FUKUOKA – Wandering in Hirao

I took a bus to go to Shofuen but I found out later that the bus was the wrong one. So I took off near Takamiya and I had to walk for about 40 minutes.

I didn’t get lost because I had Google Maps. And since this was the first time I came here, I was not annoyed but just enjoyed the moment watching real Japanese people living in their residential areas.

Apartments just looked like the ones in my district, Sanggye dong in Seoul. They looked 20 or 25 years old. This area was humble compared to well-polished fences and gardens with carefully placed blocks, rocks and parked cars near Fukuoka Tower, the northern area of Fukuoka.

However, the shopping district around Hirao subway station was very beautiful with colorful canopies and outdoor displays. Old canal and railway offered a scent of antiquity to the village, rendering a comfortable atmosphere.