How did we spend 3 days in Fukuoka? Today, we’ll share our Fukuoko itinerary, which forms the final leg of our 14-day trip on Kyushu island.

You’ll see us drive from Kitakyushu city towards Fukuoka, making a complete loop back to the place we begun our travel two weeks ago. We would do lots of shopping, with a light touch on visiting sights.

Yatai food stalls along Naka River — Yatai food stalls near Canal City Hakata

If you’ve not read the previous posts, check out what we did for the first 10 days:

Now, let’s continue our drive to Fukuoka on Day 11.

Day 11: Drive from Kitakyushu to Fukuoka

After a very simple and skippable breakfast at Tokyo Inn Kokura-eki Kita-guchi, we begun our 2 hours drive from Kitakyushu towards Fukuoka city.

Upon reaching Fukuoka, our first stop was at a car rental place where we bade farewell to our trusty rental car that brought us to sooooo many places on Kyushu island. From this point onwards, we would navigate around Fukuoka city using public transport, mainly via subway.

TIP: Subway ticket in Fukuoka isn’t cheap. If you intend to make more than 3-4 trips, consider getting a Fukuoka 1-day pass that offers unlimited rides per day.

Lots of Shopping Options: Hakata Station

The second stop in Fukuoka was to deposit our luggage at JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Hakata Central located within walking distance to Hakata Station.

What should we do from now till the time we could check into the hotel? Let’s just explore Hakata station and around.

Did you know? Japan’s hotel check-in is typically after 2pm.

Wow! Shopping options at Hakata station was good, though it could be a bit confusing knowing which mall you were in. That’s because the malls interconnect with one another. Below are just a few that we explored on our first day in Fukuoka:

Hankyu Hakata – A high-end departmental store
Amu Plaza– More affordable merchandise that could appeal to the masses (my favourite)
Yodobashi Camera Multimedia – Electrical store, with a cheap supermarket that only accepts cash

Yodobashi Supermarket — Lots of ready-to-eat seafood at Lopia Supermarket located within Yodobashi.

Tired of shopping and walking, we found a “scenic” cafe to rest our feet. Cafe Mutsukado boosted a nice floor-to-ceiling view and you can even see the clock of Hakata train station from “behind” (see location).

What’s for lunch at Hakata Station?

Check out my cold Hakata thin noodle, topped with tempura. I enjoyed the meal at Inaba Udon Deitosu – it was a delicious bowl of cold udon (see location).

Checked into JR Blossom Hotel (Fukuoka)

By 4pm, we checked into JR Blossom Hotel, located a few minutes walk from Hakata Station. This hotel was spacious by Japanese standard, and generally a good accommodation option that I would whole-heartedly recommend.

JR Blossom hotel exuded a grand feel in its décor and offerings. And I love that it came with a plush and comfortable bed (2 pillows each), as well as “Royal Jelly” series of toiletries from the well-known Pola brand.

Tenjin Underground Shopping (Fukuoka Itinerary)

What to do at night in Fukuoka? We continued to shop!

A short train ride brought us to Tenjin Station where the underground mall is filled with numerous shops. What’s even better were the number of malls one could easily access from the underground mall, such as:

Fukuoka Parco
Solaria Plaza
Daimaru

I stayed within the underground segment and succeeded in buying a Porter Bag (see location).

Kura Chika by Porter at Tenjin Underground Mall

Yay! This was a great contrast to my solo Tokyo trip as I didn’t manage to find a bag that I liked despite visiting 5 or 6 porter shops in Tokyo.

>> RELATED: 9 Days Tokyo Solo Trip

Dinner in Fukuoka (near Hakata Station)

Back at Hakata station, we visited an Izakaya (see location) for our dinner. As usual, the man ordered lots of food, more than what you see here actually.

Map Location for Day 11 (Fukuoka Itinerary)

Tokyo Inn Kitakyushu >> JR Blossom Hotel >> Hakata Station >> Hankyu Hakata >> Amu Plaza >> Cafe Mutsuado >> Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Hakata >> Tenjin Underground Shopping

Day 12: Explore Fukuoka’s Popular Sights

Finally, we enjoyed a good 9 hours of sleep, recovering from mostly 5 hours of daily sleep the past two weeks. JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom should also be credited for the quality sleep we enjoyed, thanks to its comfortable bed.

A Great Brunch at Ueshima Island Cafe (Hakata Station)

We wondered what to have for brunch, and decided to visit this cafe that we saw the other day. Ueshima Island Cafe was one that seemed popular among the locals.

Check out the sandwiches we ordered – they were delicious and packed full of ingredients (¥1,300 for a BLT sandwich). I enjoyed the latte too which wasn’t too strong.

Energised after a great brunch, it’s time to explore Fukuoka and we got ourselves a Fukuoka City Subway 1 Day Pass.

TIP: Train ticket wasn’t cheap in Fukuoka (more than ¥200 per trip). Therefore, it would make perfect sense to get the one-day Fukuoka Subway Pass (¥640). You can pre-purchase it here too.

Having toured so many places around Fukuoka (and to be honest, visited more scenic sights than what one can generally find in a city), our goal here in Fukuoka was to relax and shop. You can see how we did so by reading on. :)

First Stop: Fukuoka Castle Ruin (Fukuoka Itinerary)

Not sure why, but I’ve always loved visiting ruins. LOL! Therefore, our first attraction of the day was Fukuoka Castle Ruins, easily accessible by train.

Even though the ruin was underwhelming as compared to other castle ruins I’ve visited, I enjoyed the nature surrounding it (at Maizuru Park). This is especially after a whole day of shopping yesterday, and I badly needed a nature escapade =!

>> MUST-READ: This is the best castle ruins I’ve been to in Japan

Maizuru Park (Fukuoka Castle Ruins) — Iris Garden located within the park

Ohori Park (Fukuoka Itinerary)

Ohori Park was located just next to Fukuoka Castle Ruins, making it an easy stop. One of my most memorable experiences in this 2-week trip was spent at this lovely cafe – &LOCALS Ohori Park Shop (see location).

Absolutely loved the cafe ambiance, view and soothing music (think it’s a mix of blues/bossa nova that was played that day), accompanied by occasional light breeze.

Facing the pond, we sipped our green tea blend, people-watch and basically just relaxed! I also bought a pack of green tea from the cafe (¥1,080 for 80g) which I’m enjoying while typing this post.

Did you know? Yame (八女) is a city on Kyushu island known for its green-tea plantations. Many tea on sale in Fukuoka or Kyushu island originate from this region.

B.B.B Potters near Zoo & Botanical Garden

BBB Potters isn’t really a common attraction in Fukuoka. This is a homeware store selling unique, well-designed and pricey kitchenwares, pottery and even shoes and bags.

I enjoyed browsing and shopping at this store. If you are looking for a cafe, there’s a restaurant on the second floor that offered a nice setting and seemed popular among the locals.

Kushida Shrine (Fukuoka Itinerary)

Our next station was to visit Canal City Hakata. Since Kushida Shrine was located nearby, I decided to go there first even though it wasn’t originally in my itinerary.

Hmm…as compared to other shrines I’ve visited in Japan, I wasn’t quite impressed and spent only 10 minutes there. However, online reviews were good – so perhaps, it’s subjective and you may want to judge it for yourself.

>> MUST-READ: This is where I enjoyed the best “shrine-day” in Japan

Kushida Shrine Fukuoka — Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka

Canal City Hakata (Fukuoka Itinerary)

An overhead bridge near Kushida Shrine brought me straight to Canal City Hakata – a large shopping mall with a canal running through it.

We made the right decision to have lunch at Saizeriya, as the menu offerings were very different from those in Singapore. And the food tasted great!

The man ordered a lot of food (as usual) and bill came under ¥2,800.

Fukuoka food in canal city Saizeriya — Delicious food from Saizeriya at Canal City

After filling our tummies, it was time to shop – we spent the next 3 hours on retail therapy. The most memorable store was a large manga-themed shop.

I’m not a manga lover, but found the store interesting!

TIP: If you like to stay within this huge shopping mall, Grand Hyatt Hotel is located at Canal City Hakata.

Naka-River Walk & Yatai Food Stalls

Making our way back, we took a scenic walk, enjoying a view of Naka River with Canal City serving as a backdrop. There were also numerous Yatai (unique open-air food stands) located along the river.

If you didn’t know, Yatai is Fukuoka’s best known symbol. They are typically opened from 6pm and can sit about 7 to 8 pax.

Late-night Food Options at Hakata Station

Back at Hakata Station, we were happy to see Kitte Hakata mall opened late till 11pm, including the restaurants on the 9th, 10th and basement floors. This mall carried cheap merchandise as compared to the other malls around the precinct.

We also shopped at Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Hakata. This, as compared to other outlets we’ve been to in Tokyo and Osaka was a much smaller version. Restaurant options were also limited.

Our initial dinner plan was to pack Sea Urchin and sashimi from the supermarket there, but found it closed by 8pm, much earlier than the main store.

Disappointed, we returned to Kitte mall at 10pm. But the restaurants no longer accepted new customers. No choice, we had to settle for bento dinner from a 7-11. Sob!

Fukuoka food from 7-11 — Packed lunch from 7-11. Luckily Japan has good ready-to-eat food options from convenience stores.

Map Location for Day 12 (Fukuoka Itinerary)

JR Blossom Hotel >> Ueshima Island Cafe (Amu Plaza) >> Fukuoka Castle Ruins (Iris Garden) >> Ohori Park (&LOCALS Cafe) >> B.B.B Potters >> Kushida Shrine >> Canal City Hakata >> Naka-River Walk >> Kitte Hakata mall >> Yodobashi Camera >> 7-Eleven

Day 13: Last Day in Fukuoka

The last day in Fukuoka was fully dedicated to shopping. Prior to that, we started the day at a popular ramen stall – Shin Shin – located at Kitte mall. We saw a long queue formed even before the outlet opened for business.

Which tastes better? Shin Shin or Ichiran Ramen (Fukuoka)

As compared to Ichiran, Shin Shin’s broth seemed sweeter and nicer. And ingredients-wise, you can probably get more for the same price. For example, my order that came with 6 slices of pork, an onsen egg and other toppings cost about ¥1100.

It was darn filling and I can understand why the locals love Shin Shin. While I enjoyed my ramen at Shin Shin, my partner preferred Ichiran, which he said was less oily and “more pure” in taste.

Shopping & Hauling in Fukuoka Began

I spent the whole day shopping at different malls around Hakata station and won’t bore you with the details. But here are some tips and recommended malls:

Hakata Hankyu:

Hankyu departmental store is a good place to shop for beauty products if you need beauty advice. For example, I could get the staff to recommend a Decorte foundation that suited my skin tone.
However, tax rebate at Hankyu was troublesome – the queue was very long and I wasted half a hour getting the rebate.

Amu Plaza:

I enjoyed shopping at Amu, especially at the multi-storey Tokyu Hands. They really sold everything under the sun!
I bought a Japan-made umbrella, Zojirushi thermal flask and some cosmetics.

>> MUST-READ: 25 things to buy in Japan that are affordable and loved by locals

Dietos mall:

This is where I picked up my food souvenirs that came in pretty packaging.
However, I later realised that Fukuoka airport sold a lot of similar souvenirs and were cheaper as they were tax free.

Yodobashi:

- My last stop was to get more grocery & snacks at this mall. Things were really cheap.
- Unfortunately, I later realised that they only accepted cash, and I had to return half of the stuff in my basket (and not enjoy tax-free as this requires minimum expenditure).

TIP: To qualify for tax-free, you’ll have to spend a minimum of ¥5000 (excluding tax). More tax-free info here.

Fukuoka Itinerary (Shopping) — Eyeing this – For my next home reno perhaps :)

Dinner at Ishikura (DEITOS Annex)

We chose to have our last dinner in Fukuoka at Ishikura – a restaurant that specialised in sea bream. This place seemed popular and was packed with people.

I think the food should be good. Unfortunately, I might have chosen something that did not suit my palate – sesame sauce on sashimi. Couldn’t quite get used to the taste – still prefer soy sauce and wasabi for raw fish.

TIP: Popular Things Tourists do in Fukuoka City

As shared, having travelled to many places around Fukuoka, our travel strategy in Fukuoka wasn’t really to cover the key attractions in Fukuoka City. However, if you are mainly staying in Fukuoka, these places are on most tourists’ must-go list:

Map Location for Day 13 (Fukuoka Itinerary)

JR Blossom Hotel >> Shin Shin Ramen (Kitte mall) >> Shopping at Hakata Station

Day 14: Fukuoka to Singapore

Wanted to share how we got to the Fukuoka airport from Hakata station. Instead of taking train that would only bring us to the domestic terminal, we decided to take bus No.11 (Y310).

This is convenient as it brings us straight to international terminal within 30 minutes. We took the bus from Hakata Bus Terminal, 1F, line 11 (see location). However, do note that the bus did not come with luggage compartment – you have to carry it onboard the bus.

TIPS: In hindsight, Fukuoka airport is a better place to load up on Decorte products. First of all, they have 100ml serum which is cheaper per ml (while retail stores only sold up to 75ml). Secondly, they sold travel set that came at a discount. And thirdly, price was already tax-free, and can cut the hassle of getting tax rebate.

Map Location for Day 14 (Fukuoka Itinerary)

JR Blossom Hotel >> Hakata Bus Terminal >> Fukuoka Airport

And that’s all to my lovely 14 days trip in Fukuoka and around, covering northern Kyushu. I would definitely return to explore the southern part of Kyushu too. Bye for now and I’ll see you in the next post.

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Essential Info:

Month of Travel: May – June (End Spring)
Accommodation: JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Hakata Central
Transport: Rental car & Fukuoka Subway Pass
WiFi: Japan eSIM

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Fukuoka Itinerary: What we did in Fukuoka for 3 days (Part 5 – Kyushu Travel)