Kyushu Bike Adventure 9 – Imari to Fukuoka
Another day, another early start. Waving goodbye to Amari and that tasty beef from the Tan. I ride old Foldi to the station and spot those 16 bit pixel animations again. The same retro gaming vibes as I’ve seen on a bunch of Saga Prefecture trains. Turns out Square Enix, those Final Fantasy folks, teamed up with JR Trains here in Saga Prefecture because their game Romancing Saga has Saga in it. That’s it. That’s the link. Good enough for me. My train pulls in looking nicely vintage. Vintage and yet meticulously maintained, just like everything else here in Japan. I ride to Karatu. [Music] Remember my first ride in episode 2, Fukuoka to Karatu, when my foldy’s gears gave up and I limped onto a train. I missed out on the stunning coastal part of that ride. So, I’m back to do it, but this time it’s west to east, but not before breakfast. There’s Kamita’s coffee for the carbs this morning. And their 1980s western style food kind of goes hard. As me and Foldi leave Kadatu behind, we cross over Matsura River through some quiet residential streets, then into a little forest. It’s a nice green cooling stretch of bike path. The colder air feels good. And when the canopy opens, I’ve made it to the coastal road and it’s perfect. Overcast, cool, flat. What more could a guy ask for? I float past fish farms, green and yellow agricultural fields, trains looking majestic as they cut through the landscape, and then ice cold family m frappe to keep the pedals spinning. A few hours in the saddle and I roll into Ittoshima. From there is a train back to Tenin Station, right in Fukquoka’s heart. This city is a foodies paradise, and I’m basically guaranteed to eat well tonight. And tonight, it’s going to be an okonomiyaki joint. Looks like it’ll fit in just right with this little food tour of mine. Tucker, don’t forget to order some okonamiyaki. [Music] So, I found this really cool tan place in Fukuoka, and I’ve gone for a few different dishes here, including this, which is porton, they call it over here. It’s like a beef stomach with a layer of fat on top. Now, I have had this before. Let me try it. It’s got t sauce. Oh, yum. That is juicy and melt in your mouth. And I’m not surprised cuz it’s mainly fat with a little slither of stomach. Now I have had this before. I had it at the airport dish called mossunab which is a hot pot dish and they have it with this hamon and absolutely delicious. Has kind of ramen vibes like a mild ramen. Absolutely delicious. Got really cool vibes about this place. Reminds me a little bit of hiss and smoke the restaurant in Perth. This is as close as Japan has come to hissen smoke. Next, I’ve got some grilled squid, also cooked on the tan right in front of me. And this has aged garlic soy, also super delicious. That aged garlic soy is absolutely divine. It pairs really well with the squid. Squid is not chewy at all. It’s very well cooked. I love it. Two absolutely dectable dishes. And now for the okonamiyaki. It’s a rash nami. So, it’s with the noodles. Good job, chef. Thank you. Let’s try to not make a mess. No promises. There’s a layer of pork belly. And I’ve got the squid, prawn, and scolops. So, a seafood variety. It’s got the okonamiyaki sauce on top, bunch of noodles, and of course, a whole bunch of cabbage. Just going to try to pop it in the mouth, I think. So lovely. That first thing I’m putting is the egg and the okonamiyaki sauce. And then everything else kind of hearty feeling dish plus the bean shoot, some cabbage and seafood and everything else all mixed together. Super super good. I’ve just added some mayonnaise to this okonamyaki. So that’s what it needed. More sauce. Am I right? So juicy and sloppy and delicious. And what I love about this just eating here in front of the tapan is the dishes are just kept on the tapan. I can see the hormone is just bubbling away in its juices as is the squid and everything is just kept nice and warm. And finally, I’ve got this spicy miso tofu. Looks absolutely dectable. Looks like silken tofu with what looks like a beef and of course a miso sauce. It’s very moist. Like a little soup at the bottom. And let’s try. Oh, for Japan, this is actually very spicy. And I’m getting mapo tofu vibes. Let’s have another go. Wow, that’s super good. So, there’s onion and spring onion, and this tofu sauce is very spicy. It’s got julian spring onion and julian chili as well. Super finely julian. And I’m feeling like this might be the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten in Japan. How about that? I was really loving the hordeon, but I think this tofu might be the star of the meal. Delicious. That’s some good eating tucker. Next episode, I’m heading northeast to Kitakiushu, checking out Mia Jakeake Shrine, soaking in the city, and you guessed it, hitting another isakaya. Want to see? Hit the button. Come with me. [Music] [Music]
Flying from Jakarta Indonesia to Fukuoka Japan for a bicycle tour on a Brompton folding bike. Expect to see Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto and plenty of towns in between. I ride, I eat, I ride, I eat, I rinse, I repeat. 18 episodes. Ramen, gyoza, onigiri, miso black cod, Imari beef, Takuro rice, kushiyaki, sashimi, combini, okonomiyaki, sushi, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, tonkotsu, tempura, soba, udon, matsunabe, sake, keiseki, not gonna lie, I do a lotta eating.
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