My Birthday Trip to Fukuoka

We were finally able to go to Fukuoka, after the latest state of emergency was over in Fukuoka on June 20th. We decided to go on Friday, July 2nd, because the weather was going to be cloudy (it is going to rain for the next week). The goal of the trip was to go to the Pokémon Center near Hakata Station.

Doug, Kiki, and I left Sasebo at 7:30 a.m. and got to the Hakata Station around 10:20 a.m. We took the long way to Fukuoka, because the tolls on the expressway are $35 one way. It was a lovely, quiet drive. My favorite part about driving in Japan is all the vending machines you see along the roads. They are some interesting spots!

Hakata Station is the largest train station in all of Kyushu. We parked at one of the parking garages at Hakata Station. We made our way to find the Pokemon Center. The Pokemon Center is in the AMU Plaza which is connected to Hakata Station. We made our way through the train station to the escalators. We knew it was on the fifth floor, but not exactly where on the fifth floor. We wandered around and were able to find it.

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The Pokemon Center was overwhelming. There were so many Pokemon plushie and items! I made several laps around the store. The first lap was to just look at everything, then the second lap was to pick up items. The third and final lap was to make sure I didn’t miss anything! I bought myself a stuffed Caterpie, a Butterfree sticker, Pokemon stickers, a bowl, and two stamps. I bought Kiki a plate, a bowl, a unown ‘k’, a puzzle, cups, and some hair clips. I also bought Kiki and I initial key chains for a gift later on.

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Then we walked to Book Off (a second hand store) that was close by. Doug bought some games and a DS. I bought a Dragonite toy (a Pokemon) for Kiki. We went back to Hakata Station. We needed to break 5,000 yen in order for change to pay for parking. We went to Seattle Best Coffee witha Cinnabon. Doug and I have been talking about having Cinnabon for a while. Doug got a blended drink with a the center of the cinnamon roll and I got a caramel latte with a mini pecan cinnamon roll. It was delicious!

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I wanted to check out the Disney Store and I forgot there was one at AMU Plaza. We went on the hunt for the Disney Store. We went to the map to look for the Disney Store, but it was in all Japanese. We tried to use Google Translate but it wasn’t working. We figured out what floor it was on and then just walked around until we found it. We bought a reusable bag and decided to leave the station.

We needed to get back to the car; well this took a while. We remembered we needed to get to an area with only two elevators. We tried to re-walk the route, but kept walking past the elevators. We knew where the car was parked, because Google Maps pinned the location. We were on the ground floor and the car was on the fourth floor. I remembered coin lockers when we walked around a corner, and Doug remembered seeing Seattle’s Best Coffee. There was a point we stopped and Doug mentioned talking to information. Well the problem was we didn’t know if they spoke English, so we just continued to struggle. We finally found the two elevators after searching for a while and made it to the car. We were happy to finally make it to the car.

We made our way to Canal City Hakata, a huge shopping complex. We parked at the first parking garage we saw as we entered Canal City Hakata. We made sure to remember were we parked, so we didn’t lose the car. We made our way to find the Gundam Cafe. We figured out what building and floor it was on. Canal City Hakata is made up of several buildings. We made our way to the Gundam Cafe and we found a Gundam Base Store there too. It was a Gundam haven!

Doug looked at model kits and he bought several. Kiki and I walked around and at one point, I leave to go feed Kiki. Kiki wasn’t hungry and started crying. She needed a diaper change. I changed her and we went back into the Gundam Base Store. After the Gundam Base Store we went to the Gundam Cafe. My brother, Travis, wanted some coffee mugs from the Gundam Cafe. We grabbed those and a drink. We purchased a drink that came in a Gundam bottle. Doug picked the drink and the water bottle. Doug is picky about food and drinks. Doug showed me the two choices he was thinking and I said the shave ice drink would be nice. It was warm and humid so having something cold would be perfect!

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We then made our way back to the car. It was easy for us to get back to the car this time, thank goodness! Then we made our way to our last stop. We decided before we left Fukuoka to go to a Super Bazaar Book Off. We found parking close by and walked to Book Off. This Book Off was in North Tenjin and was two floors! We went to the floor with video games and figurines. Doug went to look at games. Kiki and I went to look at Disney and Pokemon stuff. Kiki got cranky. Luckily, we were on the floor with the women’s bathroom and they had a breastfeeding room. I took Kiki to feed her, but she wasn’t about that. She was crying very loudly. I tried to changed her diaper, but she was still crying. I tried calming her down by holding her and patting her back, it works, sometimes. Nope. Last thing was I wet her pacifier, there was a sink in the room, and placed it in her mouth. She took the pacifier and then closed her eyes. YAY! She needed a nap. Thank goodness! Doug was waiting for us outside the bathroom area. He told me he could hear her and asked me how I got her quiet. I told him and we laughed. We decided it was time to leave. He paid for his games and we made our way back to the car.

While walking back we stopped at Lawson, a convenience store, for drinks. I picked up a pineapple water and a coffee ice cream. Doug got a Coke. We made our way back to the car. While walking to our car in the parking garage, a car was backing up and smashed their car into the metal beam on one side of their spot. Here you back into spots so you can leave easily, plus they leave hastily. The people in the car didn’t even check to see the damage done to their car. Doug and I talked how we would at least check the car. We were surprised how nonchalant they were leaving their car. We got Kiki buckled in and got settled in. I got my drink ready and was sharing my ice cream with Doug. Then we left. We started to head back to Sasebo.

On our way back, we took the no toll road route. We went out of a Fukuoka a different way. It was interesting, because we were under the expressway the majority of the time. The expressways here are elevated in certain areas. We stopped in Imari, 30 minutes north of Sasebo, to the Book Off there. Doug picked up a few games. Then we decided we should go to the Book Off in Sasebo too. At the Book Off in Sasebo, we picked up a Gundam kit for my brother Travis and some games.

Overall the day was wonderful! I enjoyed finally getting to go to a Pokemon Center.