I was not planning on getting gyudon — a Japanese dish in which features a tasty mix of tender beef and onions served on top of rice — at the Tsukiji outer market, which is largely known for its abundance of fresh seafood. But then I saw an impressively long line and instantly knew that my plans had just changed.
I’ve already posted about a couple of different places around Fukuoka with some really impressive cherry blossoms.
Well, pretty much everywhere you go in the city, you’ll see a few trees with the distinctive flowers. You want some photos? Because I’ve got some photos.
Discovering this particular restaurant was just one of those lucky accidents — it happened to be around the corner from my Airbnb in Fukuoka, and every time I walked by, it looked busy and smelled delicious.
Though Fukuoka isn’t quite Kyoto, there are a handful of temples throughout the city that are definitely worth visiting.
I’ll admit that the two bowls of tonkotsu ramen I’ve had so far in Fukuoka threw me for a loop. I love that style of ramen… or do I? The two bowls I sampled in Fukuoka (the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen) were one-note porky in a way I found vaguely unsatisfying.
Since I happened to be in Fukuoka during cherry blossom season, I figured I should probably take advantage. So I headed to Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, which is about a half hour’s train ride outside of the city (it also costs 450 yen to get in, so it’s not kidding around).
Though Hakata Ikkousha is a chain (and apparently they’ve just opened a location in Toronto), they serve some seriously acclaimed ramen — it’s frequently called one of the best bowls in Fukuoka.
Though Fukuoka Castle, originally built in the 1600s, is long gone, parts of it still remain (mostly just some of the walls).
If you’re in Fukuoka and you’re into beer, you’re probably going to want to check out the Asahi Brewery tour.
One of the local specialties here in Fukuoka is something called mentaiko — a reddish, sausagey-looking thing made from cured sacs of pollock roe.