This episode is about the difficulties we encountered during our trip to Fukuoka and areas where we could have planned better. We also address questions and concerns raised by viewers and common doubts one might have while traveling to Fukuoka. Our goal is to make your future trips to Fukuoka more enjoyable! Let's dive in! Fukuoka Airport is located within the city area of Fukuoka. Besides taxis and buses, the most common choice for transportation is taking the Fukuoka Airport Subway Line. Here's the international arrivals hall, where you'll find maps for reference. Since the subway station is in the domestic terminal, not the international one, if you want to take the subway, you'll need to take the shuttle bus from the international arrivals hall to the domestic terminal. Head right from the arrivals hall towards the north exit, and you'll find a corridor leading to the shuttle bus station. Currently, there's construction underway to expand the international terminal, expected to be completed by 2025, which will provide a more comprehensive international terminal. Here's the shuttle bus we'll be taking. Since there's no dedicated luggage space on the bus, make sure to hold onto your luggage tightly, especially when it's crowded with passengers. Upon arrival, you'll see the exit for the subway. To travel to Tenjin, Nakasu, and Hakata, it costs 260 yen each way (as of the end of 2023). You can load money onto IC cards here, and any IC card listed can be used. We use the ICOCA card from Kansai. When you arrive at the platform and wait for the subway, it takes about 10 minutes to reach Hakata Station! For the return journey, if you want to take the subway to Fukuoka Airport, simply take the reverse route. At Fukuoka Airport Station, there are signs directing you to take the shuttle bus to the international terminal. However, since we didn't confirm beforehand, we later found out that the majority of shops, restaurants, and souvenir stores are in the domestic terminal. So, for those who want to do some shopping or grab some souvenirs before departing, remember to explore and shop on Floors 1 to 3 of the domestic terminal before taking the shuttle bus to the international terminal. In the international terminal, after passing through customs, there are only two souvenir shops, both with long queues. Other than that, there are only duty-free shops and a store selling hot food. The selection is quite limited. We had to satisfy our hunger with fried chicken and takoyaki. Actually, when traveling abroad, we prefer to use eSIM. You don't need to carry around a WiFi device or worry about losing a SIM card. It's very convenient. The first thing we did after getting off the plane was to connect to the airport's WiFi. The shop we purchased from provided a QR code for activation after ordering, but be careful not to scan it before use because it can only be activated once. This time, we didn't notice that this particular one could only be used within 30 days, otherwise it would expire. We found out in Japan that our QR code couldn't be used, so we had to quickly buy two eSIM cards again, wasting a lot of time. If you also want to use eSIM, be sure to pay attention to the activation period! Fukuoka has two of the most popular areas: one is Tenjin and the other is Hakata. If you want to visit attractions like Dazaifu or Yanagawa by Nishitetsu, it's recommended to stay around the Tenjin area. We stayed at the Fukuoka Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel, located above the Tenjin Underground Shopping Street, on the sixth floor or higher at Solaria Plaza. The hotel reception is on the sixth floor. Extra amenities can be requested if needed. The double room is not very spacious but it's clean and comfortable, and it even has a bathtub for soaking. The double room cost around 20,000 Japanese yen per night. Another popular accommodation area is near Hakata Station. We stayed at Forza Hakata Chikushi-guchi, one of the three Forza hotels near Hakata Station. We chose the first building at Chikushi-guchi. There's a lounge area in the lobby where you can enjoy coffee. The check-in process is guided by the front desk staff using a machine, and two room keys are provided. The room comes with basic amenities, and additional items can be requested as needed. The double room is a bit smaller, but it's clean and comfortable for a good night's sleep. It costs about 3,600 Taiwanese dollars per night. The most painful lesson from this trip is that we didn't bring enough cash. From dining at restaurants to visiting shrines and buying amulets, seeking Goshuin stamps the cash disappeared quickly. In Fukuoka, most attractions require cash for purchasing tickets unless they have been bought in advance online. Credit cards or QUICPay are accepted mainly at shops, department stores, restaurants in malls, and ticket counters at stations. During our trip, we spent all our remaining cash on buying fruits in Moji Port, so we couldn't purchase tickets for the observation deck, which was a pity. Without our bank debit cards and unwillingness to withdraw cash from ATMs using credit cards, we had to exchange our remaining Taiwanese dollars for Japanese yen at Fukuoka Bank. We communicated with the friendly bank staff using Google Translate, and they required a copy of our passports and verification of the authenticity of the Taiwanese dollars. After everything was confirmed, we received Japanese yen along with a receipt. Although exchanging currency at the bank took some time, it allowed us to continue with our plans for the rest of the day. Additionally, some establishments in Japan accept StreetPay, a mobile payment method. To activate the StreetPay app in Japan, you can manually switch it to the Japanese version. However, it seems that StreetPay requires the originally bank account rather than using the originally linked credit cards. If a store displays signs for PayPay or StreetPay, you can use StreetPay. We haven't used it yet, so feel free to share your experiences if you have! If you need to exchange currency near Hakata or Tenjin, We recommend visiting Daikoku. We went to the Daikoku near Hakata Station. Inside the shop, you'll find service windows like these. We used Google Translate to communicate with the lady inside who confirmed the currency, exchange rate, and amount. Within three minutes, we exchanged our currency for Japanese Yen, which was very fast. The exchange rate was similar to that of banks, but there was only a brief receipt provided, unlike the detailed statements from banks. Above is our experience with currency exchange in Japan. Many comments raised questions about the use of the Kyushu JR Pass. Although we didn't use it this time, we researched and gathered information from the official website and online sources for your reference. On the JR Kyushu website, you can find details about the JR Kyushu Pass. JR Kyushu is renowned for its various unique sightseeing trains. The JR Kyushu Pass is available in versions covering the entire Kyushu region, northern Kyushu, southern Kyushu, and the Fukuoka region. The official website provides information on the coverage areas for each version, allowing you to choose the one that suits your itinerary. One of the most confusing aspects is why the Kyushu JR Pass cannot be used on the Shinkansen between Hakata and Kokura. This is because the Shinkansen between Hakata and Kokura belongs to JR West Japan, operating on the Sanyo Shinkansen line. Therefore, if you want to travel from Hakata to Kokura using the Shinkansen, you'll need to purchase a regular Shinkansen ticket at the station. However, if you have the Kyushu JR Pass, you can take JR's limited express trains to Kokura. Additionally, if you want to visit Umi-no-Nakamichi, you can also use the Kyushu JR Pass. Take the Kagoshima Main Line from JR Hakata Station to Kashii Station, then transfer to the Kashii Line to Marizon Station. During the validity period of the pass, you can enjoy free rides. For longer journeys to places like Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima in Kyushu, the Kyushu JR Pass is a cost-effective option! For more detailed information about the Kyushu JR Pass, please visit the official website. In Japan, some attractions are not easily accessible by public transportation, so consider taking a taxi. In addition to designated taxi stands at airports and stations, you can use ride-hailing apps like Uber or DiDi, or hail a taxi from the roadside. However, be cautious not to hail taxis at intersections, crosswalks, or bus stops to avoid disrupting traffic. One crucial thing to note is that most taxi doors here are controlled by the driver. Be careful not to accidentally close the door manually! Also, if you want to hail a taxi on the roadside, you can check the current status of the taxi's windshield. Before getting in, you can also inquire about the acceptable payment methods! During our trip to Fukuoka, we used the subway, the Nishitetsu railway, and JR lines. Google Maps was quite sufficient for using these three modes of transportation. However, many attractions require taking a bus to reach. For example, to get from Dazaifu Station to Kamado Shrine, you must check the transportation options on the shrine's official website or outside Dazaifu Station. If you want to travel from Ohori Park to Fukuoka Tower, taking the Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line will require walking a bit. However, Google Maps' bus route information seems less accurate. For checking bus routes, we recommend using a local transportation app like JapanTransit(換乘案內) By entering your starting point and destination, the app will display various transportation options. It will show routes with the shortest travel time, fewest transfers, and lowest fares. If you plan to take a bus, we believe that the JapanTransit app is more detailed and accurate. Fukuoka's buses display the main stops, destination, and bus number on the front. At bus stops, there are usually timetables, but we found that the buses often didn't arrive on time. Passengers always board from the rear door, where they swipe their IC cards or take a paper ticket. The display at the front shows the upcoming stops and fares. When you want to get off, simply press the stop button and wait for the bus to stop before standing up and exiting. When exiting from the front door, you swipe your IC card again or pay with cash. It's worth noting that buses can provide change for partially used banknotes. Similar to the subway, IC cards from various regions of Japan are interchangeable. We found Fukuoka's transportation system to be much simpler compared to other major cities. During your travels in Fukuoka, you'll often come across shops selling Mentaiko (spicy cod roe). Wondering if you can bring Mentaiko back to Taiwan? The answer is yes! According to customs regulations, fresh seafood is prohibited from being brought into Taiwan, but processed seafood products like Mentaiko, which have been dried, pickled, and have had internal organs completely removed, are allowed. In Fukuoka, places like Hakata Station's MING and Souvenir Markets offer a wide selection of souvenirs from all over Kyushu. You can also find souvenir shops at both the international and domestic terminals of the airport. These are the challenges we encountered during our trip to Fukuoka, along with questions raised by our viewers. While this may not cover everything comprehensively, we hope it helps make your travels in Japan and Fukuoka smoother. For us, it's also a review of this trip and preparation for the next visit to Kyushu and Fukuoka. Stay tuned for our future videos! If you enjoy our content, please like and subscribe!
