November itinerary in Japan Day 4 (Fukuoka Day 2 Meal edition)

(Thursday, November 18)

Table of contents

3. Hakata Issou Hakata Station East Main Store

1. Ramen shop at Hakata Station

As I wrote in the BLOG two days ago, I went to Munakata Taisha on the fourth day of my trip to Nagasaki and Fukuoka. When I went to the platform of Hakata Station to catch the train to Munakata Taisha, there was a shop of “Hakata Ramen”. Usually, there are many soba and udon shops on the platform of the station, so I saw the “Hakata Ramen” shop for the first time. If I knew the existence of this ramen shop in advance, I ate it for breakfast, but I gave up because the train departure time was approaching.

I love eating on the platform of the station. I have eaten standing noodles at many local stations such as “Shinshu Soba” at Nagano Station, “Kishimen” at Nagoya Station, and “Ekisoba” at Himeji Station. I posted about “Ekisoba” at Himeji Station in the Hokuriku / Kinki Travel Edition.

Other than “Ekisoba”, the memorable one is “Kishimen” at Nagoya Station. Of course, restaurants offer Nagoya’s specialty “Kishimen”, but they also offer cheap snacks and beer and other alcoholic beverages from Yen 100 to Yen 500 , so it’s a good place to drink lightly. In fact, many people at Nagoya Station have a light drink before getting on the Shinkansen or train. Ekiben that you eat on the train is good, but I also like eating and drinking on the platform of the station because it has the effect of increasing the taste of travel.

2. Kotobukiya Saburo

Immediately after crossing Oshima by boat, I ate “Special Kaisendon (seafood bowl)” (Yen 2,200 including tax) at “Kotobukiya Saburo”. “Kotobukiya Saburo” is a restaurant run by a fisherman, and you can eat a lot of fresh seafood.

The “Special Kaisendon” I ate was also full of sashimi from the bowl. The fresh seafood was very delicious and it was a very satisfying lunch.

At “Kotobukiya Saburo”, the person sitting next to me ordered and ate “Sashimi set meal” (Yen 1,650 including tax). “Special Kaisendon” is also recommended, but “sashimi set meal” is also a good choice because there are so many fish and shellfish in consideration of cost performance.

I was satisfied with the “Special Kaisendon” of “Kotobukiya Saburo”, but in fact, the first place I tried to eat in Oshima was “Meshidokoro Harunohi“. It is a restaurant that requires a reservation. When I called the reservation on the day, it was already full. “Kotobukiya Saburo” is a simple restaurant run by a fisherman. On the other hand, when you look at the homepage of “Meshidokoro Harunohi”, it looks like a decent Japanese restaurant. If I go to Oshima next time, I would like to make a reservation for “Meshidokoro Harunohi” in advance and go there.

3. Hakata Issou Hakata Station East Main Store

I returned to Hakata from Oshima and ate Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen (Yen 680 including tax) at “Hakata Issou Hakata Station East Main Store”. “Hakata Issou Hakata Station East Main Store” is a popular ramen shop that has been selected as one of the 100 famous restaurants in 2021 by Tabelog.

“Hakata Issou” is a relatively new ramen shop founded in 2012. It was delicious to visit during my previous trip to Fukuoka, so I revisited this time. It may not look very delicious in the photo, but it was an excellent tonkotsu ramen. There is not arrogance even though popular stores, and the staff were cheerful and pleasant. It is understandable that it continues to be a prosperous ramen store.

4. Asahiken Kawabata store

I met up with a friend and ate gyoza (dumplings) at “Asahiken Kawabata store”. Fukuoka city is not well known as a dumpling town, but there are many dumpling shops in the city. In the 2020 household survey, Fukuoka City was the sixth largest dumpling consumption in Japan at the prefectural capital. The first place is Utsunomiya City, which is famous for dumplings.

“Asahiken Kawabata store” is a store near Nakasu, and I got the impression that most of the customers were locals. The dumplings are small and easy to eat, and it feels like you can eat as many dumplings as you like. Both grilled gyoza (dumplings) and boiled gyoza (dumplings) cost Yen 450 for 10 pieces. There are only four types of meal menus: grilled gyoza, boiled gyoza, chicken wings (Yen 110), and vinegar offal (Yen 350). The signboard of the store said “Gyoza specialty store”, but it was exactly a gyoza specialty store.

Many people asked for grilled gyoza, but I thought that boiled gyoza was better. I felt the smooth texture of the boiled gyoza was the best.

5. Dive bar Hakata Katsuriki

After leaving “Asahiken Kawabata store”, I entered “Dive Bar Hakata Katsuriki” on the way back to the hotel and had a light meal. I entered the izakaya properly, so I didn’t know about “Katsuriki”, but when I looked it up later, it was a Watami group izakaya. I don’t often go to chain izakaya because many of them have the impression that the taste is normal, although the chain izakaya is cheap. However, the food of “Katsuriki” is cheap and delicious, and I thought that even a chain izakaya is a izakaya with abilities.

Especially, the assorted torisashi (chicken sashimi) and the pickled chicken liver were excellent. Also, the tuna dumpling soup was offered at an unbelievable price of only Yen 5. It was a very delicious soup. In addition, the fact that it does not give out “Otoshi (appetizer)” is also highly favorable.

A friend of Fukuoka said, “Fukuoka has a high level of all stores, and stores that serve unsavory meals are weeded out.” It was a night when I realized the high level of restaurants in Fukuoka. I drank a glass of alcohol in addition to the meal, but the accounting for “Katsuriki” was only about Yen 1,600. “Katsuriki” on the day I went was vacant, but I thought it would be an izakaya that I would like to visit every month if it was in the neighborhood.

Note: The departure / arrival times, fares, admission fees, meal fees, etc. of the transportation facilities listed in the text are as of the time of writing the BLOG. They may change in the future, so Please verify yourself when you go on a trip.