Fukuoka, Japan city review
So, what is the Japans? Is this the Japans? And why is everyone going there all of a sudden? And more importantly, where should you go? If you’re a typical tourist, you’ll go to Tokyo or Kyoto for the tourist traps and for the overpriced tourist food. But today, I want to introduce you to an underrated city in Japan. One that I visited recently and absolutely loved it. And that is Fukuoka, Japan. Hello and welcome to my new channel that’s all about travel and exploring different cities and places. My name is Catalin, but my friends call me Cat and now you can too. I travel to places where awesome people live. I walk around their city and eat their delicious food and then talk about it to kind of spread the good vibes. For this first video, I’m talking about Fukuoka, Japan, which is an awesome city I spent a month in recently and absolutely loved it. I’ll talk about the history, the culture, the tourist traps, the people of course, and a lot more. Now, Fukuoka is located in the east of Japan, which is also the south of Japan, towards the tip of the banana. It’s on Kiushu Island, one of the four main islands of Japan. Close by is the most active volcano in Japan, Mount Aso, which in a country full of active volcanoes is really saying something. The city is also the largest on its island with a metropolitan population of 2.5 million people. It’s the sixth largest in Japan. Now, before you go, you should know a bit about the history so that you can kind of impress locals with your knowledge of their city that you got from YouTube. The area in which the city is now is thought to be the initial entry point for settlers from the Asian mainland into Japan sometime around the stone age. And actually, there are archaeological sites from that time that you can actually visit now in and around the city. One of the most famous events is the Mongol invasion or invasions into Japan. In 1274, the Mongols came with 33,000 men and completely overwhelmed the local defenders. But a series of severe storms ultimately led to their defeat. Taking inspiration from China, which was going to build a wall about a 100 years later, they built a 20 km stone wall that was 2 to 3 meters in height to defend the city. Then seven years later in 1281, the Mongols invaded again with a massive 140,000 men, completely overwhelming the 40,000 defenders for a second time. But again, a massive storm, a typhoon, this time helped defeat the invaders. And from then on, the Mongols never again invaded, and the Japanese called this phenomenon kami kad or divine wind, a term they still use to this day. The formation of the city was also a funny affair with deceit and people apparently locked in their toilets. Over time, two cities formed in this area. One was Hakata, the merchant area that was richer and more cultural in the east and Fukuoka, the samurai district to the west. When in 1889 it came time to merge the two and create the city and choose the name, the samurai were outnumbered in the vote. But when the time came, some Hakatans were mysteriously absent, apparently locked in the bathroom, so they couldn’t vote. And so the name Fukuoka was passed. Although to this day, some resentment remains. And you can find the Hakata name all around the city, such as in the main train station, Hakata Station. The city is divided into seven prefectures, although most stuff is in the two central ones, Chuoku and Hakataku. As everywhere in Japan, the city is surrounded by mountains, specifically to the east, south, and west, with the north bordering the Hakata Bay. It’s also the closest large city to Korea and Busousan, and there are regular fairies that go between the two. There’s also a bridge that goes from Fukuoka to Busousan, Korea, called the Friendship Bridge. Actually, I’m just kidding. There isn’t, but I think there should be. The weather is pretty mild in winter. The temperature is around 10° but can get quite hot in summer over 30 in July and August. Between August and September is the typhoon season, but even then they only last for a few days. Once in a while, so it’s not that big a deal. While Japan is often subject to earthquakes, Fukoka or Hakata area is not as exposed. Although earthquakes do happen, they are quite rare and not very strong in intensity. The best overall time to visit is either in spring around April May or in autumn around September, October. Speaking of travel, let’s talk about tourist traps. Here we go. Fukuoka Castle Ruins, Hakata Canal City, Fukuoka Tower, Hakata Folk Museum, Ohi Park, so many shrines and temples, a bunch of museums, and the Yatai food stalls along the canal. Outside the city, but within dayrip distance, you have the reclining Buddha statue and Nanzoin Temple, Ittoshima Peninsula, Nonoshima Island, Yanagawa Canal Cruise, Wisteria Gardens, and so many more. Throughout the year, you’ll find in Fukuoka different festivals. Some dedicated to special events and some just because. The Hakata Gillon Festival happens in July and has men carrying floats throughout the city because why not. And then the Hakata Dontaku Port Festival is in May for Golden Week with parades, floats, performances around the city and a lot more. You might just find a random festival happening if you go in spring or in autumn. For outsiders, Fukuoka is really a hidden gem when it comes to food, but it’s famous in Japan for its specialty dishes. There are delicious restaurants on every street corner. Dishes you absolutely must try when in Fukuoka include the tonkot ramen, known as the specialty dish of Fukoka, meno, a marinated pock row that goes well with a cup of sake, mossab, hakata udon, gyoza, and so much more. Fukuoka is also famous for its stalls or yatai that can be found along the canal or in the central tenjin area. Locals love to eat out at the yatai, so there will almost always be a queue, but the food is cooked on the spot. Absolutely delicious and worth the wait. In addition to the food, Fukuoka also offers one of the best shopping experiences in Japan. The central Hakata station and surrounding area has department stores where you can find pretty much anything you need. A short 15-inute walk away is Canal City, which offers shopping, food, and walks along the canal and the yatai I mentioned earlier. Walking a bit further along, another 15 minutes or so, you reach the Tenjin area, the largest shopping area in Fukuoka. You will find there lots of department stores, street shopping, food, parks, and general high pedestrian volume city area. In Tenjin, there’s also one of the largest underground shopping areas in Japan. So, you can say that the entire Fukuoka city center is one large shopping, food, and entertainment area. All right, so that’s my review for Fukuoka. It’s an awesome city, not very well known outside its surrounding area and outside its own country. I definitely recommend a visit next time you’re planning your Japan trip. So, let me know what you think. Thank you for watching the video and see you again
I recently went on a trip to Fukuoka Japan and I loved the city. I made this video to showcase the city and show people how awesome it is.
AloJapan.com