, Japan
By Scott Brady, Sat Dec 10th

Fukuoka isn't that small of a place. Actual numbers bring thepopulation to about the 5 million mark, with the city havingroughly 1.3 million people. With that amount of people around,you know there has got to be something to do. On any day of theweek if you look you will be able to find something thatinterests you. There are often festivals in one area or anotherin Fukuoka city. With a little help from a friend or thedomestic foreigner magazines and information centers you will beable to find out where the festivals are being held.

The center of Fukuoka city will have to be Tenjin (though othersmay argue it to be Hakata). It is the shoppers' haven of theprefecture. Feel you need to do a little shopping for some nicenamed brands from Italy or France? head on over to Tenjin. Wantto blow off some steam and hit a bar (including foreigner bars)?Tenjin is the place to be. want to meet some new friends?Rainbow Plaza in... you guessed it, Tenjin, is the place to dojust that.

Right next door to Tenjin is Nakasu. Nakasu hosts nightlifeentertainment but tends to cater to the more affluentindividual. However, Nakasu also has a huge shopping complexnamed Canal City which has so many shops that you wouldn't beable to count them all. The complex holds many restaurants, twohotels, a large cinema and in the center of Canal City is anarea called Sun Plaza where it is common to find streetperformers doing their acts.

Of course Tenjin and Nakasu aren't the only place you can havefun. I live about 10 minutes away from Tenjin by subway in atown called Nishijin and I can do nearly as many things here asI can in Tenjin. Bowling, swimming, soccer, billiards, gamecenters, and even a movie theater are just a few of the thingsNishijin and the nearby areas have to offer.

Yahoo Dome (formerly Fukuoka Dome) is located in Momochi whichboarders the sea. Yahoo Dome is home to the Fukuoka SoftbankHawks.

The Hawks are a strong baseball team, beloved by the cityand its residents. In fact, there are only two teams in Japan'sprofessional baseball league who attract more than one millionfans to their home games per year, and the Hawks are one ofthem. When the Hawks don't have a home game you can sometimesfind other activities occurring in the Dome. Yahoo Dome hostsvarious flea markets and concerts throughout the year.

Food, food, food!

As far as I'm concerned, Fukuoka has the best food to offer inall of Japan (though I hear food in Sapporo is quite good).Fukuoka has its own well known dishes and of course the chefshere are well capable of recreating dishes found throughout theworld.

Yatai When night begins to fall on Fukuoka city you may suddenlynotice many little street vendors (usually operating out oftheir vans) popping up all over the sidewalks. These vendorsserve a variety of foods ranging from ramen to yakiniku totempura. Yatais themselves are really a site to see.

Hard Rock Cafe Fukuoka On the occasions when I miss American andMexican food, I always have the option to head on over to HardRock Cafe right next door to Fukuoka dome in Momochi. Momochi isadjacent to Nishijin so indeed I am in luck. Hard Rock CafeFukuoka boasts the largest restaurant of its kind in Japan. Thefood is fantastic and of course the atmosphere is like all otherHard Rock Cafes out there. The staff is very friendly and sinceI frequent their establishment often I am treated extremely wellwith occasional benefits.

Izakaya Though not only found in Fukuoka, Izakaya restaurantsdeserve a notable mention. Izakayas offer a wide variety of foodand more importantly drinks at a low price. University studentsas well as business men can often be found in these restaurantschatting with colleagues and drinking up a storm. All Izakayasoffer a different ambiance, and with some searching you will beable to find one that suits you.

Famous Fukuoka food

Fukuoka ramen Have you ever had that cup O ramen or that freezedried packaged ramen? bah! throw that out and try some "Tonkatsuramen" (pork ramen) famous in Fukuoka and well know throughoutall of Japan. First time I tried it I was instantly hooked andto this day try and eat it once every week or so.

Mentaiko Another famous food which Fukuoka is renowned for ismentaiko (very tiny fish eggs). To some people mentaiko may notseem very appetizing but please don't knock it till you try it.Mentaiko spaghetti, as an example, is a delicious treat aroundthese parts. And there are of course many other recipes whichhave use for mentaiko.

Transportation Unlike the nickname given to New York, Fukuokadoes tend to get a little tired at night but usually not untilquite late especially on weekends. One of the reasons for thisin my humble opinion is the transportation shutdown at aroundmidnight. That's right, the subway, train, and bus system allbut stops once you hit the AM. Which leaves the weary and, moreoften than not, drunk to either take a taxi home, walk, or Ihave even heard the "I will just stay up until the subway startsagain at 6:00 before I go home" line used by those who justaren't finished partying when its time for the transportationsystem's last call. This isn't just a Fukuoka special, for theshutdown happens throughout the whole of Japan.

Though the transportation system does shutdown at perhapsinconvenient times, it is a wonderful system. Perfectly cleantrains, buses and subways (which are amazingly quiet) are theconsequence of the shutdown for they are all cleaned during thewee hours of the morning.

Location Fukuoka is found on the southernmost island of the fourmain islands in Japan. The name of the island is Kyushu. Fukuokahappens to be closer to Seoul, South Korea than it is to Tokyo.Fukuoka prefecture is located on the northern tip of Kyushu.

Scott Brady http://www.translators.jp/

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