Hakata, 20.05.24

Hakata is where we took the train to. But the city is really known as Fukuoka. A harbour city with an old port district and canals dissecting it all. It is also a modern city especially around the railway station at Hakata. Our hotel 'The Blossom' was not far away, very nice and comfortable on the 12th floor.

Hakata is one of the oldest cities in Japan. It has a long history of war with nearby Korea but also of trade and now tourism. The port has all been modernized and takes now in excess of 400 cruise ships including the 'Quantum of the Seas' with almost 5000 passengers and 1500 crew on board. The result is that Fukuoka has one of the highest growth rates in Japan, both in people and tax revenues! 

Getting to Hakata was no problem. We just took the bus from our hotel, not the taxi!, to Aso Station, from there a direct train to Kumamoto and then Shinkansen to Hakata. The train ride from Aso was quite interesting as they used a switchback system to get down from the high plateau of Aso to the plains at Kumamoto. The train was zigzagging down the mountain! 

Shinkansen

We did not stray too far from the hotel. Just strolled around the neighbourhood looking for nothing in particular. Watched the traffic, the people and the general business of the city. Somewhere we crossed one of the canals and ended up in a shopping mall. One of those long streets with a cover and full of restaurants and all sorts of shops, clothing, shoes. One of the things I noticed in all of these malls there was never a bookshop. In fact there was hardly any bookshops anywhere! At Hakata station I saw a sign saying books on the second floor but when I checked it out there were mainly only comic books, anime as they call them. Certainly no English books. The only English book we bought in all of Japan was Shogun and we found that in Kyoto but left it behind in a hotel. 

On the second floor of the hotel was a food hall with Japanese and Chinese offerings and a kind of burger bar. That's the one we tried. They did the burgers on a teppanyaki grill but instead of having the meat patty between a bun they served it with a kind of omelet on top and a choice of sauce. Tomato, beef and mayonnaise. 

Burger a la Japanese

It was an interesting dish eaten with a spoon! How strange but in fact quite delicious. Lots of other people must have thought the same as the place was definitely humming. After the meal we stumbled across a wine bar and we could not resist and ordered two red wines from California. The bar was completely empty, and we had a bit of a laugh with the two boys serving us and told them that we were concerned. They said not to worry as the business was new and it would take time. Then they gave us a discount of 20%!