Fukuoka, Japan

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In mid-October last year, I headed to Fukuoka for 5 days--all paid. Living in South Korea for a month already, I was excited to travel. I took the train down to Busan, and from there I got on the 3 hour ferry to Fukuoka. Quite an experience. The ferry goes surprisingly fast, and it was an overall good ride. I went through customs, and the lady was hesitent because she didn't know why I would go.
I walked out and took a 30 min stroll, through what seemed to be the industrial area of town, to my hostel. I soon adjusted to the cars driving on the other side of the road, and headed out to see the town. Learned the subway lines quickly and could get anywhere I wanted.
I found Fukuoka to be a very nice city. It provides both tourist venues for exploration as well as a great nightlife. I saw various temples, one very beautiful near Canal City Hakata shopping center. This is a great area to explore as well, with the beautiful arcade across the street (Great shopping in that area). The city palace is a great place to get lost, and it provides beutiful panoramic views. The art and various historic items museum is around the bend of the palace, and for a nominal fee, it is worth a visit. I walked the city quite the city as well, and everywhere I walked, I saw nowhere that was boring or not worth the stroll.
Before I left a friend had given me a ticket to Huis ten Bosch (Nagasaki Prefecture)--a replica of a Dutch town--and said it was worth the 2 hour train ride up. He had said that his family enjoyed their time at the theme park. It is the most contrived theme park I have ever seen. My time there was boring. The only highlight was a flamenco dance performed by Spanish dancers, that are driven to the park twice a day, while the rest of the time they are in their hotel. There seems to be nothing around the park, and the train ride there was desolate, and quite weird when walking to the entrance of the park. (I felt like I was in a video game, where there is only one way to go). The theme park is set up beautifully, but the buildings and workers are very artificial. Just like the train, the park was a ghost town, and the only thing that didn't make me leave early was the serving of beer.
In Fukuoka there are two major areas for nightlife. The bars are nice, and I enjoyed them, but the massive amounts of slot machines and buildings dedicated to games, was a bit overwhelming, in my opinion. I left Fukuoka happy, a good 5 day vacation, and enjoyed the city extremely.

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