The second day of me and Romana’s trip, we took a train to Dazaifu and explored the main street and shrine, before getting a coffee. We returned to Fukuoka for an evening in Watanabedori at more izakayas! We spent four days in Kyushu, Japan; we stayed in Fukuoka for two nights (with a day trip to Dazaifu) and a night in the onsen town of Yufuin.
We got up quite early then got trains to the village of Dazaifu, south east of Fukuoka. It’s about 20 to 40 minutes away depending on how good you are navigating the Japanese subway system! Anyway, immediately after arriving, we were enjoying the calmer vibe of the location; yes there were lots of visitors like us, but it was an easy crowd and quite relaxing. The main attraction at Dazaifu seems to be a shrine dedicated to learning and academic success, Dazaifu Tenmangu, so that where we headed.
From the station, we turned right onto a street with a lot of foot traffic. It was lined with places to eat, and buy local crafts. There were plenty of local delicacies to try, mostly sweet things. We looked for a place to eat lunch and went to a Restaurant behind (or part of?) Cafe Kasanoya and had a lunch of egg topped rice which was pretty good; it was dark wood interiors with a little internal glassed off courtyard garden housing a stone pagoda.
Dazaifu Tenmangu
We made our way slowly up the street towards the shrine, looking into a few of the shops. There were lots of lovely looking crafts, all ideal for gifts. At the end of the street is a statue of a divine bull, that you touch in order to get good luck (or put your finger up its nose…). Left from there are the grounds to the big shrine complex, with ponds, bridges and amazing looking old trees.
At the shrine were lots of people involved in a group ritual, I imagine in preparation for exams or something. The building the monk was speaking from had a roof entirely covered in grass and plants!
After a while, we wandered further into the gardens behind Tenmangu for more of the amazing trees. The weather was cool and the light rain had left the place calm and lushes green. We followed a trail past old wooden restaurants and cafes up a hill into a place covered in white and red banners; the banners were about the height of a person and each had a piece of unique writing on it, probably ordered by people donating to the temple for a ‘prayer’. There were a few trails through series of red wooden gateways going up the hill, also lined with the red and white banners. The trails led to Tenkaiinari Shrine in a building and a small shrine in a cave behind it. These were all very much in use by people so we tried not to act like tourists! It was a lovely place.
We headed back down and found a restaurant for some tea, sake, and a small baked mochi cake. The tea I had tasted like soup broth (not a nice one!) so we focused in the mochi cake and sake. It was a cool restaurant. The floor seated areas had spaces for your legs!
We wandered slowly back through the shrine gardens then to a lily pond for some photos.
Then back on the main street, we stopped by a few more shops; Romana was looking for gifts for the family. I wanted coffee so we went to an old traditional cafe. Traditional in the sense that id had old-timey Western sensibilities but is totally authentic for an older period in Japan; lots of pretty china tea sets, doilies and antique wooden furniture. It was a nice place to explore.
Watanabedori and two Izakaya
After leaving, we were lucky enough to get a coach going directly to Hakata station. After resting at the hotel, we took a subway to the Watanabedori area of town (Watanabe-dori Station). Using Google Maps and our eyes, we found a likely candidate; Yakitori Taira. It has a standing bar area where we stood awkwardly for a bit. Then a server came and sat us at the main counter (phew!). Then we got out our Google eyes and started translating. Romana practiced here Japanese writing and we soon got our first round of drinks and skewered chicken. When you order sake by the glass, they often pour “too much” I think as a sign of generosity!
After that we wandered north through the streets and looked at other candidates for a second stop; we saw so many! Eventually, we walked into a hugely busy place called 博多一口餃子 たけとら (don’t have an English name. It’s just labelled Izakaya in the Google map below!). It was super busy but we got sat opposite each other on a long narrow table between two other groups. Out with our Google eyes again and ordered more dishes, beer and sake. This time the sake was overpoured into a little square wooden dish.
Map of places visited this trip: