The outbound flight from Singapore to Fukuoka Airport was uneventful and almost totally free from any kind of turbulence. Oddly though, the inflight breakfast was pretty awful and bland — or maybe I should have opted for the Japanese menu instead of the supposedly “safer” international breakfast of chicken sausage, potatoes, and omelette. Customs, immigration, and baggage pick-up likewise went without a hitch, and after a quick test to make sure that the data SIM cards I’d picked up from Lazada a month ago could connect properly and receive data, I booked an airport limousine bus ride to Hakata Bus Terminal. The ticketing machine accepts large notes of ¥10,000, making it unnecessary to buy the cheapest item at the airport 7-11 just to get small change.
That was followed by a 7-minute walk to drop off my luggage at my first place of stay, The Royal Park Fukuoka Hotel, and I was off again to make my way to the first place of visitation: Ohori Park.
The park is a public city park, so there’s no admission charge to speak of. The park itself is dominated by a large pond, with a walkway that runs through the middle of the pond and interconnects three mini-islands: Willow, Pine, and Sweet Flag. The walk is quite pleasant, very well shaded, with plenty of benches for you to stop and soak in the peaceful serenity. The park on this Sunday morning had a fair share of visitors, including young couples, families with young children, and a lot of joggers. Though as the park is fairly large, there’s plenty of space for everyone; at no point did the park feel congested. This also isn’t a major tourist spot, so the park is spared the busloads of noisy tourists.
Interesting bits for me: a stork at the banks of Pine Island, and a family of Mandarin ducks quietly resting away from foot traffic. Every few minutes or so you’ll see a passenger plane flying overhead, providing great photo-taking opportunities if you have the right lens with you.
Adjacent to Ohori Park is the Japanese Garden that I’ll write about next.
Summary: Easy to get to, and you can spend an hour or two enjoying a leisurely walk. No admission charge.
Directions: Pretty straightforward — take a train on the Kuko Line from Hakata Station to Ohorikoen Station. The ride costs ¥260/SGD3.30 and takes just under 10 minutes.
Next post on the lovely Japanese Garden @ Ohori Park!
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