My mom told me this is kind of a red-light district and said I shouldn’t go, but I was on my way to Mt. Fuji, and if I went straight back at night I would’ve been starving, so I came anyway.
Hahaha, it was great.
And honestly, even if she said that, I still would’ve gone~
I’ve never really been the obedient type.
But I didn’t think it felt that dangerous.
Kokura Castle
Hosokawa Tadaoki helped in the victory of the Battle of Sekigahara, entered the area and started building a castle in 1602. It took seven years to complete. Then, it was occupied by Lord Ogasawara, but all but the stone wall was burned down in 1866. After WWII, upon the citizens’ fervent request, the castle tower was rebuilt.
So far, my favorite castle is... Kokura Castle!
I actually only had an hour left to look around, but there happened to be very few people that day, so I had an absolute blast 🤣
And Kokura Castle isn't just a place where you look at historical exhibits. There are lots of interactive features, making it great for learning about the castle while having fun.
I especially liked the “Book of Five Rings” section!
When you put your hand on the scroll, a quote appears on the screen with super cool effects ✨
I tried all five of them〜
There was also a horseback archery experience. I thought it would be pretty easy, but my arms actually got pretty sore!
But I still did it twice〜
And then there was the most ridiculous expense of this trip.
I thought engraving would only cost JPY 30, but then I found out I had to buy a souvenir coin, so it suddenly became JPY 700 🥹
And the worst part is that I... engraved! It! Wrong!
When you think about it, the souvenir coin actually cost more than admission〜 Oh well, I'm on vacation, after all.
Anyway,
travel is full of things you never planned to spend money on, but end up buying anyway!
Also, there's currently an event where anyone with the character “千” in their name can enter for free〜 I'm so jealous.
Kokura Castle also has a VR experience, but I arrived too late and couldn't try it, which was a bit of a shame.
I'll definitely have to come back for it if I get another chance! (Because everything else was so much fun.
And the whole place is really beautiful. Even the restrooms have a faint woody scent 😍
Finally, I went up to the fifth floor and got some photos of Kokura at night.
All I can say is that this place was way more fun than I expected〜 I really recommend it.
There was also a little unexpected twist.
My original plan was: hurry to Kokura Castle → go back to Mojiko and shoot some more footage.
But then...
Pa! Chin! Ko! Appeared!
It was my first time playing pachinko, and it had me trapped for two whole hours 🤣
Luckily, I won in the end!
Suddenly, those two hours didn't feel wasted.
(And I'd always wanted to try it anyway.
So that's it〜 Everyone should go check out Kokura Castle, because even someone like me who doesn't really enjoy visiting castles thought it was a lot of fun!
Misumi West Port
Misumi West Port was opened in 1887 as an export point for coal sourced from Miike Coal Mine. It’s one of the 3 biggest ports built in the Meiji Era and the only one of which to still remain today in its original form since its building approximately 100 year ago. In 2015 it received UNESCO World Heritage status as of one of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.
I finally got to ride the A-Train this time!
I don't know if it was because of the torrential rain warning, but the train was almost empty. Or maybe it was because I took an afternoon train. Either way, the whole ride was unexpectedly relaxing.
After getting off, I walked around nearby first. Since I had reserved a different A-Train for the return trip, I had a total of two and a half hours to wander around here.
But... unfortunately, I hadn't done any research at all.
Everyone, please make sure to take the boat to Matsushima to see the dolphins. Don't be like me!
I wandered around here, wandered around a convenience store, then went to a supermarket, and eventually even went to a clothing store? The whole trip was just me wandering around aimlessly because I didn't know what to do 😔
Later, when I was getting ready to take the train back, I suddenly noticed that everyone was carrying a blue souvenir bag.
I even went out of my way to ask a Malaysian person, and that's when I learned that you could take a boat to see dolphins. And his Chinese was so good!
Then, when I went back to board the A-Train, I couldn't help asking the couple in front of me where they'd gone.
Then I saw the blue bag... They enthusiastically showed me their dolphin photos.
All I could do was console myself by thinking that I get seasick, so it wouldn't have suited me anyway.
Misumi Port is very pretty too, but it was cloudy today...
Great, that didn't make me feel better at all, and now I've even started blaming myself...( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ )
Also, look at the JPY 500 sparkling drink I just bought. I even asked the train attendant which one they recommended, and after happily bringing it back,
I knocked it over the very next second!
Then I had to go ask the attendant if they had a mop...
I did clean it all up myself in the end!
But
what is going on today? 🥲 Ugh, I hate this.
JR Hakata City
This largest train building / retail complex in Kyushu is directly connected to JR Hakata Station. It is made up of AMU Plaza Hakata, and Hakata Hankyu at the Hakata Entrance on the west side and HAKATA DEITOS and AMU EST at the Chikushi Entrance on the east side.
A department store connected to the station. On the second floor by the Chikushi Exit, there’s also a ramen street. It’s pretty small, but it was absolutely packed 😂
So in the end, I just switched to Ichiran Ramen.
There are also lots of things on the first floor, like convenience stores, really tasty mentaiko bread, and tons of souvenirs. A perfect way to drain your wallet, haha.
Oh, and definitely don’t go to the JR West counter to pick up your Kyushu JR Pass!
There’s a separate pickup location specifically for Kyushu.
Last time, I went to the wrong place and ended up wasting more than two hours. I almost made the same mistake again this time... Luckily, I suddenly remembered, or I really would’ve lost it 🤣
The subway and Shinkansen are actually on the same level, and there are signs, but I think you need to look carefully or it’s pretty easy to get lost.
I was originally planning to buy the All Kyushu Pass, but I actually chickened out, hahaha.
Maybe it’s because I booked the hotel for the wrong time yesterday and had to pay an extra TWD 1,500. My wallet has already taken such a beating that it’s dizzy 💫 (and so am I
Finally, I bought a rice ball. So, starting with a salmon rice ball, here begins my second trip around northern Kyushu～～～ (It’s been so long since I wrote a review that I’ve forgotten how, haha)
