This year we're quite lucky to visit Japan for a 2nd time.
Last year, we explored Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. This year, we explored a new city & prefecture: Fukuoka - located in Kyushu Island.
We started planning this trip maybe 5 months before we leave - so enough time to prep; and since we still have our checklist from last year, we sort of used it as a template hehe.
I think the hardest thing for every trip planning is choosing/booking the flight & accommodation.
Those take the biggest chunk of your budget, so you want to take your time to adjust them to your preferences.
But once those two were booked, the rest of the planning was quite easy - thanks to the countless vloggers who'd filmed their trips in Fukuoka!
Here's how ours went:
DAY 0
We started our trip in Jakarta.
My parents flew in from Semarang, my sister came a day earlier from Brisbane, and I had spent the week in the city after a company outing to Jogja.
Baggage drop off and immigration was super smooth - and we waited 1.5 hours in a cafe, with hot drinks & a chocolate muffin to share.
Our flight was delayed for about 30 mins?
But boarding was quick, and meals were soon served after we were on the air.
It was AMAZING. I had a type of seafood pad thai, and for dessert: After You milk bun!
We made a layover in Bangkok.
After going through another security check in the transfer gate, we boarded a train because this year, we got to use the new satellite terminal which was so beautiful & spacious!
Before long, it was time to board again, and snooze.
DAY 1: arrival
After we landed, I immediately went to the airport restroom to put on my heat-techs lol.
The lines of the immigrations were quite long; and just like in Tokyo, there were a 2-step process:
the first being with a machine only, and the second where you stand face-to-face with the immigration officer. But it was easy enough!
Our luggage were waiting for us when we were done, and we quickly got out of there.
We took the bus to the domestic terminal, found the train station, and got on the train. Again, it was easy since (I think) they have an 'airport line' where every train that departs will take you towards the city.
So, within 15 minutes we were in Hakata Station!
Now, actually our hotel was not too far off from both the airport & Hakata Station.
So, why did we not drop our luggage first?
Unfortunately, we stayed at an unmanned hotel, that does not have luggage storage either. Hence we have to find our own storage locker & the train station is a good place to do that. Fortunately for us, too, we arrive on a Monday morning, so it wasn't too too hard to find the lockers.
Then, we picked up the North Kyushu rail pass that we'd be using in the next couple of days.
First order of business: queuing for ramen!
We chose Shinshin ramen in the station as our first meal. DELISH.
We actually got back to the ticket office to book a train to use with our pass after lunch - so we have more patience & brain power hehe.
We then took a walk to Dacomecca bakery :") it was a beautiful popular bakery that (from what we can see) does a lot of savory bread/sandwich creations!
From Dacomecca, we visited Fuglen coffee.
We didn't get to visit Fuglen in the previous year, so this became the first coffee stop.
We sat for a while - read & worked a lil bit, before we continued on to the electronic shop.
Next- girls pro-tip: check if your hair straighteners work in Japan due to the voltage system!
Ours doesn't, so we have no choice but to get one there (there are options so we can still use it anywhere else!) We bought ours in Yodobashi - Hakata.
A quick look around at Uniqlo & GU concluded our afternoon before we picked up our suitcases, took another quick train ride to our hotel!
We stayed in Hotel Wa Hakata.
It has 1 bedroom, 4 beds, a sizeable living room/sofa sitting, even a functional kitchen + microwave + washing machine! Like a spacious mini apartment - which is a LUXURY if you're in Japan.
After settling in, taking a shower & a quick nap,
we headed out for early dinner.
We ate our first dinner at One Kalbi Premium Nakasu.
Spoiler alert: it would be one of our favorite places to eat.
This is a yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) place located on the 4th floor, overlooking the river. We order via the tablet with an English menu, and they have little robots that deliver the order. & the meat was so delightful!
After dinner, we couldn't help but walked towards the shiny bridge, blanketed with Christmas lights - & we found a Christmas market there! It was so pretty (but it was only the beginning of the Christmas market business!) Finally, we popped into DonQ to pick up some snacks to enjoy during the trip. Plus a trip to the konbini, of course.
And once we got back to our hotel, we got cleaned up and settled in for a bit of Netflix and a lot of snacking, & sleeping early!
DAY 2: Dazaifu + Yanagawa
Our first breakfast slaps. Dacomecca + konbini.
The agenda for today is to visit Dazaifu + Yanagawa.
Dazaifu was quite a journey (though nothing compared to our journeys in the next days!)
It's a charming touristy suburb with lots of food vendors as you head towards a shrine.
tbh, for this trip, we weren't planning to visit as many of the temples. Rather, we focus on the surrounding area, the view & the food scene.
And here, aside from the Dazaifu Tenmagu shrine, there's also Kyushu National museum building.
What's very impressive to me is that the museum was located quite high up the hill. BUT they provided a lenghty escalator to take us up there (if you don't drive yourself there!) It was a magnificent building. Would love to explore more next time.
For lunch, we planned on the Ichiran there - but the queue was 2 hrs lol. Idk why.
So we just ate from the local vendors instead: some mentai pan, tamago, savoury mochi, and the hero for me: wagyu + spicy mentai on a bed of hot rice. OMG. We bought one, and then two more. LOL.
Then we had coffee + yuzu soda, & caught a train to the next town.
Yanagawa was an even quieter town. I thought it would be more touristy - & maybe it would have been in the summer months, because Yanagawa is more famous for being a canal city & punting! They even have a new shiny train station! I guess we came at the wrong season lol.
But our main reason for visiting Yanagawa is the Yanagawa Tachibana-Tei Ohana.
This is a hotel which has preserved a house that once belonged to a Japanese lord & Samurai family. They have a beautiful vintage garden out the back, while at the front they have a Western-style building. There were literally only 2 other tourist there! & It was a serene way to close our evening.
Luckily we got to catch sight of a boat passing by as we left the Ohana house, so at least we knew what it would've looked like hehe. We took a taxi here to go to & from the station, just to make it quicker - as the bus in our route were quite infrequent.
Arriving in Tenjin station, we headed to the shops straightaway haha.
Again, Uniqlo, with a browse around GU & Loft! My love.
Then, we had dinner at Ikkaku Nakasuten - a roast chicken shop with glimmering reviews!
They 'only' have 2 thing on the menu: chicken & young chicken. Ha!
Then you can order rice ball + soup on the side + drinks.
Did it match our expectations? Yes and no. My suggestion: order the young chicken. Much more tender (like Hainanese chicken tenderness) & get them to chop it for you. Much easier to eat. & order yourself a 'fun' drink! Beer or soda. SO GOOD.
Another trip to the konbini before heading home & repeating the trend: Netflix & snacks.
DAY 3: Nagasaki
Since grade school, I've heard of this city in history class. Hiroshima & Nagasaki were the two cities hit with the atomic bomb - the event which were often credited as giving Indonesian the window of time & opportunity to proclaim its independence.
When I saw that Nagasaki was one of the daytrips that we could do from Fukuoka, I wanted to do it. Especially after having watch 'Oppenheimer' too in the recent years.
We ate breakfast at home and headed out early.
We took the train to Hakata Station, and shopped for some ekiben + snacks.
Then it was time to use our North Kyushu pass.
The way it works:
on our first day here, we had already redeemed our pass in the for of 4 ticket stubs (1 per person).
This ticket has a 3-day active period (according to the package you bought) & must be used each time you enter & exit the train station - so keep it safe!
Once we made it in, just head to the right platform.
For Nagasaki, we took 2 trains:
1 - the Relay-Kamome limited express train, to Takao-Onsen
2 - transit & take the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen all the way to Nagasaki
But the great thing is the Relay Kamome & Nishi Kyushu would be parked side by side - literally all you need to do is cross the platform. The train would depart as soon as in 3 minutes. Super efficient.
After arriving in Nagasaki, we took the tram to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.
This was quite a profound experience - super informative & easy to understand with the English content being excellent. I rented the extra audio guide, and it was a great addition to the display.
What I love is the focus wasn't at how Nagasaki was victimized in this instance. It also wasn't about assigning blame.
Yes, there was a part of the exhibition that showed how bad the explosion impacted the town & the people of Nagasaki, and there was also another part that glanced at how this came to be politically.
But in showing the horrors of the past, the main focus of this is forward-looking: to make sure something like this would never happen again.
I I found it amazing that every year, people were still sending in memorabilia that has to do with an event that happened 80 years ago. It still affects the people of Nagasaki & their families.
As closure to the exhibit, we visited the Hypocenter & Peace Park - which were a short walk away.
There were groups of school children, learning, taking notes, tearing up, and paying respects.
Then, we had a late lunch at Yoshinoya (verdict: yum).
Walked to 'June' coffee,
and peeked at Dejima Island museum HAHA.
I had wanted to come here to see the miniature old town (like something I saw in a kid magazine years ago). But at lunch, I realized that we had not much time, & I started to beat myself up for not managing the time better... but then we walked past it & we could very much see the miniatures without even going through the whole museum. HEHE. Yay for me!
Next, we took the bus to Mt. Inasa lookout station - as we were about to take the ropeway up to the observatory! Yes, I am a bit squishy about height, but we braved ourselves, and though our knees were weakened for the 5-minute journey, we were rewarded with an incredible, 360 view of Nagasaki!
We arrived there at like 4.30.
Ideally, we would be there at sunset, because this lookout was considered top 3 night-views in the world. But we timed it wrong lol & had to leave to catch our train before it got dark. Yet it worked out for us - because the photos we took in the sunlight were ones for the book. (I even got to spy out with the binocular there!)
We took the 6.15 train back to Hakata Station, (refueled with snacks & Macca's in Nagasaki hehe)
and decided to walk back home as it wasn't too too far. We passed by a bakery called: Boul'Ange (that were apparently famous Japan-wide? But we hadn't encountered them in the other cities) & I got a brie + jamon sandwich for breakfast.
We split up for dinner: two went for tonkatsu, and two went for konbini dinner. Satisfied customers all around - especially with a 2nd trip to Macca's for McFlurry.
Ahh.. what a day.
DAY 4: Tenjin
I always place my shopping days at the end of the trip - so we've seen everything & know exactly what to buy. But I guess this time everyone was a bit eager to get started xD
So that's what we did on day 4!
First, we headed to a bakery x coffee shop called 'Pain Stock' x 'Coffee Country' .
There was quite a queue outside, but it was moving quickly.
Inside, the cozy bakery was FULL of breads of every kinds!
Sandwiches, croissants, baguettes :") heavenly
I got myself a croissant with a matcha-brownie filling. HAHA best of all my worlds.
The croissant was flaky, the filling was matcha-y but not too sweet - amazing.
Then, we made our way back to the Uniqlo - GU - & Loft building.
I have to say, it was quite the spree xD Since I had browsed around the previous day, I knew what I wanted to buy - it didn't take tooo too much time.
Trying the clothes on at Uniqlo & GU did take a bit of time since we had lots of layers, but we managed. && I found a reused section of Uniqlo here! The tops & cardigas were a bit last season (you can easily tell) but the dresses & skirts/pants were perfectly fine! So of course I had to browse around!
After the clothes shopping is done, I headed up to Loft. I got tons of stickers - like, tons + my trusty Hobonichi!
For this trip, I didn't just focus on clothes, food, & stationaries, but also skincare. I wanted to see if I need to join the J-beauty hype haha. So I did browse around Loft for skincare products too, starting with travel packs that they offer.
When the damage was done, I was quite shocked at the price HAHA I didn't expect to spend that much - I don't think I've ever spent that much!
Late noon, we headed to Underground Tenjin for lunch.
When we first step into the chikagai, I was blown away. It was beautiful!
Two straight alleys, with narrow ceiling, but beautifully decorated with Christmas lights from one end to the other, spanning 12 blocks of stores! What's even crazier to me: this underground tunnel connects idk how many different malls! From Mina, Daimaru, Solaria Plaza, One Fukuoka, etc etc etc.
How cool & dreamy! & warm compared to the outside lol.
& it was about to get warmer with chazuke for lunch..
Afterwards, we split around for some more errands: coffee, and matcha,
and reconvened to walk around One Fukuoka building (Itoya & Tsutaya),
& Muji! Finally got a good look at Muji!
Verdict: like M&S + IKEA if they have a minimalist child. But I love it!
As the night approaches, we headed back for dinner.
The Ichiran HQ was our first choice - but the wait time was quite long (45-60mins)
So we split up again haha I just cannot wait + not super super hungry. So konbini dinner again it was!
A delish combo of salad + hambagu. + all the desserts we can find.
DAY 5: Yufuin & Beppu
Another day on the road!
This time, we were taking a very special train: Yufuin No Mori! This is a vintage train that took us from Hakata Station to Yufuin city, which was around 2.5 hrs away.
Remember when we redeemed the North Kyushu pass?
The redemption counter was also able to help us reserve seats - but we need to already know what time & day we want it! We could've booked online further in advance, but it costs more :") hehe
And though this train is super popular, by the grace of God we were able to get a reservation even without paying extra! & what's extra special: we got a booth seating.
& the hardest thing to do in this train was dividing your attention!
Between the snacks, the entertainment (a book), or the view :") All the way & especially as we were approaching Yufuin, we were indulged with a beautiful view of the vast mountains and dams & charming towns. I did not want to stop filming & taking photos.
When we arrived in Yufuin, the first thing we noticed was how cold it was! Think it was bcs we were higher up or closer to the mountain (which provided a beautiful backdrop to the town!) & that despite all the snacks, we needed to eat lunch!
Our original lunch spot had a long queue (& a bigger food portion than we anticipated) so we quickly switched to a katsu place nearby. Delish!
Then, we made our way to the more touristy part of the town, with shops and cafes lining the street.
Our main reason for stopping by at Yufuin is to see the Yufuin Flower Village - which made us feel like we were diving into Ghibli-like world :") Where there were small houses (like hobbit houses) creating a tiny village. The whole thing actually makes up one shop (if I'm not mistaken), and each house was filled with souvenirs of different kinds from all the Ghibli movies. Everything was super cute!
I consider myself quite lucky to not have known the Ghibli world too deeply, or else I would not be able to leave this place empty handed lol.
After a super quick browse around, we headed to a 2nd destination: Kinrin Lake.
A small lake with naturally warm/hot water, creating a mist on its surface as winter was approaching. Beautiful!
Okk but from Yufuin,, we have 1 more destination!
So we geared up, visited the loo, then headed to the bus station.
We were going to the next town called 'Beppu'.
What I truly didn't expect was how BEAUTIFUL the view from the bus, as well! Aaahhh it felt magical, even. We went through Aso-Kuju National Park, and our eyes feasted on the fields of yellow grass. And since the bus was going up and down the mountain, to me it felt like riding a HUGE but safe roller-coaster with a view. HAHA. Memorable, for sure :")
Beppu is a town famous for its hot springs! It is located at the feet of a volcano, and thus created these channels and pools of hot waters!
You can experience this as onsen, or as sightseeing destinations.
The most well-known one is called 'Hells of Beppu' - a series of sites with unique hot spring pools each with their own characteristics (colors, viscosity, etc!) There were 7 sites in total, but we just visited 1. I think next time it might be worth visiting more than 1 - but then again maybe next time we'd also spend time in Beppu park bcs it looked huge as we passed by them!
But anyways..
From the 'Hells' site, we went to a city lookout.
You can see the city of Beppu, and on the right-hand side, you can see how the hot spring steam popped up all throughout the city. I think once again the view after sunset would be great, but seeing the whole city under the twilight was also pretty.
Off we went to Beppu Station, ready to catch an earlier train back to Hakata.
The train took about 2-2.5 hours. And we ended the day with a well-deserved katsu dinner. AMAZING.
DAY 6
I would consider this day the 2nd coldest of our trip here!
Originally our plan was to walk around Hakata Old Town. But it was raining all day. So we took it one step at a time.
First stop: Pain Stock. Lining up patiently was certainly a skill you should bring to Fukuoka/Japan especially entering the touristy season lol.
Then, for lunch we headed to bills. Aussie-style brunch-ish food. They're most famous for their hotcakes/pancakes, but we chose the savoury options. AMAZING. Though the price was also quite steep haha :")
It was raining when we got out, & SUPER COLD. Definitely was thankful for all my layers :")
We crossed the road to get to Juliet's Letters, and was charmed by this cozy shop!
Then we braved the rain a little bit more to get to Tenjin Chikagai.
We found our way to Solaria Plaza first for Beard Papa hehe.
& I wanted to try out this matcha dessert place & rest a bit, so I got matcha soft serve + matcha-misu. Oh how I never tasted cream that light & creamy & clean.
Since the rain calmed down into a drizzle, we decided to explore Daimyo a little bit.
This reminded us to Shinjuku - Cat Street's vibe. Lots of big brands have a store here - from Apple, Adidas, H&M, Aesop. && a trick I learned from TikTok: to find the bougiest/hippest part of town: look for Aesop.
We also found another book/stationary store: Junkudo - that begged us for a visit & browse around!
After another lap around Daimyo, we went back for a 3rd time to Loft HAHA BECAUSE we had shopped quite a lot & needed a way to somehow bring them all back home. Soooo extra suitcases were needed! We got a cabin-sized suitcase + a duffle bag for out winter jackets.
Dinner was once again the One Kalbi Premium Nakasu. The meltiest piece of wagyu I've ever tasted :")
& I closed the night with shopping spree at DonQ for snacks souvenirs aka 'oleh-oleh' heheee.
DAY 7
For a final full day, we started off by a mandatory DonQ - this time, it was my parents' time to find 'oleh-oleh'.
My one request this trip is to have sushi - bcs IMAGINE this: we went to Japan last year & I didn't get to taste sashimi. So we have to make it right! But I chose train sushi bcs not everyone in my party wants raw fish :") This way we can all get what we want. & Kura Sushi turned out to be the cheapest meal of our trip HAHA.
After a quick lunch, we headed to Hakata Station via old town. Loved finding these less touristy parts of the town that was even more beautiful than the well-known ones!
Around Hakata Station:
We went for another trip to Dacomecca (but they have limited menu since it was Sunday afternoon),
Hands
Kitte
Amu Plaza - got a red bean mochi bread kind of thing + Soup Stock!
Amu Est - got a matcha latte
Daiso in Yodobashi
Some more snack hunting at Hankyu
& finally, we got Ippudo for dinner at the 10th floor of Amu Plaza.
Somehow that floor (9&10th) was so beautifully decorated - it felt quite bougie & modern (compared to the shopping mall downstairs!)
After devouring the spicy ramen, we were making our way down via the escalator when a Taylor Swift poster caught my eyes lol it was from a record store! A quick browse around compelled me to bring home another CD of hers to complete the sisterhood of folklore & evermore :")
As we headed back to our hotel for the final time, we crossed path with so many people making their way to the Station. Our guess: they had their day-trip or weekend getaway here in Fukuoka. & after strolling around town, they were heading back home via the train.
Meanwhile, we were getting ready to say goodbye to Fukuoka, too.
7 days flew by, but in the best way possible.
DAY 8
Packed up and ready to say goodbye, we checked out of our hotel at around 08.30 am.
We headed to the airport via taxi.
Now, at the Fukuoka airport, you can actually do self-check in & baggage drop.
But since we were going on a long layover, we headed to the counter to arrange that first.
The immigration & security was simple & quick!
& with around 1.5 hrs to spare, we decided to get a goodbye bowl of ramen + gyoza too. DELISH. A perfect way to end our culinary trip here.
Annddd...
I was ready to find my mandatory travel Starbucks drink when I came across: The Matcha Tokyo!
Here in Fukuoka Airport, with no lines! The one I visited in Shinjuku had super long lines - vindication! So that was my final matcha for this trip.
Soon after we boarded, and flew to Bangkok.
Again, the boarding & push back were super quick!
The meal on the air was once again superb. The snacks were superb. Thai Airways - recommended.
We arrived in Bangkok at around 4 pm local time.
The immigration here took a bit long. But forgivable since the lines were always moving.
& since we didn't have any luggage - we were able to go quickly.
We chose to take the skytrain from the airport - bcs we were quite fortunate to stay near one of the skytrain station. But from the station to the hotel, we took a Grab & probably spent almost 45-60mins due to the trafic jam! Reminded me of Jakarta's crazy traffic.
Our hotel room was BEAUTIFUL! With a view overlooking the centralwOrld mall HAHA which is where we went right away!
We had dinner at Kub Kao' Kub Pla. Delish - but beware, it was even more expensive than our most expensive meal in Japan lol. But we did order quite a lot.
For dessert, we found our long-lost friend: Cheesecake Factory :"))
I didn't know they have CCF in Bangkok :") Super happy to reconnect with CCF hahaa
+ fruits! We got two cups of fresh fruit in the market below.
The night ends with TV & desserts in room :)
& admiring the gorgeous night view :")
DAY 9
I woke up quite late - considering jetlag HAHA
What I mean is: in Japan time, I usually wake up at like 8? which is 6 Thai time
but I woke up at like 7.30 lol.
First order of busines: finding Thai breakfast - which to me is a hot bowl of tom yum noodle soup!
& walking to the nearby hawker street, I found the perfect spicy & sour noodle soup.
I first fell in love with this dish from DoDee Paidang when they opened in Melbourne. & this love is officially rekindled :"))
We also ordered some pandan buns via grab + picked up a little strawberry After You box from the store downstairs hihi.
After showering & packing up, we went back to the skytrain station and back to the airport.
A quick lunch at the thai restaurant provided the last kick of Thai warmth we needed.
Then we boarded the plane & arrived safely back in Jakarta.
--
I have to admit, even though we don't use a tour service,
we PACKED our trip & had to be quite strict with time xD
no time for sitting around leisurely even for a cup of coffee lol.
So idk if we were being 'recharged' or 'rested' HAHA
But 131k steps later,
we definitely came home with lots of new, wonderful memories.
--
favorite bite: definitely the Wagyu from One Kalbi Premium. purrfection.
favorite snack: hmmm idk actuallyy - the croissant from Pain Stock - does it count?
favorite drink: the winter-limited hot lemon tea reigns!
AND a huge shoutout to both Fukoka & Suvarnabhumi airports for being incredibly beautiful, calming, cozy, with lots of space, seating, toilets, & vendors! So happy to travel through both of these airports!
Japan, we'll definitely be back.
