Manami Okazaki serves up what’s on offer at Bangkok airways’ new destination

THIS Japanese port city used to be a place you’d end up only on transit to somewhere else. However, in the last decade, Fukuoka has transformed itself into a vibrant metropolis with a lively and spirited atmosphere that gleams with a modern veneer, whilst retaining an unassuming old world charm. Fukuoka is the largest city on the southern island of Kyushu. Being the closest island to China and Korea gives it a very distinct international atmosphere, making it both a global hub and a local terminus for the bullet train from Tokyo, which is about a five-hour journey, and with Kyoto under three hours away. Ask any Japanese what there is to do around Fukuoka, and the resounding answer will be either drink; or eat (in that order) – as the people of Fukuoka seem to have taken the art of relaxing while enjoying a beverage, and turned it into a lifestyle. This isn’t about forgetting your woes, as with the salary men of Tokyo who get wasted – this is about enjoying life, forgetting time and turning strangers into friends. The people of Kyushu are famed for their laid-back friendliness –if their ability to down many a glass of shochu doesn’t surprise you, their open hospitality might.

FOODIE FUKUOKA

Fukuoka is lauded to have some of the best food in Japan, and the city’s inherently international atmosphere is reflected in its cuisine. Perhaps owing to its proximity to the rest of Asia, much of what’s on offer has an apparent fusion element and punchier flavours compared to standard Japanese fare. The destination’s cosmopolitan nature can best be felt sitting at one of the many yatai street stalls or ramen shops. Downing a bowl of noodle soup with the curious and chatty locals has a certain haphazard intimacy that cannot be found anywhere else in Japan. The most famous food in Fukuoka is ramen, a type of noodle soup that originated in China which features a variety of toppings such as sliced pork, seaweed, green onions and even corn. Almost every locality or “prefecture” in Japan has its own variation of ramen – in Kyushu, it’s the pungent and rich tonkotsu. Sitting over a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen, it emanates an intoxicating aroma of the rich pork broth that is made by boiling a pig’s hip bones for hours until a thick, gelatinous soup is produced. Each shop has its own combination of secret ingredients, boiling time and seasoning. Most never throw out the leftover soup – more pork is added, and simply more soup is made. Some of the shops are reputed to keep this recycling system for over 30 years – and this is the one of the secrets to Fukuoka’s outstanding ramen! The phone book lists over 400 ramen shops; finding the best one is a purely subjective experience. Speaking with a Fukuoka local, he suggests that the richer broth – more commonly found in the Nagahamaya area – is suited to people with manual jobs, those who need something hearty to end their sweaty day. White-collar areas such as Hakata have a lighter broth and thinner noodles, so the rush-hour executive doesn’t have to wait too long for the noodles to boil. Two notable restaurants are Gansonagahamaya and Hidechan Ramen. The former is a 24-hour joint that opened in 1954 and serves only one type of thick, full-bodied ramen at 400 yen per bowl; while the latter uses a rich broth made from about 60kg of pork, boiled for 20 hours. However, for a true Fukuoka experience, a mandatory visit to a traditional yatai – a mobile BBQ on wheels – will find you huddled around a small steaming kitchen that typically serves ramen, yakitori chicken, hot pots and the like, striking up conversations and sharing many a drink with the amicable locals. About 200 yatais line the streets of Tenjin, Nakasu and Nagahama. Along these busy lanes, you will find an amalgamated mix of youngsters, businessmen, tourists, elderly couples, and girls on a night out. They are great venues for people-watching while trying a wide variety of Japanese delicacies on a budget at the same time. One of the most popular places is Nakasu Ichiryu. Located just east of the Haruyoshi bridge, this shop reportedly uses 150kg of pork bone in the soup daily, combined with lashings of heaped sesame. Nakasu Ichiryu consistently welcomes visitors from all over Japan as well as long queues of people waiting to try some of the best ramen Fukuoka has to offer. In Tenjin, Nakachan is always packed, and has a menu of 100 items that can be ordered as a side dish. The neighbouring Kokinchan – a 38-year-old establishment – offers fried ramen that, when covered in yummy yakisoba sauce, makes a great sizzling noise as it is poured on the hotplate. Both of these yatais are in a fairly modernised area of Fukuoka, offering a definitive contrast between the utter simplicity of the nostalgic yatai and the bright neon lights of the department stores serving as a backdrop.

FISH TALES

Besides ramen, Fukuoka’s best known cuisine is mentaiko. This pink-coloured mass of fish eggs is salted and marinated in hot paprika until it gains a mellow spiciness. It can be compared to a chilli caviar that is delicious when eaten with a staple like rice, and is even used in combination with Western foods like pasta. Believe it or not, it also makes a great pizza topping – don’t knock it until you try it! An affordable place to try mentaiko is under the west side of Hakata Station that hosts mostly downtown eateries. You can also find rice balls with mentaiko-stuffed centres being sold at the station itself. Another delicacy in Fukuoka cuisine is the fugu. Catapulted into infamy when Homer Simpson experienced a near fatality after eating this type of sashimi, fugu can, if poorly prepared, result in a slow and agonising death. However, the appeal of this blowfish has more to do with its exquisite texture than its lethal potential, and is considered to be the “king of winter indulgences”. A plate of fugu can easily set you back a couple of hundred dollars. Try a bite of this for a reasonable price (about US$90 dollars per set menu) at Fugu Taishou Ichimatsu, where the paper-thin slices of fish are exquisitely fanned out on a celadon-glazed plate.

DRINK UP

All that feasting calls for the favourite pastime of the locals – drinking, and in particular, shochu. This is a highly potent “Japanese vodka” made of rice, barley or sweet potato, which is typically mixed with ice or hot water. Kyushu island is renowned as an area of hard drinkers, and some varieties of shochu can contain up to 40% alcohol, which probably contributes to the locals’ somewhat untypically Japanese desire to start conversations with strangers. There are two main types of shochu: korui and otsurui. Korui shochu is distilled several times and usually consumed in cocktails. Otsurui is distilled only once, leaving a distinctive smell of the source ingredient. Like sake, shochu also has different grades – visiting one of many bars littered all over the Tenjin area, there are many opportunities to try the variety. This is especially true in Oyafuku-dori, (literally meaning “the street of disobedient children”); the city’s drinking area packed with crowded clubs and buzzing bars that stay alive until dawn. Hakata Yoka Yoka is an upmarket bar with an exquisite bamboo-sculpted interior, famed for its fantastic shochu – featuring about 30 varieties, as well as shochu jelly and bon bons. The three most famous shochu from Kyushu, with their nutty earthy flavour and Dom Perignon prices, are the Mori Izo, Maou and Muraou (which cost about 40,000 yen per bottle or 780 yen per glass). Shouchudokoro Otsu is home to a “shochu advisor” and offers 140 varieties of the drink, while Imo Shochu boasts about 200 varieties, made from sweet potatoes – one of the trademarks of shochu from the Southern Kyushu area.

A TASTE OF JAPAN

With all its culinary appeal and vivid nightlife, Fukuoka makes for a great introduction to Japan. It has a modest, sister city appeal, but its energy and vivacious people call for undivided attention. The charming seaside city is also the perfect antidote to the insidious hustle of Tokyo. Exploring the streets and finding the perfect yatai is half the fun, as is trying the multitudes of divine delicacies on offer by the boisterous locals who love nothing more than to share a drink and an opportunity to make new friends. Bangkok Airways commences flights between Bangkok and Fukuoka on 9 December, three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. For more information, visit www.bangkokair.com

CONTACT DETAILS

Fugu Taishou Ichimatsu, Chuo-ku, Haruyoshi 3-22-22, tel +81 (0)92 731-4415 Gansonagahamaya, Chuo-ku, Nagahama 2-5-19, tel +81 (0)92 781-0723 Hakata Yoka Yoka, Spazio Building 1F, Chuo-ku, Tenjin 3-6-5, tel +81 (0)92 732-4545 Hidechan Ramen, Chuo-ku Keigo, Hakata 1, tel +81 (0)92 734-4436 Imo Shochu, Chuo-ku Tani 1-15-27, Ropponmatsu, tel +81 (0)92 738-8451 Kokinchan, Chuo-ku, Tenjin 2, tel +81 (0)90 3072-4304 Nakachan, Mikuoka Mitsukoshi-mae, Chuo-ku, Tenjin 2, tel +81 (0)90 3601-3540 Nakasu Ichiryu, Fukuoka-shi, Hakata-ku, Nakasu 1, tel +81 (0)90 8223-018 Shouchudokoro Otsu, Chuo-ku, Daimyo 1-10-27, tel +81 (0)92 771-060

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