Japan 2020 (Part 7)

I don't know why I have gotten it wrong. We're supposed to be going to the reclining Buddha (Nanzoin Temple) and have instead gone to a different place, Dazaifu Tenmangu. I really thought it was the same place. We didn't get to explore the entire area though because of reasons I forgot but maybe because it would make us do bus trips around. We can't walk because of intermittent rain, I mean, getting sick around this time is unacceptable. But even if the trip was a bit short, it's fine for me. It was after all free!

+ Dazaifu Tenmangu +

It's very easy to reach because it's next to the train station. This place reminded me a lot of the same layout as Sensoji Temple at Asakusa but larger and spacious in between stalls. You can take time and try different types of food and spend your remaining yen for more souvenirs. 

The grounds is huge and have tons of places to see. Since it's a park, you can just enjoy long strolls with your date underneath the plum trees. If museums are your fancy, there are actually 3 of them here, one of which is the Kyushu National Museum.

It's a shame though that none of them at that time were open. I would have really loved to go inside the national museum at least because they have special paintings for viewing at that time :-( .  

They also have an amusement park for kids which we didn't bother to go for obvious reasons. There's also tons of interesting spots for photographers of all levels. 

I don't know how much we have missed with the rest of the tourist spots in the area but this visit can occupy an entire day trip and more if only the museums were open. But without those, we were still able to burn half a day easy. We would love to see more Dazaifu has to offer but maybe some other time when it isn't as rainy.

+ Canal City +

After a quick lunch at a nice fastfood (?) we thought it would be nice to spend the rest of the day at this famous mall in Fukuoka. It's a weird experience going to because the path Maps have given us made us traverse through a red light district that I was a pussy to take photos of. I'm afraid how the locals would react. 

I could not understand the layout of the mall to be honest. We've tried our best to get to the stores we're just interested in. There's also themed cafes abound but I don't have the heart to expect my fellow traveler to shell out a huge amount for desserts and tea. 

There's also a Shonen Jump store, would loved to stay here longer but it's packed and I'm trying to stay away from buying merch I have no luggage to put into. 

Most of our time was consumed in the largest Muji branch I have ever been to. It's night when we got out and still raining we had to man up and run just to be elsewhere. We ended up at Donki once more after a nice dinner at Matsu-Ben, which has almost the same menu as  our local Yabu. 

++++++++++++

The next day, we've checked out early and left our stuff at the locker room so we don't have to worry much on the time. There wasn't exactly a plan today, but there's a temple nearby to check out. No need to go any further as well since our morning was spent for last minute shopping at Donki and for Rochelle to get a new larger luggage for her growing number of hand carries. 

 

+ Kushida Shrine +

It was a nice visit, a simple shrine to burn incense on and in some case for photo shoots! There's some cherry blossoms that have graced us with their presence we thought we won't get to see in this trip. What a nice luck for us before coming home, eh?

We've also found the last year's Kakiyama which I was hoping to see the first time we got here in Fukuoka. IT IS HUGE! I can't even imagine how heavy it is to lug around! I'll definitely add Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival next time. I would love to see this huge thing moved. 

Another discovery was there's a shortcut from here to... CANAL CITY. I was stoked. Found it near where they keep the Kakiyama. Would have been handy yesterday.

+ Ramen Stadium + 

One interesting place to go in Canal City is Ramen Stadium. It's essentially a food court dedicated to different restaurants famous for their versions of ramen. It's quite hard to pick mind you. We ended up in one which have one of the longest lines at Shodai Hide-Chan. Yummy!

After lunch we walked around the mall once more, had some crepes from Dipper Dan and finally decided to travel to the airport. We've allotted a long time for airport time so that we won't have to worry on not making it on time. We were able to buy more souvenirs, the Tokyo banana Kitkats my boss requested that I can't find anywhere, Royce Chocolate Potato chips and Rochelle got those Napa chocolates. Our dinner was also just some light snack of fried squid. 

+ Recap + 

Even if there are a lot of places we we're not able to go to due to COVID closures, our week have been very much enjoyable. We didn't need to leave the island and as I recall on what happened, we have numerous areas still undiscovered. I'm planning to visit Kyushu again, but maybe in spring when there are more flowers abound.