While planning for our year end trip this December again to Japan, the wife mused that next year, we really should be going to other places. I was a little amused by that: there’s so much left to still see in Japan, isn’t there? Sure, it’s getting expensive, but there are still lots of places we haven’t gone to in the country.
Thing is; it was only this trip this week where I actually also felt a little of that same sense of sameness, with the day trip to Dazaifu this morning perhaps exactly exemplifying the dilemma: the small historic town of Dazaifu is identical in look and feel to the other small historic towns I’ve visited in 2019 and 2022. Oh sure, we have close friends who make several trips each year to Japan and they explore the many places that are well-off the beaten path. But that requires a good degree of planning and also travel agility. The latter is especially challenging since the kids are now with us when we travel as a family, and the couple of opportunities I might have from work travel is also iffy in how much free time I actually have.
Still, even though I’ve already seen and explored most of what I’m interested to see in Fukuoka, I like the city: it’s far more laid back and uncrowded than the likes of Kyoto, Osaka or Tokyo. The hotel I’m staying at is about 6 minute walk from Hakata Station, but almost directly opposite Canal City, a shopping mall that I enjoyed visiting during the 2019 trip. The city feels pretty much the same as what it was in 2019, with easy walking along its boulevards, and interconnecting train and subway networks that I found easier to navigate compared to the larger cities.
Pictures!
