The shochu bar is located in Kokura city Fukuoka Pref. Japan.
This young(?) lady is a sommelier of Shochu. She is so cute!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Shochu Bar in Kokura
Fukuoka Life and Travel Tips: Useful Contact Details
The main tourist information centre in Fukuoka can be found at the JR Hakata Station and is open on a daily basis, between 08:00 to 20:00. This branch does contain some English information and maps of the city. More importantly, the tourist information centre is where you will find the free 'Fukuoka Welcome Card', which enables tourists to obtain good discounts at many of the city's hotels, tourist attractions, shopping centres and even restaurants. Further tourist offices are situated on the lower floor of the main international terminal at Fukuoka Airport, and also at the following locations.
ACROS Fukuoka - 2nd Floor, Cultural Centre, Tenjin 1-1-1, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 725 9100
Fukuoka tourist information office open: 10:00 to 19:00, closed on the second and fourth Monday every month
Rainbow Plaza (Fukuoka International Association) - 8th Floor, IMS Building, 1-7-11 Tenjin, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 733 2220
Fukuoka tourist information office open: daily, 10:00 to 20:00
HIS No. 1 Travel Agency - Tenjin 1-1-1, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 761 9203
Fukuoka tourist information office open: Monday to Friday - 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 11:00 to 16:30
Fukuoka Life and Travel Tips: Language and Dialect - Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Japanese is the spoken and written language in Fukuoka and across Japan. This is a complex language and a good Japanese phrasebook is strongly recommended. Useful Japanese phrases to use in Fukuoka are as follows:
Hello / Good afternoon - konnichiwa
What is your name? - o-namae wa nan desu ka?
My name is... - watashi wa... desu
How are you? - o-genki desu ka?
Fine - genki desu
Fukuoka Life and Travel Tips: Visa Information and Passports - Fukuoka, Japan, JP
In general, unless you are planning to work during your visit to Fukuoka, or stay for longer than six months, it is not necessary to obtain a visa prior to your arrival. Instead, you will automatically be issued a temporary visitors visa at the airport, known locally as 'tanki-taizai'.
Fukuoka Museums: Fukuoka City Museum
Fukuoka Museums: Fukuoka City Museum - 1-1 Momochihama 3 Chome, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka City, 814-0001, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 845 1410
This museum documents the history and evolution of the city through multi-media presentations and displays. Fukuoka City Museum houses exhibition rooms, a reading room, lecture rooms and an experimental study room. The Golden Snake Seal, a famous national treasure discovered in 1784, can also be found here.
Fukuoka museum open: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:30 to 17:00
Fukuoka museum admission: charge
Fukuoka Museums
Fukuoka Museums: Saibu Gas Museum - 3-9-20 Momochi-hama, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka City, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 845 1410
This futuristic museum is great for kids of all ages, as well as for the young at heart. The Saibu Gas Museum is designed to challenge perceptions and offers optical illusions, exciting works of art, and a number of exhibitions providing colour, artistic flair and entertainment.
Fukuoka museum open: daily - hours vary
Fukuoka museum admission: no charge
Fukuoka Museums: Hakata Machiya (Furusato-Kan) Folk Museum - 6-10 Reizen-machi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, 812-0039, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 281 7761
Dedicated to the traditional Hakata culture and home to a number of restored merchants' houses, the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum features past recordings of the region's rather distinctive local dialect, which can be heard through antique phones. The museum is located in the Nakasu-kawabata area of Fukuoka City and also contains a huge array of interesting handicrafts, while a gift shop completes the main attractions here.
Fukuoka museum open: daily - 10:00 to 17:30
Fukuoka museum admission: charge, concessions available
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Chuo Park - Tenjin 1 Chome, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, 810-0001, Japan, JP
Known for its superb views of the neighbouring cityscape and expansive playing field, Chuo Park can be found within the Tenjin district of Fukuoka and is a great place to let of steam. Many people choose to play a game of football here, while others enjoy the more secluded areas, where plenty of seating is on offer. Look out for the cherry blossom in the spring, and the dramatic cloak of fall colours every autumn.
Fukuoka park open: daily - dawn to dusk
Fukuoka park admission: free
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Nagahama Park - Oyafuko Street, Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, 810-0001, Japan, JP
Nagahama Park lies within Fukuoka's Tenjin neighbourhood and is famous amongst locals, often being used as a convenient meeting place and pickup spot for girls. Being close to numerous large offices, many workers come here at lunchtime to eat their food in attractive surroundings and escape the hub-bub of the city itself.
Fukuoka park open: daily - dawn to dusk
Fukuoka park admission: free
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Ohori-koen Japanese Garden - 1-7 Ohori-koen, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, 810-0051, Japan, JP
With authentic Japanese landscaping and plenty of traditional features, including clipped trees, rock gardens and a large lake, the Ohori-koen Japanese Garden is well worth finding. The lake itself attracts a variety of wildlife, including many different species of birds. A 2-km / 1.5 mile pathway lines the lake and is often used by joggers and those out for a stroll. Fukuoka's popular Museum of Modern Art lies within the boundaries of the park.
Fukuoka park open: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:00 to 17:00
Fukuoka park admission: charge, concessions available
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Fukuoka City Zoo and Botanical Gardens / Minami-koen Park
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Fukuoka City Zoo and Botanical Gardens / Minami-koen Park - 5-1-1 Ozasa, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, 810-0033, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 531 1968
Whatever your age, there is truly something for everyone at the Fukuoka City Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The zoo is always a big hit for young children and full of exotic animals, while the adjacent Botanical Gardens, within Minami-koen Park, contain many important plant collections, including a huge number of flowering cacti, which are to be found in a large glasshouse.
Fukuoka park open: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:00 to 17:00
Fukuoka park admission: charge, concessions available
Fukuoka Parks, Gardens and Fukuoka Arboretums
Parks can be found all around the city of Fukuoka and provide plenty of peaceful areas, contrasting with busy city life. Whether you are looking for recreational activities, a place to enjoy a picnic, or simply a quick jog, Fukuoka's many parks are easy to find and will not disappoint.
Particularly popular with all the family is the Fukuoka City Zoo and Botanical Gardens within Minami-koen Park, with something for even the most serious of horticulturalists. Also equally notable is the expansive Chuo Park, and the traditional landscaping at the Ohori-koen Japanese Garden. Fukuoka's main parks and gardens are below.
Fukuoka Parks and Gardens: Maizuru Park - Akasaka, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, 810-0073, Japan, JP
Close to the popular Ohori-koen Japanese Garden and fairly compact in size, Maizuru Park offers a series of pleasant pathways, where many locals come each morning for a quick jog around the park. During the summer months, a number of outdoor events take place within the park, and there is always plenty of opportunity for an impromptu picnic, or simply a sit down.
Fukuoka park open: daily - 24 hours
Fukuoka park admission: free
Fukuoka Restaurants and Dining: Where to Eat
Many of the best ramen food stalls can be found close to Fukuoka's Tenjin Station and are clustered where both the Showa-dori and the Oyafukjo-dori streets intersect. Many excellent restaurants are located nearby, and also near to the river in the Nakasu area and around Canal City. In particular, the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka in the Canal City boasts several excellent European and Asian restaurants on its first floor, where Cantonese cuisine and dim sum banquets have become firm favourites.
Nakasu Island is famous for its nightlife and entertainment, and can be found next to the Nakagawa River and Fukuoka's Hakata-gawa ward. Here restaurants, bars, live-music venues and nightclubs all jostle for space and compete for attention. Further restaurants reside in the Chuo-ku area of Fukuoka and in particular, both in and around the covered shopping arcade of Tenjin and the nearby train station, where coffee shops are also in good supply.
Other shopping centres in Fukuoka also house a variety of restaurants including the Daimaru complex, the historic Kawabata Shopping Arcade, the Solaria mall, and the sprawling Torius Hisayama centre amongst others. The new department store of Youme Town also features a good food court and plenty of fine dining, with restaurants remaining open until midnight on most nights.
Fukuoka Restaurants and Dining: What to Eat
Fukuoka, Japan,
Many restaurants in Fukuoka serve food from all around the world, including dishes from China, France, Italy, Korea, Mexico and Thailand, to name but a few. However, if you travel all the way to Fukuoka, you simply must try dining at one of the local Japanese restaurants, where you can expect:
* Hakata gyouza - tasty stuffed dumplings
* hirame - squid
* karashii mentaiko - hot and spicy pollock roe
* Fukuoka ramen - noodles in a tasty broth served with various toppings
* soba - buckwheat noodles
* tempura - deep-fried, lightly battered vegetables and often also seafood
* yakiniku - a variety of grilled meat
Fukuoka Restaurants and Fukuoka Dining
Fukuoka has become famous in Japan for its 'ramen' cuisine, a tasty noodle broth served with many different toppings, such as pork, leeks and also bean sprouts. In total, Fukuoka boasts in excess of 400 different ramen restaurants and shops, together with approaching 1,000 food stalls, which are known locally as 'yatai' and offer a rather memorable outdoor dining experience.
Located alongside the Genkai Sea, many restaurants and other dining venues in Fukuoka have chosen to specialise in seafood with a strong Japanese twist, where squid, sushi and raw strips of fish (sashimi) all regularly enjoy prominent positions on the extensive menus. Much of the seafood served at restaurants in Fukuoka originates from the lively Nagahama Fish Market, a good place to soak up local atmosphere and sample freshly cooked ramen dishes at their best.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Fukuoka City Subway
The Fukuoka City Subway (福岡市地下鉄, Fukuoka-shi Chikatetsu?) serves Fukuoka City, Japan. It consists of three subway lines, the Kūkō, or Airport, Line (空港線), the Hakozaki Line (箱崎線) and the Nanakuma Line (七隈線).
The lines are operated by Fukuoka City Transportation Bureau (福岡市交通局, Fukuoka-shi Kōtsūkyoku?). Unlike most other public operators in Japan, the bureau only operates subways, without any bus lines.
All the stations of the subway lines are equipped with automatic platform gates. All the lines are automatically operated by ATO system, although a driver does ride a train as a precaution. The lines will introduce Hayakaken, a smart card system in spring, 2009, that will succeed the current prepaid magnetic card systems.
Fukuoka Travel and Transport: Fukuoka Travel by Train
Fukuoka boasts an extensive subway system consisting of three lines that connect the entire city. Line 1 runs west from Fukuoka Airport to Meinohama and on to Karatsu, Line 2 travels east from Nakasu-Kawabata to Kaizuka, and Line 3 connects 16 stations between the Tenjin and Hashimoto areas.
There are two railway companies offering overground train transport to other destinations in the city, as well as towns throughout Japan. Train fares are charged according to how far you travel, although surcharges apply for some journeys. There are two types of trains - express trains, which stop at all stations, and limited express trains, which only stop at major stations. Be sure to get on the right train.
Fukuoka Travel and Transport: Fukuoka Car Rental
If you want to rent a car while you are in Fukuoka, you will need to have a valid international driving licence and passport. You will find a range of car hire companies throughout the city and at Fukuoka Airport. However, you should be aware that the staff at many of these transport companies do not have a good grasp of English and therefore communication may prove to be difficult. Many people choose to rent a car so that they can travel farther afield, in the comfort and convenience of their own vehicle. If you drive around Fukuoka city centre, it is important to note that parking here can be very expensive.
Fukuoka Travel and Transport: Fukuoka International Airport (FUK) / Arriving by Air
Fukuoka Airport (福岡空港, Fukuoka Kūkō?) (IATA: FUK, ICAO: RJFF), formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is currently operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m. to allow local residents some peace and quiet, starting again at 7 a.m..
The airport is conveniently located for Fukuoka residents in Hakata-ku, South-East of the city centre. It is connected to the rest of the city by subway and road, and a subway from the airport to the business district takes less than ten minutes. Yet its very convenience raises questions and concerns about its safety.
Fukuoka Airport is the third largest passenger airport in Japan. In 2005, 18 million people used the airport, while there were 137,000 takeoffs and landings.[3]
In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and Portland, Oregon, where the airline once operated its trans-pacific hub. When the route was dropped due to financial pressure, Fukuoka lost its first and only non-stop service to the mainland U.S.
From 1952 to 1972, Fukuoka Airport was the site of a United States Air Force base named Itazuke
Fukuoka Art Museum
- Fukuoka Art Museum - In Ohori Park; contains a wide selection of contemporary and other art from around the world.
- Fukuoka Asian Art Museum - contains art from various countries of Asia.
- Fukuoka City Museum - displays a broad range of items from the region's history, including a spectacular gold seal.
- Genko Historical Museum (Museum of the Mongol Invasion) - In Higashi Koen (East Park); displays Japanese and Mongolian arms and armor from the 13th century as well as paintings on historical subjects.
- Hakata Machiya Folk Museum - Dedicated to displaying the traditional ways of life, speech, and culture of the Fukuoka region.
Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize was established to honor the outstanding work of individuals or groups/organizations to preserve and create unique and diverse cultures of Asia.
Fukuoka Tourist Information and Fukuoka Tourism
The largest city of Japan's island of Kyushu, Fukuoka is the capital of the prefecture of the same name. Fukuoka was actually once two separate towns, the castle town of Fukuoka and the smaller town of Hakata, separated by the winding river Naka-gawa. Merged at the end of the 19th century, Fukuoka was grown in strength ever since and today commands a definite tourist appeal, becoming known for its beautiful women, Chinese-inspired 'ramen' noodle dish, and also its highly acclaimed Daiei Hawks baseball team.
In the past 20 years, the transformation of Fukuoka has been remarkable and this diverse city has been particularly multicultural and international, standing out from other Japanese cities. Tourism in Fukuoka has never been better and whilst many of the top tourist attractions are fairly modern, there are plenty of worthwhile sights to see and things to do. For tourist information in Fukuoka, head to the tourism bureaus at the JR Hakata Station, Fukuoka Airport and Tenjin district.
Full of tourist attractions and sights worth seeing, visitors to Fukuoka city will always find plenty of things to see and do. Amongst the most popular attractions are the city's superb sandy beaches, which are used for a range of water sports and never far from restaurants, bars and entertainment venues of all descriptions.
Also worth looking out for, Canal City is a large development and often referred to as a 'city-within-a-city', being home to an amusement park and central amphitheatre, while for something quite different, why not try young hand at skiing on the artificial snow at the BigAir skiing and snowboarding park. For a little quiet respite, Fukuoka is full of green spaces, such as the Ohori-koen Japanese Garden, Chuo Park, Maizuru Park, and also the Botanical Gardens within Minami-koen Park, which stands next to the equally appealing Fukuoka City Zoo. More information about Fukuoka Tourist Attractions.
Around the city you will find many eye-catching landmarks, which are often hard to miss and offer information about Fukuoka's interesting past. Whilst in the city, look out for the remains of Fukuoka Castle, which dates back to the early 17th century and once featured almost 50 different turrets. Other prominent landmarks include the historic Hakozaki Shrine, Shofukuji Temple and Tochoji Temple, and also the Fukuhaku Deai Bridge, which spans to River Naka and often features street entertainers and food stalls. More information about Fukuoka Landmarks.
Fukuoka Weather and Fukuoka Climate Information
As with the Fukuoka Prefecture, the city of Fukuoka offers a fairly moderate climate, with an average of five hours of sunshine each day and frequent cloudy skies. Warm weather can be expected during much of the year in Fukuoka, and although the winters can feel rather cold, temperatures rarely fall below freezing at night-time and daytimes average at least 10°C / 50°F in both January and February, the city's coldest months.
Fukuoka offers approximately 180 cm / 71 inches of rainfall during the year, with rainy weather being spread fairly evenly month by month and by no means excessive. However, there are slightly higher levels of precipitation during the winter months and also the brief summer rainy season (tsuyu) during June and the beginning of July, when humidity levels rise.
Fukuoka weather in January | ||
Fukuoka weather in February | ||
Fukuoka weather in March | ||
Fukuoka weather in April | ||
Fukuoka weather in May | ||
Fukuoka weather in June | ||
Fukuoka weather in July | ||
Fukuoka weather in August | ||
Fukuoka weather in September | ||
Fukuoka weather in October | ||
Fukuoka weather in November | ||
Fukuoka weather in December |
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