Fukuoka is a wonderful city, at least from what we saw of it. A blend of typical Japanese urban modernity but a little more outward looking - the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum was excellent - and with traditional remnants like temples, inns, and street stalls, for which Fukuoka is quite well known. We stayed at the Kashima-honkan, an excellent spacious inn halfway between the city centres of Fukuoka and Hakata, and easy walking distance of both.


Lunch was at Ichi-ran, a ramen store with a long history that serves only one dish, but lets you order it exactly how you want it - you tick a menu card to show how spicy, rich, tough, etc, you want your noodles, and if you want egg, mushroom, extra onion, etc, too. Fun, and good.


Also good was the all-you-can-drink special at Cotton Fields bar, a beer-lover's paradise (if the beer lover happens to have a bottomless wallet too. Most of the buffet beers were shit - witness XXXX).