Fuku-Ro-Shaka! pt.1: Off to Fukuoka!

Japan is rapidly coming to an end. Due to a lucky break in my schedule, I had six days between my last class and my first final, so I decided to go on an impromptu trip to the cities of Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Osaka from April 17-21, 2018. I will be referring to this trip as “Fuku-Ro-Shaka,” a combination of the mentioned cities. I spent two nights in Fukuoka and two nights in Osaka, with a short day-trip to Hiroshima in between. This post marks the beginning of my adventures.

Fukuoka is the largest city on Kyushu, Japan’s second-largest island. It is also home to Japan’s fourth-busiest airport. Fukuoka is famous for Tonkotsu Ramen, a cheap type of ramen with a milky-white broth made with boiled pork bones. Tonkotsu ramen, locally known as Hakata Ramen, is a national staple in Japan and also quite popular in Los Angeles. I left my apartment in Takadanobaba early on the morning of April 17 and boarded the Shinkansen to Hakata station in Fukuoka. The magnificent train ride lasted for five hours, and while I could’ve flown to Fukuoka for less time and money, I decided to take the train anyway. I arrived at Hakata terminal at 2:10 PM and proceeded to check into the Hotel Green Hakata 1 (there is actually a second Hotel Green Hakata across the street). During my first evening in Fukuoka, I boarded the Kuko Line to Akasaka searching for Ganso Nagahamaya, a local ramen shop famous for its tonkotsu ramen. The shop was bare-bones, almost as if it was set up spontaneously in a barren store, but the ramen was cheap and satisfying. I ordered the basic ramen for a mere 500 yen, making it one of the cheapest bowls I have had on the entire trip. Overall it was very good, but was it my favorite bowl of ramen? No. I decided to go to this restaurant first because it is a local icon. According to the blog Finding Fukuoka, even the taxi drivers have stories to tell about Ganso Nagahamaya. That was really all I did on day one. After my meal, I took the Kuko Line back to Hakata Station and proceeded to study for my finals for the rest of the night.

Here are a couple pictures from this fine travel day