If you can't tell already, we LOVE Japan. When we were in Japan earlier last year, we focused all of our time chasing the cherry blossoms not realizing that there were other flowers to see blooming all across the country. This became one of the reasons for this trip and of course, the food. :) Our plan was to start in Fukuoka in the south and make our way all the way to Hokkaido in the north over the course of 3.5 weeks.
May 10, 2017
Yatais or food stands in Fukuoka are really popular and are sprinkled all over the city. They usually set up shop in the early evening and stay open until the early morning. We decided to eat at Yatai Mama Chan and it did not disappoint. Mama Chan wasn't there that night but her son and husband held down the fort and prepared our dinner. It was so simple but we quickly fell in love with the fried rice and ramen. So delicious!
The following night, we had an awesome dinner at Yakitori Hachibei and lucked out to get a seat before the dinner rush and reservation crowd arrived.
Chicken Tail
Mashed Pea Croquette - Chef recommended!
Pork Belly
Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms
Chicken Wings
Chicken Karaage
Grilled Rice Wrapped in Shiso
Fukuoka is famous for being the home of tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen and we only had 2 days to try as many different kinds as we could. Of course, we started at the well-established Ichiran, where you order from a vending machine and sit in single booths to enjoy your delicious bowl of ramen. It's become a staple for us in Tokyo so it was nice to start off with a classic. We also tried Hakata Issou, which had a more cappuccino looking type of broth, that we thought was okay. It could have been the pungent smell of the broth cooking that might have deterred us from liking this bowl of ramen.
Our absolute favorite was Shin Shin Ramen, which we were able to eat at the station just before catching a train to our next destination.