Fukuoka & Kumamoto 5-Day Trip Itinerary 🇯🇵 (2024 Travel Guide)

🗓 Itinerary

I got a pretty good deal on a China Airlines ticket for my trip to Japan. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal on a legacy airline, and I’m really looking forward to it! It’s funny because I usually hate tomatoes, but I love the tomato pasta on the plane. Plus, I can watch Detective Conan while I eat, even though there are only four episodes.

Day 1 Tenjin All Day

Strolling Around Tenjin 🛍

For lunch, we went to try a much-anticipated yakiniku set meal with a ton of meat. The restaurant was small, but there was no queue, so we were seated immediately. It felt a bit pricey after we ordered. My set came with both rice and noodles and a huge amount of meat. Some of the meat was a bit too greasy and tough, but the hamburg steak and the meat served on lettuce were delicious. Overall, it was a very satisfying meal! (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

Motsubistro Tenjin Horumon - Fukuoka Parco Store

Delicious, but not the best value for money.

Address: B1F, Parco Main Bldg, 2-chōme-11-1 Tenjin, Chūō-ku, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 11:00 – 22:30

We didn’t really have anything specific to shop for, just browsed some second-hand clothing stores. But the vintage clothes here were a bit on the pricey side. Although I still ended up buying a light purple jacket, hehe.

Kego Shrine ⛩️

Kego Shrine, located in the heart of Tenjin, feels less like a tourist spot and was not very crowded. Some of the ‘omamori’ (good luck charms) were quite pretty, but the counter where they were sold looked a bit like a sales booth, so I didn’t feel comfortable staring at the charms for too long and ended up not buying any. I kind of regret it now (◞‸◟)

Afterward, I originally planned to go to Tenjin Central Park to take photos at a popular spot with a group of Santa Clauses, but I walked around the whole park and couldn’t find it at all (Arghhh). But the park still had a very festive Christmas atmosphere 🎄

Pigging Out 🍽️

In the afternoon, my sister wanted to get merchandise from the Sushiro 🍣 and PUPPET SUNSUN collaboration, so we went to have a few plates. The sushi tasted pretty much the same as in Taiwan, but they had some items that aren’t available there.

For dinner, we went for a tuna rice bowl (donburi). I was really looking forward to it, but it turned out to be just average. I kept wondering if I was eating it wrong. The instructions said you could mix everything with soup at the end to eat it as chazuke (rice with broth). But the tuna was already very soft, the egg was soft, the rice was moist, and it also had a wet seaweed paste. When I added the soup, the whole bowl turned incredibly mushy. It became a struggle to eat towards the end. Plus, it was a huge bowl, so I left feeling stuffed to death.

Kuroda-meshi (Maguro to Gohan)

I honestly couldn’t appreciate it… my apologies (sumimasen).

Address: 1F, Savoy Bldg, 1-chōme-1-23 Daimyō, Chūō-ku, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 11:00 – 20:30 (Closed on Tue. and Wed.)

Day 2: Ainoshima & Dazaifu

Ainoshima ( Φ ω Φ )

Ainoshima is one of Japan’s famous cat islands. To get there from Fukuoka city, first take the train to “Nishitetsu Shingu Station,” then transfer to a community bus (shared taxi) to “Shingu Port (Ainoshima Ferry Terminal).” The ferry ride takes about 20 minutes to reach the island.

We planned to take the 7:50 AM ferry, so we arrived at the ferry terminal very early. Luckily we did, because there were already some chubby cats waiting around. It’s best to pet them for a while and then board about five to ten minutes before departure.

It was right at sunrise, and you absolutely have to sit on the second floor. The view from the boat was gorgeous, and I couldn’t stop taking pictures. But the ride over was very rocky, and I got super dizzy and almost threw up. Thankfully, the trip was only about twenty minutes long (looks like my dream of visiting Tashirojima might be a challenge).

This was my first time visiting a “cat island.” Before I went, I had a small doubt, wondering if there would actually be very few cats on the island and that the online videos were all just hype. But it turns out there were SO MANY cats 💛. I almost got stuck near the port right at the beginning because I couldn’t tear myself away.

Let me show you all the cats we met along the way! My conclusion is that the white cats and tortoiseshells were more aloof, while the orange cats, tabbies, and black cats were all very friendly XDD. They’ll usually come up to you on their own. I didn’t encounter any that would bite (but I heard from others who did, so be careful).

We didn’t walk around the entire island. At first, we went left, where there are lots of hidden little paths to explore (with cats!). Eventually, we reached the end, which was just the sea, so we took another path back to our starting point. Then, we headed right. There were still many cats at the beginning, but the path got steeper, and we only met one more cat before turning back.

In the end, we took the 10:50 AM ferry back. Spending nearly 3 hours on the island was plenty of time, but it’s the kind of blissful happiness that makes you want to stay all day.

Dazaifu ⛩️

As soon as we got back to Hakata, we rushed over to Dazaifu. Since we were hungry, we first went to Enmusubi Shokudo Namiman for some oyakodon. We waited in line for about twenty minutes. The inside had the vibe of a very traditional, old-style Japanese restaurant. Although the chicken was a bit dry, I hadn’t had a proper Japanese oyakodon in so long that I still felt blissful eating it.

When we were paying the bill, the staff gave each of us a coin. You’re supposed to take it to the pond outside to make a wish. I only found this out after I got back, LOL. I thought it was a souvenir for me to keep.

Enmusubi Shokudo Namiman

It doesn’t take much for oyakodon to make me happy.

Address: 3-chōme-2-55 Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 11:00 – 15:00 (Closed on Wednesdays)

The main approach street (Omotesando) has a lot of cute little shops. It’s actually similar to Kiyomizu-zaka in Kyoto, but much shorter, so you can walk through it quickly. We made a special stop at the Starbucks this time. I was hoping to see if they had any special drinks, but I ended up ordering the Hojicha Tea Latte. The tea flavor was a bit lighter than in Taiwan, which was quite nice. My sister accidentally ordered the Chai Tea Latte, which was packed with spice flavor—it was a bit of a shock with every sip, hahaha.

At first, I thought we would just casually browse the Tenmangu Shrine. The omamori (good luck charms) looked pretty standard, and I didn’t feel a strong urge to touch the cow statue, as I had already seen them in Kyoto. However, I later learned that Dazaifu Tenmangu is the head shrine of all Tenmangu shrines nationwide. So, before leaving, I made a point to go and touch the biggest cow statue (´⌣`ʃƪ). If my wish comes true, I guess I’ll have to find time to visit Fukuoka again!

Hakata Ramen Street 🍜

After shopping in the evening, we went to “DEITOS Annex” inside Hakata Station to find something to eat. There is a “Hakata Men Kaido” (Ramen Street) here, gathering many famous ramen shops. We chose the most popular must-try Fukuoka specialty, “ShinShin Ramen.” When we arrived, there were five or six groups waiting, but the turnover was fast, and we got in within about half an hour. We ordered a bowl of ramen and half a bowl of fried rice. The ramen was quite good, and the fried rice was light and tasty! My sister ordered a bowl of seafood fried noodles, which she found a bit bland and too salty, but I thought it was okay—though I wouldn’t really recommend ordering it.

ShinShin

It was pretty good! (At least it wasn’t too salty.)

Address: 1-1 Hakataekichuogai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 11:00 – 23:00

Day 3: Marine World & Heading to Kumamoto

Marine World Uminonakamichi 🦦

To be honest, I’m not that interested in aquariums, but there are currently only three sea otters left in all of Japan, and one of them, Riro (リロ), is at Marine World Uminonakamichi. Because sea otters are just too cute, we made a special trip to see him, even though Riro is known as the laziest of the three and isn’t much of a performer.

At 11:30 AM, we first went to see the dolphin and sea lion show. The show was half an hour long. An elementary school and a middle school were visiting that day, so the place was completely packed. We sat near the front, but in a spot that wouldn’t get splashed. This was my first time seeing a dolphin show, and it was quite interesting. The sea lions were the opening act and were great at hyping up the crowd. My favorite part of the dolphin show was the finale of each segment, where a very large animal (I don’t think it was a dolphin) would do a lap around the pool. It was so huge that its slow movements were hilarious.

At 12:30 PM, we went to see the adorable Riro! Before the show, he was just lazily lying on a rock, really taking the time to rest. Then, the staff came out to feed him, with some small tricks in between. The food-loving Riro • ㅅ• was incredibly cute! Although it was only a short ten-minute session, it was well worth seeing. Riro is getting old, so there will be fewer opportunities to see him in the future.

After that, we rushed outside to see the little penguins 🐧 on their walk. There were four or five of them allowed out to stroll around. They were very lively, and I even saw them swimming, which was also super cute.

Following the path, we discovered you could see seals upstairs. Next to the enclosure, you could buy a box of small fish for ¥500 to feed them. The portion was generous, so I recommend buying some. As soon as we bought the fish, one of the seals started screaming for it, which made us laugh so hard. Another seal that didn’t get any got angry and slapped the water. Their reactions were so dramatic, hahaha.

Marine World Uminonakamichi

Tickets: ¥2,500 / person (I recommend buying on KKday or Klook)

Time to spend: 1.5 - 2 hours

Address: 18-28 Oaza Saitozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 9:30 – 17:30 (Closed on the first Monday of February and the following day)

After spending about three or four hours there, we took a train to Nakasu for dinner. This area is next to Canal City and has many restaurants. I found an eel restaurant for my sister. The place looked so high-end that we almost thought we were in the wrong building. I’m not a huge fan of eel personally, because I find it gets too rich after a while, so I ordered a half-portion set meal. But it was quite delicious. It was a softer, moister style of eel, and the tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) was amazing. The soup was just average. At the end, there was a pudding for dessert. It was the perfect amount of food to feel full.

Eel eight (鰻のエイト)

I’m not a big fan of eel, but this was delicious!

Address: 1F, Uchiyama 45th Bldg, 4-chōme-1-11 Nakasu, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka

Business Hours: 11:00 – 20:00

Arrived in Kumamoto~~~

After taking the Shinkansen from Hakata to Kumamoto, we did some browsing at the adjacent AMU PLAZA and grabbed a bite at an omurice place. I ordered the soufflé omurice with shrimp and a creamy tomato sauce. The tomato fried rice was good, and the soufflé egg was incredibly fluffy, but the egg became too rich after a while. The cream on top was also a real debuff. I feel like I should have just ordered the regular thin omelette version.

Salon Tamago to Watashi - Amu Plaza Kumamoto Store

Just a typical department store restaurant. The egg was way too rich, and it was a real pain to finish.

Address: 7F, Amu Plaza Kumamoto, 3-chōme-15-26 Kasuga, Nishi-ku, Kumamoto

Business Hours: 11:00 – 22:00

Day 4: The Day of My Biggest Regret

Spoiler alert: why do I call this the day of my biggest regret? Because I had planned to visit the Cuddly Dominion specifically to see the beavers. However, after getting there and walking around for a while, something felt very wrong. The beavers I saw in online videos were walking around freely, but this place was deserted. A quick search revealed that the beavers I wanted to see were at “Aso Farm Land” (ｉДｉ). I was completely devastated. For a moment, I considered leaving immediately and rushing over, but after checking the route, it was just too much trouble. So, I decided to reschedule my entire last day for them. All for the beavers, ahhhhh!!!

Aso Station 🚂

In the morning, we first stopped at Aso Station to grab some breakfast. You can buy Aso milk and yogurt here. I also bought pudding and a giant onigiri with a soft-boiled egg inside. The yogurt was pure and delicious. The milk had a unique taste at first—that super fresh, straight-from-the-farm flavor—but after a few sips, you just want more. I ended up drinking three or four bottles over these two days (๑•͈ᴗ•͈).

Aso Cuddly Dominion 🐻

Let me start by saying this is honestly the most deserted zoo I’ve ever seen. The admission fee was already expensive, and then you have to pay for almost everything inside. It’s a total tourist trap. That said, let me show you the animals we did see, because they were still very cute.

• There are a ton of bears here—I think there might have been twenty or thirty of them?! And as soon as you buy food, they all strike a baseball catcher’s pose, hahaha. It’s adorable. Unfortunately, by the time I went to buy some, the fruit baskets were sold out, so I could only feed them dry pellets. But they were still very enthusiastic.

• Around noon, you can get a numbered ticket to take a photo with a bear cub. It costs ¥500 per group (yep, more money). But the cub was really cute, and you get to hold it, so you might as well do it. Afterward, there’s a storybook about the cub’s life that you can look through, and a well-thought-out section with sandbags that mimic the cub’s weight at different stages of its life.

• I wanted to see the pig race, but no one was racing, and I felt too awkward to ask. So we just walked around and watched. From what I could secretly observe, the staff member there seemed to really love the little pigs. It was the most heartwarming sight in the whole place.
• The dogs in the dog area were numerous and cute, but it was too cold, so they were all sleeping by the heaters. We only stayed for a moment before leaving.

• The guinea pig area had two enclosures. You can buy carrots to feed them, but you’re not allowed to pet them!
• The cats, small animals, and reptiles were all in the same section. The cats were quite cute, and one was very affectionate. The parrots could say “hello” and “goodbye” (in Japanese). And at specific times, you could hold a snake (taking your own photos/videos is free), which was a unique experience. It was my first time holding a snake—it was surprisingly heavy.
• In a far-off area, there was a squirrel monkey section, which I’d say was the part that felt the most worth it. We bought a cup of mealworms and sunflower seeds for ¥100. A little monkey rushed over immediately. They love the mealworms, but when we gave it a sunflower seed, it actually secretly dropped it on the ground! My sister and I got annoyed and said, “How rude! It’s not eating the seeds.” The little monkey must have overheard us because it was afraid we’d stop feeding it, so it immediately went down, picked up the seed, and started shelling it. Turns out, it just doesn’t like the effort of shelling seeds, hahaha. The fact that it went back to pick it up was so smart! We almost died laughing on the spot.

• The Miyazawa Theater show is about half an hour long. Since it’s free, it’s worth watching. It’s mainly a Manzai (a style of Japanese stand-up comedy) performance by a monkey and a woman. Mr. Miyazawa himself also comes out at the end. It was quite interesting, but at times I felt a bit taken out of the moment, thinking it was actually a bit cruel. After the show, they wheeled out a cart to sell photos and autographs for ¥1,000, and that really killed the vibe even more, so we left immediately, hahaha.
• The chimpanzee area had a strangely sad atmosphere. It was freezing cold, and they were all hiding under cardboard boxes and blankets to stay warm.
• You can enter the goat area. They kept coming up to us and looked like they wanted to eat my clothes. I was a bit scared to pet them, but they were still cute.
• The capybara area was also too cold; they were all sleeping inside their hut.
• The penguins seemed to be the same kind as at Marine World. They were cute, but you couldn’t get as close. There was a feeding show before noon, but all the show times are packed so tightly together that you really need to do your homework beforehand to see everything.

Aso Cuddly Dominion

Tickets: ¥2,600 / person

Time to spend: 1.5 - 2 hours is enough to see everything.

Address: 2163 Kurokawa, Aso, Kumamoto

Business Hours: Summer 9:30 – 17:00, Winter 10:00 – 16:30

Kamitori & Shimotori Shopping Arcades 🛒

To make sure we had peace of mind for our Aso trip tomorrow, we headed back to Kumamoto early for a quick tour of the shopping arcades QQ. We originally wanted to go to Josaien, too.

We visited the drug store Sundrug. We went there because of its reputation for being affordable, though I’m not actually sure if it was any cheaper. They had a smaller selection of products. There was a very friendly staff member who could speak Chinese.

On the way, we stopped for a wheel cake at Horaku Manju 🍯. I ordered a white bean paste one for ¥110. The sweet honey and the smooth white bean paste (shiro-an) blended together perfectly. It was incredibly delicious!!! Plus, it was fresh off the grill and piping hot, which was pure bliss to eat in the winter.

Horaku Manju (Kamitori Store, Kumamoto)

Definitely worth trying one. Cheap and delicious!!

Address: 5-4 Kamitoricho, Chūō-ku, Kumamoto

Business Hours: 10:00 – 19:00 (Closed on Tuesdays)

After shopping, we went back to the hotel to rest for a bit before walking across the street for some ramen. There weren’t many people when we went, so we were seated immediately. We ordered one original flavor and one rich flavor. I thought the original was good but average. My sister, who ordered the rich one, thought it was delicious and not as salty as it looked. It made her want to buy some Kumamoto ramen to take home. The restaurant also offers free marinated bean sprouts, which were so good that I couldn’t help but eat two or three small plates.

Ramen Ryu no ie (Washington-dori Store)

It was just okay~ ShinShin was better in comparison, but their bean sprouts were seriously amazing, hehe.

Address: 1F, 2-3-8 Shimotori, Chūō-ku, Kumamoto

Business Hours: 18:00 – 00:00 (Closed on Wednesdays)

On the way back to the hotel, I just had to stop by Matsuya to buy a kid’s meal. I’ve heard that Matsuya in Japan is really good and have always wanted to try it (I haven’t even tried the one in Taiwan yet). When I got there, I discovered that they have all-you-can-eat rice in Japan. I was so envious! (ˊᵒ̴̶̷̤ O ᵒ̴̶̷̤ˋ)

The kid’s meal I ordered was pretty average. The sausage was tasty, and the included drink, which was similar to Calpis, was good. For this price, getting a small toy with it is a great deal~~

Day 5: The Happiest Day

Aso Farm Land 🦫

Finally, we made it to the right place! (((o(°▽°)o))) The admission here was half the price of Cuddly Dominion, and even though the park is small, you can get right up close to the animals. There are lots of them, and they all seemed so cozy and well-cared for.

They have capybaras, maras, goats, sheep, parrots, flamingos, squirrel monkeys, meerkats, and prairie dogs. In the indoor area, there are also rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, tortoises, owls, and guinea pigs. There was also a room full of ducks, but you couldn’t go in or see them very well. Most of the animals roam freely, and you can pet almost all of them. It was awesome! Now this is what I call a paradise!

The beavers don’t come out until 1:30 PM. One appears first, and then another one comes out about every half hour. They were unbelievably cute. We bought a large bucket of veggies for ¥800 to feed the beavers and the other animals. We got to see a beaver carrying a large piece of food home, another one carrying wood, and even one swimming back to its den. IT WAS PURE BLISS!!!!!!!!! And they are so incredibly soft! Their temperament is as gentle as a capybara’s; they don’t get angry no matter how you pet them. Seeing them in the flesh has made me love beavers even more. I am now determined to become the official Beaver Ambassador!

Afterward, we walked around the nearby area and ended up at the souvenir shop. They also sold Aso Milk there, so I immediately grabbed two bottles. I also had an Aso Milk ice cream, which was incredibly delicious. The milk flavor was very rich, and the ice cream was so creamy. After finishing it, I wanted to try the sweet potato ice cream, too. Later, we found the dining hall, and my sister and I shared a bowl of udon noodles. The noodles were perfectly chewy, and the broth was soy-sauce based, but because it was so cold, it was very warming and comforting. It was delicious. I also devoured two salt onigiri—I ate so much, haha. After eating, we checked out the souvenir shop. It was pretty average. Only the beaver plushies and pillows were cute, but they were a bit expensive, so I didn’t buy any. If they sold a beaver photo book like the one at Marine World, I would have totally bought it.

On the way back, I had the smoked chicken fried rice. I originally wanted the onion beef rice, but they had run out. From now on, I’m definitely picking a seat that lets me choose my meal earlier. But the smoked chicken fried rice was still delicious. I really love airplane food~

Since it was our last day, we had to go directly to the airport, so we booked a bus in advance. There’s only one bus per day (which got us there just in time for boarding), but the bus was late, which made us super nervous. Thankfully, we made it on board smoothly.

Aso Farm Land (阿蘇ファームランド)

Tickets: ¥800 / person

Time to spend: I stayed for almost 5 hours, XDD

Address: 5579-3 Kawayo, Minamiaso, Aso District, Kumamoto

Business Hours: 10:00 – 17:00

Kumamoto Airport ✈️

Kumamoto Airport is small; it took only about half an hour to get through. After security, there’s a row of gachapon machines on the right. There, I found the “bus stop request button” toys, which were super cute! I’d specifically looked for this kind in gachapon stores while shopping but never found it. I immediately played it and got the one I wanted most~
The duty-free shop didn’t have much. It was basically just Kumamon and mentaiko. If you need any souvenirs, it’s better to just buy them in the city.

💸 Personal Expenses

• China Airlines Flight Ticket (TPE → FUK + KMJ → TPE): NT$ 11,384 / person
• Accommodation: NT$ 86 (Used Asia Miles for redemption, so this was just for taxes)
• Travel Insurance: NT$ 358
• Pre-trip Preparations (eSIM): NT$ 115
• Transportation: NT$ 3,001
• Food & Drinks: NT$ 4,459
• Shopping (including tickets & souvenirs): NT$ 7,755

Total: NT$ 27,158

Luckily, thanks to my sister’s Asia Miles points, we were able to book a pretty good hotel without spending much money (though we had to pay extra for breakfast). This saved us a lot! ༶ඬ༝ඬ༶

My Funliday itinerary is here: 2024 Fukuoka & Kumamoto Trip