Kyusyu trip Day 1. ～ Go Sightseeing and Eat Up Hakata Specialities! ～

 The other day, I traveled to Kyushu, the southwest part of Japan, with my friend from school. I used Shinkansen Sakura to go to Hakata. From Shin-Osaka to Hakata, it takes about 2h 30min. The Shinkansen is fast and comfortable, so I was able to reach Hakata during the time it took me to take a nap.

 We met at Hakata station and quickly went to the Hakata Men-kaido Road exit of the station. In this district, there are many local noodle restaurants.

 We chose the restaurant DARUMA, one of the most popular restaurant in Hakata. There was a line of people waiting to get in.

 Namie Amuro (singer), Meisa Kuroki(actress), YUZU(folk duo) and etc... There were many Japanese celebrities autographs on the wall. We were waiting excitedly for Hakata Ramen.

 "Nice to meet you, Hakata ramen!" This ramen is pork bone broth based and has slender noodles. It is also topped with minced Welsh onion and roasted pork fillet. I was satisfied with the ramen's rich taste.

 After we were full from lunch, we went to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, a tourist site, in Dazaifu city by local train. This shrine is dedicated to 菅原道真 = Sugawara-no-Michizane. Michizane was a renowned scholar during the Heian period. Now, he is known as 天神 = Tenjin or a god of literature. Many students visit this shrine to pray for their success in exams.

 Since we came to shrine, we tried our fortune by Omikuji or written oracle. Omikuji refers to a Japanese fortune telling. We pick a piece of paper which has good or bad fortune written on it. On the omikuji, the overall fortune is written in words such as 大吉 = daikichi  (excellent luck), 中吉 = chukichi  (very good luck), 吉 = kichi  (good luck), and 凶 = kyo  (ill fortune).

 This time we tried summer limited version, "水みくじ = mizumikuji  (water fortune)."

As I wet the omikuji paper, the fortune is revealed.

My fortune is... Daikichi! Ya-hip! ya-hip! I feel like something good will happen♪

 By the way, there are other beautiful sights near this shrine. One of these spots is Kyushu National Museum. The glass covered wall mirrors the blue sky and shines brightly. Of course there are a lot of art treasures too.

 One of the nicer spots is the STARBUCKS in Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine Omotesando Avenue. With a wooden construction, it has a natural design.

 Wood produces a warm atmosphere. "Let's take break at the special STARBUCKS."

 After taking a little break, we returned to Hakata and ate dinner. If you come to Hakata, you shouldn't miss the opportunity to eat this. 「それは、め・ん・た・い・こ。。。めんたいこ！」 = "That's, Me N Ta I Ko... Mentaiko!"

 Mentaiko is cod roe that has been spiced with cayenne pepper and allowed to mature. We enjoy it not only with rice, but also in a range of dishes, such as spaghetti, mentaiko cheese potato and stir-fries. But, Mentaiko goes really well with rice! It has a food texture of chewing many spicy particles at the same time.

 We toasted our glory trip start and were excited about what would happen the next day.




Hakata Ramen, "Daruma":
1-1, Hakataeki Chuogai, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka, 812-0012, Japan
http://www.ra-hide.com/

Dazaifu Tenmangu:
4-7-1 Saifu, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0195, Japan.
http://www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp/en 

Kyushu National Museum:
4-7-2 Ishizaka, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0118, Japan.
http://www.kyuhaku.com/

STARBUCKS in Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine Omotesando Avenue:
3-2-43, Saifu, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0117, Japan
http://www.starbucks.co.jp/store/concept/dazaifu/

Restaurant that specializes in Mentaiko cuisine, "Mentaiju":
6-15, Nishinakasu, Chuo-ku Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka, 810-0002, Japan
http://www.mentaiju.co.jp/index2.html