loa_log

[Journal]

Road Trip Day 2

10:30am – Roadside Station Ryuhoku

Woke up, got ready and immediately started our drive to Fukuoka.

3:00pm – Nouko Udon Nagao Main Store

My favorite udon! The noodles are thinner than the average udon, but the texture is perfectly chewy and delicious. I got a tempura udon with cold noodles and my brother got a warm udon with burdock tempura and soft boiled egg.

4:00pm – Fukuoka City

Took a quick nap in the parking lot and walked around the city a little.

6:00pm – Ippudo Hakata Station

I think this was the first time I tried Ippudo ramen. I got the からか麺 (Spicy Noodles, extra spicy) and my brother got the 極赤丸新味 (Kiwami Akamaru Modern with all the toppings.) The spicy noodles were actually spicy and had a numbing effect on my tongue. The Akamaru was heartier than I expected with lots of seabura (pork fat) floating in the broth.

7:00pm – Rec Coffee Marui Hakata Station

After ramen, we got lost in the station trying to find coffee. We ended up in a different building to the side of the station with a coffee shop on the 6th floor. We sat down for a bit to warm up and watch people walking in a and out of the station.

10:00pm – Sea Side Spa, Kitakyushu

To end our day we drove a little more north from Fukuoka city to Kitakyushu and got in an onsen. I’ve actually been to this particular onsen a few times before. It is a pretty big place with everything from a bubble bath, sauna, and an outdoor bath with a TV, but I like that there is a little comic corner on the second floor with reclining chairs to chill at after taking a bath.

2:00am – Roadside Station Kirara Ajisu

After relaxing at the onsen until their closing time at midnight, we drove another two hours north. We crossed from Kyushu to Honshu, and made it into Yamaguchi in the dark. We drove to the closest Roadside Station and called it a night.

Tomorrow: Coffee and pasta in Yamaguchi