One of the Best FOOD Trips Ever in FUKUOKA

I’ve actually been to Fukuoka before a couple years ago, but during that time we joined a tour group that brought us to these horrendous restaurants.  I didn’t write much, but there are a couple of photos you can see at Fukuoka, Aso, and Sea Hell in Beppu.  During that trip, we focused more on the southern parts of Fukuoka.  As such, this time we focused more on the northern side of Fukuoka.

Anyway, the tour guide trip we were on brought us to these ridiculously atrocious restaurants.  In fact, some of these restaurants were overcharging, with the help of the tour guide, who managed to convince us to HAVE to try this Kinki fish for USD 250 that turned out to be undercooked, with lots of bones, and not delicious at all.

That trip, I had an incredibly poor impression of the food in Fukuoka.

THIS time, since we planned and managed the trip ourselves, the food experience was the opposite of what I had compared to my first trip in Fukuoka, in that we had extraordinary food experiences, from sitting near the seaside BBQing raw oysters to eating traditional and sumptuous traditional Japanese traditional cuisine.  I dare say this was one of THE best food experiences I’ve ever had, and I’m about to share with you some of the restaurants we went to.  What a difference planning a trip by yourselves and joining a tour group makes.  I’ve always been AGAINST joining tour groups, as you can manage your time however you want if you’re going by yourself and you can plan the restaurants YOU want to go to rather than being brought to tourist restaurants where the tour agency probably gets a cut or commission from bringing us there.

For things to do, you can read about my blog post Shrines and Limestones, Fukuoka and North.

Continue reading One of the Best FOOD Trips Ever in FUKUOKA

Nara Deer, Kobe Beef

Both Nara and Kobe are places convenient from either Kyoto and Osaka.  While Nara is famous for its deer, Kobe is famous for its beef.  Whereas I could spend a whole day in Nara, I would definitely spend less than half a day in Kobe… besides eating, there really isn’t anything else to do there!  Well, except for shopping probably.

Nara

There’s going to be a lot of walking in Nara as the park is pretty big.  I had a big luggage with me, since I just checked out of Osaka and planned to go to Nara first before heading to Kyoto for my accommodation at night.  It would be ridiculous for me to carry a huge luggage around.  Thankfully, there was a Nara City Tourist Information Center next to JR Nara Station where you can leave your luggages there from 9am to 7pm (Tel no. 0742 27-2223). Continue reading Nara Deer, Kobe Beef