This is actually two blogs in one, having crossed the International Date Line and traveling forward in time (sort of). I’m going to breeze through the first two events, below, but our adventure really begins in the third gallery. So I hope you’ll scroll down and see what our first taste of Fukuoka was like.
Since this was Hawaiian Air’s inaugural flight to Fukuoka, now flying direct daily, the scene at the gate was a very big deal. There was entertainment, speeches, a blessing, and a neat mix of people. Apparently there were paid passengers on the flight, as well as people who were invited, like Cat Toth, Chuck Furuya, Gov. George and Mrs. Ariyoshi, Manoa DNA, Pali Kaaihue, and me.
Ten hours was quite a long time to be on an airplane. We were so happy to disembark and get going! Once we arrived, Cat and I had to make a mad dash to find our hotel, since we are staying at a different hotel from the rest of the group. We needed to check in and get to the Hotel Okura in time for the big gala event.
Many people on the inaugural flight were only on it for one day, so people like Cyrus Tamashiro had a long and specific list of items they needed to eat before leaving. Of course, we were more than happy to tag along and help in their quest. First stop? Fukuoka’s famous yatai, of course.
Aloha Fukuoka! Day 1: Itadakimasu! (1 of 22)
One thing you must do in Fukuoka is try a yatai stand. These are little makeshift booths that pop up every night from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. They're all over the city, but you want to find Nagahama, a street with about 10 yatai. We browsed and ended up at Mangetsu.
I’m actually supposed to have a couple of videos to go with this blog, but the connectivity hasn’t been the best on my wifi, so I’ll have to try again tomorrow.
To get the latest updates on our Fukuoka trip, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, follow #AlohaFukuoka on Twitter. You can also see Cat’s blog, here. To see the rest of today’s photos, click here.
Next up: touring Yanagawa and the Zaifu shrine … and more eating!
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[...] Read Melissa Chang’s version of our first day in Fukuoka at her blog, Urban Mix Plate. [...]