Tony - Japan 2025 Planning - Take One

[RS18U]

3 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

Action was light when I was there with only two people running trains

There was no one running trains when I was there in November.  Glad the the trip is going well!

[cteno4]

Good to see priorities are in place and donuts located and consumed. Sign of a good start to the trip. 😜

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

Usually I like to post while relaxing over breakfast but the interweb was slow this morning so, while the Princess is at a fabric shop this afternoon, I will take a little time to write up Wednesday's fun.  It turned out to be a day of contrasts as we alternated between old Buddhist and Shinto sites and ended up at a very modern Canal City.

 

The weather was supposed to be cloudy but not rainy so we had decided to do some outdoor sites.  The weather turned intermittently wet and rainy during the day so mixed results for us.  Fortunately, we were prepared with waterproof jackets and shoes so did not let it deter us.

 

First off was a trip to the Nanzo-In temple to see the world's largest reclining Buddha.  A quick twenty minute or so ride from JR Hakata Station and a short walk to the temple precincts which were stunning.  Then on to the Buddha (and the obligatory photo op).  There is a trail back through the valley to Sasaguri which we had thought we might take but the intermittent drizzle discourage that so back to Hakata and a quick donut stop to regroup.

 

Our ride to the temple is pictured as well as a freight in the station.  I was busy trying to get a picture of the train we were going to ride that I did not realize a freight was coming in on the other side of the platform.  So only one picture of it and I have no idea what was powering it.

 

At that point, we decided to go to Kishida which is an old Shinto Shrine near Canal City.  And also part of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival.  We admired the shrine as well as one of the festival floats which is kept there.  `The floats are similar in concept to the ones in the Nebuta Festival though with a significant difference.  They are much smaller but very tall - about 10 meters / 30 feet high.  I can't imagine how difficult it must be for the groups who have to carry these in the festival.  While we were there, a gentleman came up to us to start a conversation.  He told us a bit about the floats and it turned out not only had he lived in the USA for a while - two of those years were in North Carolina.  So a pleasant interlude for us.  And as an aside - this is the not the first time this has happened to us but it seems that it occurs in places that are a little bit of the main tourist axis - such as here in Fukuoka and last trip in Takamatsu.

 

There is a shopping arcade adjacent to the shrine so of course it was mandatory for us to pay it a visit for some window shopping and, eventually, the purchase of some Washi tape for the Princess.  Then on to Canal City a modern mall facility with shops, restaurants and hotel.  In the center is a water feature where there are regular water shows as well as light and projection shows.  (We apparently missed the Godzilla themed show as this month the theme changed to Gundam).  We enjoyed two water shows - one we viewed from the second level and one we viewed from ground level - but did not see any of the projection shows.  Between viewings we had a light dinner in the restaurant area.

 

Of course, we needed some dessert after dinner and the second water show so we headed back to JR Hakata.  We ended up at a Teavana/Starbucks for some lattes and cake.  While we were sitting there I realized this could be one of @ED75-775's favorite Starbucks - there was one window and I realized it was looking out into JR Hakata Station and you could watch - but surprisingly not hear - trains on the closest platform.  

 

After that it was time to call it a day and head back to our hotel to relax and get ready for today's adventures.

Ciao,

Tony

 

[Tony Galiani]

And a few more pictures:

JR maintenance train on the way to the temple.

Our ride to the Kishida shrine.

And Mira with reclining Buddha.

[Kingmeow]

Hmmm....sounds like shopping for Tony is on a slow pace while the Princess gets her shopping done!  🤣

Edited March 6 by Kingmeow

[Tony Galiani]

@Kingmeow - Neither of us has done much but she did come back from the fabric sortie yesterday with six small dishes!  Train options are a bit limited in any event - Popondetta didn't have much of interest, turns out Hobbyland Pochi here is closed permanently and not much I wanted at Yodobashi.  However, they do have one or two Kato bridges very favorably priced so likely to pick up some today.  Outside of that, not likely to do much until Tokyo.

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Yesterday was another semi-low key day though we did cover a decent amount of ground.  Neither of us has been feeling 100% lately and it shows - we only managed 12.3 kilometers / 7 miles by the time we got back to the hotel.

 

First off was a trip to Ohiri Park to go to the Fukuoka Art Museum.  After some initial stumbles - finding lockers, leaving our cash in the locker, going back to get it, getting in the wrong line, etc - we finally made it to the exhibits.  For some odd reason there is a Tom & Jerry (yes, the cartoon characters) 85th Anniversary Celebration going on in Fukuoka with sales and other things happening, one of those being an exhibit at the Art Museum.  Seriously?  Anyway, we got in the line for that but got it sorted out and directed to the line for the regular exhibit space.  BTW - cost to see the Tom & Jerry exhibit - Y1600 each; cost to see the very good regular exhibits - Y200 each.  Cash only.  And the regular exhibits are really good.

 

After a decent amount of time we headed to the museum shop where Mira bought a book about the Living Mural they have.  This mural covers a large wall and the artist comes to the museum each year and paints changes on it.  And the shop has a section of Gatchapon machines!  Then on to the Museum Cafe for excellent strawberry shortcake and some overly strong lattes.

 

The museum is located on the park's lake and there is a Japanese garden next store so that was our next stop.  It was lovely and after strolling around for a while we headed over to the central causeway that crosses the lake for another leisurely walk with picture taking.  We had spent quite a bit of time there so it was time for our next mission - a bit of shopping.  Mira was heading to the fabric shop in the arcade near Kishida Shrine and I headed to Yodobashi Camera.  She ended up with no fabric but six dishes and I ended up deferring my purchases today (but do plan to run over and get those Kato girder bridges).

 

After a breather at the hotel, we decided to head back to Canal City to grab a bite to eat and watch the projection show.  It's a quick ride on the subway and Mira quite likes the architecture and design of the space.  We had tonkatsu at Sabaton and it was very good.  We finished in time to go to the central area to watch the show:  Canal Aqua Panorama 12th work "GUNDAM SCRAMBLE in FUKUOKA".  Not really up on Gundam but it was neat to watch and see people enjoying it.  After that, back to the hotel to relax a bit (and for me to watch a bit of Japan v Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic).

 

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Two contrasting pictures:

The first is an artwork by Mona Hatoum called + and - which is a circular sand pit with an arm that rotates with one side drawing lines in the sand while the other side erases the lines.  Very Zen (to me) and mesmerizing.  (I tried to download a video but it is too large so a still picture will have to do.)

The second is my shirt after it was returned from cleaning yesterday.  The bow tie is a nice touch!

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Tony i was expecting a picture of you in the same pose there in front of the big Buddha 

 

jeff

[ED75-775]

5 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

Hobbyland Pochi here is closed permanently

Is it...?

 

Tony, you're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to be that guy and say that it hasn't closed, they've moved to a new location three blocks east of Hakata Station. Link to Pochi's own website with Google Map location: https://hobbyland-pochi.net/pages/store.php/?store=4. Happy shopping!

 

And that Starbucks in Hakata Station is not one that I knew about, but I've been to a similar one in Akihabara with an upstairs seating area that looks across the eastbound Sobu Line platform. I'll have to add it to my list of places to go in June.

 

Alastair

[Tony Galiani]

@ED75-775 - Oops!

Oh well, I might try and get there though I just picked up a few items at Yodobashi so that is something.  Only here for one more day and I do have my sights set on some shopping when I get to Tokyo.

Cheers,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Yesterday was another day of wandering around - we have not kept to my original plans for day trips and this day was no different.  While I had thought we might  go further afield than Fukuoka, the iffy weather and multitude of options has kept us in the city.

 

There are a number of shrines and temples northwest of Hakata Station so we started there.  Getting to Gion station, we hesitated for a few seconds at the map near the gates and, this being Japan, someone came over to help us.  In this case, one of the station staff.  Limited English but he realized where we were going, gestured for us to wait, then ran over to the station office and came back with an area guide with information on each site and a recommended route.  So off we went to spend a few hours on the route and Mira added to her Buddha collection as Tochoji Temple houses the world's largest seated wooden Buddha.

 

We meandered down the side streets heading towards the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.  First we stopped at a Caffe Veloce for lattes and I managed to embarrass myself by dropping one of the lattes on the floor.

The staff quickly cleaned it up when I showed it to them - I felt bad as this was right before noon and they were getting busy.  Then, to my surprise, one of the staff brought over a replacement latte for me.  I thanked her but don't have enough Japanese to let her know how much I appreciated that and to apologize for the mess.

 

At FAAM, we enjoyed the building and the ambience but the modern Asian Art exhibit was not quite to my taste.  So back to the hotel with a stop at a different Caffe Veloce for Mira to pick up two of their cat tote bags and for me to stop at Yodobashi for a few items.

 

Mira wanted to go to the Arcos Fukuoka building which houses a performance space and is designed with a stepped outdoor garden.  Turned out you cannot access the gardens except on the weekends but she was able to take a bunch of photos and wander around the exterior space.  Our goal was to see the illuminations at Fukuoka Castle which I had found out started that day.  So we headed to the park, stopping for a snack on the way.

 

It was dark when we got close to the castle and we were poring over the map on my phone when a woman stopped to help us.  Of course.  When we told here where we were heading, she gave us directions - turns out she is an English teacher.  I was a bit skeptical as I thought - from the map - that the location was a bit different but we decided to heed her advice.  And in the "sometimes it's better to be lucky rather than smart" category, her directions were spot on.  The illuminations turned out to be way more elaborate than we thought they would be with a recommended route around the castle so we spent way more time there than I expected though it was very enjoyable.  I did point out to Mira that we seem to spend a lot of time in very cold weather wandering around in the dark looking at illuminations during our travels.

 

By this time, we were pretty beat so, literally, staggered back to the hotel to collapse after racking up about 9 miles of walking over the course of the day.

Ciao,

Tony

 

 

Edited March 7 by Tony Galiani
hit send by mistake

[Tony Galiani]

Another shrine picture - something seems out of place here.  And one more illuminated castle view.

[Tony Galiani]

From the interior of the Kyushu Railway cars - one on each inner door panel.  I guess fellow Forum member @kuro68000 is popular in Fukuoka!

[Tony Galiani]

I remember the comments about the amount of labeling on the Kyushu Shinkansen but I guess this must be a JR Kyushu thing.  Typical label on the trains we rode.  Kyushu Railway labeling in multiple places on each car.

[cteno4]

Since Mira is such a Buddha fan i think we need pictures of tony in front of each assuming the pose of each Buddha. Castle sounds illuminating.

 

Always fun hearing the travelogue! Enjoy!

 

jeff

[chadbag]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:49 PM, Tony Galiani said:

For some odd reason there is a Tom & Jerry (yes, the cartoon characters) 85th Anniversary Celebration going on in Fukuoka

Tom & Jerry are or maybe were quite popular in Japan.  My wife has said that when she was a kid it was a very popular show.  
 

 

[cteno4]

No language required! Beautiful simplicity.

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

I hate to disappoint but no Buddha pose for me!  Don't want to be banned from the interweb!

 

Currently at Fukuoka awaiting our flight to Kochi.  Don't think we will be finding any Buddha statues there so we will have to find something else to do.  And, though it is a bit early for this, already looking forward for my ride on the Nanpu Limited Express through Oboke Gorge and across the Seto Inland Sea.

 

Ciao,
Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Fukuoka airport snack!

[kuro68000]

I think there must be a lot of cats and dogs called Kuro and Shiro (black and white). I've seen a few called Mike (me-kay, or tortoiseshell) too. My own cat is called Tabby.

 

In that great tradition my own name was pretty much taken from what was right in front of me at the time!

[Tony Galiani]

Saturday was another "slow" day that wasn't.  We planned to just visit another garden after breakfast and take it easy until time to go to the airport.  Heading towards the garden, I spotted a Book Off that also offered models and other items - only a few blocks from the hotel but a bit too late for shopping.  The shrine was actually a bit busy but the garden was tiny though we found ourselves near the river so decided to walk along it for a bit.  The public spaces along the river are really neat and there was a Kei truck food court where I spotted the ideal Kei Truck for @cteno4.

 

Eventually we found ourselves by Canal City - much to my surprise.  Since we had gone that far, the Princess thought we might as well go to the shopping arcade nearby.  Where we might as well purchase a few gifts.  One a previous visit she had spotted a small shop selling noren.  So we stopped there and with sign language and our few words of Japanese we purchased four noren from the elderly couple running the shop.  Then she remembered a shop that had some cat tote bags she liked so you know the rest of that story.

 

Maybe time for a snack?  We were close to a local donut shop but when we walked over there was a waiting line out the door!  So instead we stopped at a Caffe Veloce near the station where I insisted that Mira carry the tray!  I wanted to allow extra time at the airport as we had to check bags and I wanted to make sure there were no issues with our reservation.  There weren't any and check-in and baggage drop went smoothly.  With plenty of time we decided to go to the observation deck which was really fun.  Some arriving and departing planes taxied by the deck and as they did so, the pilot would wave to the people on the deck.  And, of course, we had to all wave back.  When it got closer to departure we went to the gate which indicated boarding would begin about 10 minutes before departure.  Seriously?  Yes, really.  At 5:00 they started and boarded a 100 seat plane in 8 minutes.  Air Canada are you reading this?

 

Flight was short and after arrival I went to get bus tickets while Mira picked up our bags.  And this is when the first of our two "rather be lucky than smart" moments for the day kicked in.  I had checked the bus ticket machines on line but for the life of me could not get it to work.  And a couple of other guys nearby were also having difficulty.  Then a woman walks up to the machine next to mine, inserts money - which turns it on - and purchases her tickets.  Monkey see, monkey do and we are good to go!

 

Check in at our hotel - small room but very clean and well designed and decide to go out for a walk.  Head down towards the river.  Can't take the tram as we were told it was cash only and we do not see any change machines - need to learn more about using the tram later today.  And will endeavor to take some tram pics for the tram fans here.

 

As we walk along we come to some covered shopping arcades so decide the check them out.  A bit further along we hear noise and a crowd, then music.  Turns out we have stumbled on the Tosa no Okyaku Festival!  Lucky again!  It is great - teams dancing and parading to very loud Japanese pop music.  Our view point was limited but we watched a bunch of the teams do their thing while Mira took videos.  Ton of fun and a great experience.

 

Called it a day after that as we were sort of tired.  Sunday plans are the 300 year old Sunday market and the Paper Museum.  Not sure about Monday - have a few ideas but wonder if I can convince Mira a ride on the Yodo Line would be relaxing and a change of pace.

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

A few more shots of the festival teams as I was so taken by this event.

[cteno4]

I absolutely love the range of things folks do with kei trucks! I have a good pile of them now from my tomytec purchases over the years and the haul from Curt’s layout and at some point i just want to make a doze of so different types of businesses out on the backs of keis.

 

jeff

[Ekiben]

Thanks for the updates and hopefully the weather on your trip will see an improvement. If the Yodo Line is too tough a sell, you could try a ride on the Tosa Kuroshio's Gomen-Nahari Line: https://ticket.jorudan.co.jp/tosakuro/gns-1d/en/. Looks like you can rent bicycles or easily walk around the town of Tano, second to last station on the line. Have fun.

Edited March 9 by Ekiben