Hakata, Fukuoka

Saturday was a full day at sea as we came all the way down the west coast of Honshu to Hakata, the port for Fukuoka. We spent our sea day doing laundry, reading and watching movies.
On Sunday we joined a bus excursion. First, we visited the Shinto shrine at Dazaifu, which is the home of the God of Learning. This is a long weekend in Japan as Monday is Sports Day, and the shrine was packed with families. It is traditional to offer prayers here for academic success. This area is known for plum trees so I had a plum icecream as it was a very hot day. The Japanese maple leaves are just starting to turn. We saw rice fields, and lotus growing in the moat of a ruined castle.
Next stop was the Kushida Shrine, which has a ginkgo tree over 1000 years old. It is about 16m around.
Last stop of the day was the Fukuoka tower, which has great views of the city.Read more