It’s back to my all-time favourite place – Japan! Like if I were to pick somewhere I wouldn’t be sick to be back, it’s definitely the land of the rising sun. lol And the excitement was real given the last time I was back was way before Covid hits. So I reached the airport in anticipation and I was also rather excited about the flight. Check-in was a breeze and the lounge, for once, was surprisingly empty. I guessed I might have missed the European/US crowd which was good. I wandered around the lounge and was curious to see what’s on the menu, and decided on some bites in the end which as I recalled weren’t there previously

Like luncheon meat fries? lol. Yah, I really just wanted something to munch on

My first time trying the Singapore Sling at the lounge cos every time I visited, it’s either they are out of it or I don’t feel like it

By the time I reached the gates, they were ready for boarding and in the lack of time, I saw something like they have moved the Japan customs declaration online but cos I was ready to board, I didn’t exactly read what it was about. lol. In any case, I did the traditional method of using pen and paper when I landed

We pulled back at 120am exactly, taxi-ed for 25 minutes before we finally took off. And I was ready to doze off. Half of me was wondering if the airport was that big

Started with some sake and warm nuts as they prep the meal service for us and I must say having a cup of sake with the meal was really shiok

First time trying SQ Hanakoireki and I really liked it

Edamame & Prawn Cake, Shimeiji Mushroom w Yuba Beancurd, Grilled Teriyaki Flounder, Egg Omelette stuffed with Pickled Ginger & Pork, Pickled Lotus Root, Simmered Anago Eel w Assorted Vegetables in Ginan Sauce, Steamed Rice w Soya Glazed Baby Sardines, Assorted Pickles, Miso Soup w Sea Lettuces & Spring Onion

To be honest, other than the miso soup. I thought everything else was quite delicious

And with that, I went to bed or rather attempted to sleep

At 7.45am, the announcement came to ask the crew to prepare for landing and we finally landed at 8.25am. Hello Fukuoka!

After picking up my pocket wifi and sending my luggage to Saga directly, I made my way outside the terminal to catch the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal

It was a pretty long line and the weather was rather warm. The bus came soon enough and we were whisked off to the domestic terminal which I had to take a train to Hakata station. By the time I reached the domestic terminal, it was already 9.45am. The subway station was just one floor down so it was pretty easy to navigate

First thought when I exited Hakata station? Ohmygoodness, where do I go? lol

But I found the JR ticket office eventually and proceeded to collect my JR Kyushu pass and all the seat reservations I had made online. Time-check: 10.10am. Do note for this Hakata station, if you were to make the seat reservation on the spot, they would only allow you to choose one leg of your journey. So it is advisable to plan beforehand, then collect everything at the same time

Previously when I was looking at my Yufuin-bound train timings, I was surprised the morning timings were all sold out so I had to settle for the Mori 5 leaving 1438. Then I realised, the trains were not available to start with. Regardless if you had booked the Mori 3 leaving 10.11am, you would be running a marathon from the airport to the tracks since it would be very challenging not to miss the train. On hindsight, I was glad I booked the Mori 5 instead

By the time I was done with the admin stuffs, it was only 10.15am and with ample time to spare, I went to stroll around the station

Firstly, checking what food was available

Then visiting the food department at the malls

And I spied my favourite Taiyaki

And I decided to go with the seasonal Sweet Potato flavour which was so yummy

Hot piping creamy texture

Walked around for a little bit more but nothing really caught my eye so I decided to proceeded to where I had decided for lunch which was at Ningyocho Imaham (serving Shabu Shabu)

The restaurant was located at JR Hakata City which I was surprised by how many restaurants there were, occupying 2 floors worth. So don’t worry if you have no idea what to eat. There’s plenty of options in here

I wouldn’t say the restaurant was empty. The crowd comes and goes and the staffs spoke English (yay)

I was initially deciding on Shabu Shabu but looking at the weather, I changed my mind and opted for the Sukiyaki Set instead and also, added the seasonal Matsutake Mushroom Chawanmushi

Seasme Tofu as appetiser to start

I was quite shocked when they served the pot. I didn’t expect my chanwanmushi to be served in such a huge pot. lol

But it was good. You could taste the flavour and texture of the mushroom in the steamed egg custard which really warmed the heart

And my high quality beef (or so they said) in the premium Sukiyaki set

But okay I give it to them. It was amazing. The beef melted in your mouth. It didn’t look like much, but the quality was amazing

Ended off with some Persimmon Mousse which I found it a little strange

And since I had time, I walked around a little bit more, looked at all the bentos the stations had to offer and decided I should just find a place to sit down and zone out

But first, Blue Bottle

And finally it was time to board. You could just insert the JR pass directly into the gantries without the need to show the station staffs anymore and off I go to the tracks. It took me some time before I finally understood which markings to stand at so that it would lead me to my seats. But by then, I was already more than halfway through my trips. lol

The highly raved sightseeing train – Yufuin Mori

And the interior

There was a big group of tourists with a tour group that was really noisy and in their haste to alight, they left their belongings on the train. So the train master came around and eventually collected the belongings for safekeeping. I assumed it would return to the owners eventually but still, A for service

To be honest, I didn’t think the sights were that great. I mean, they were okay lor. So I decided to check out the retail station

and I got myself a Iced Yuzu/Honey Juice

And cos everyone was taking photos of the front, I joined them cos #fomo

But tbh, 美在哪里? Okay la, maybe my photography skills not that great. ha

The train did stop from time to time to inform what sights were along the way. Like the Jion Falls for this

Saw this beautiful-looking train out there

We finally reached Yufuin station after a 2-hour journey. I thought the weather would be colder but surprisingly, it was very manageable even though I was the only one in tee (but is really not that cold!)

In all, it was a good experience to ride the sightseeing train but if you had missed it / couldn’t get the seats you want, there is nothing to regret about either

Exited the train station and went searching for the taxi stand. The taxi makes a return often after dropping other passengers off at their hotel so don’t worry if you are not able to get one. Just need to wait for them a little

And that’s home for the next 2 nights – Yufuin Bettei Itsuki. The taxi service (round-trip) to this hotel is free and is a partnership between the hotel and taxi company so yay

The property was quite big and I had booked the room – Kodemari which was located at the end of the trail

Foot bath which was available to use but closes at 7pm daily. Nope, I didn’t get to use it cos I was enjoying the private onsen very much

And thats my not-so-humble hut

The foyer

The huge room/living area

The bathroom

And the indoor/outdoor onsen

In my opinion, the room was quite luxurious and huge for Japanese standards

So of course, not to waste the onsen. The onsen was really amazing. I loved how you could adjust and control the temperate of the water and it really made me feel relaxed after the soak

So after a nice soak, I proceeded on for the dinner which I had choose to dine at the hotel instead

I was led to one of the rooms hidden behind the common area and it was a kaiseki dinner for the next 2 nights

The thought of having a Kaiseki dinner made me look forward to how the meal was going to be like and afterall it was ¥22,000 per meal (not cheap at all)

Appetiser – Grilled Potato, Unagi

So when the appetiser came, I was hmm not very impressed at all. lol

Sashimi Course – Sama Suhi, Chutoro, Sea Bream, Roast Duck, Monkfish Liver

To be honest, I was really disappointed by the quality of the sashimi as well. It definitely looked better than it tasted

Soup w Dashi & Fish

The soup was the best out of the entire meal. It was clear, refreshing with hints of yuzu in it

Unagi Tempura, Grilled Fish, Grapefruit Pudding

I thought the grilled fish tasted meh but the grapefruit pudding was not too bad

Steak w Seasonal Vegetables

A little bit too rich for my liking and the cook on it could be better

Rice Dish – Salmon, Minced Beef, Tamago, Miso Soup, Pickles

This was really below average in my opinion. I was thinking how could grilled salmon taste like this

And ending it with chocolate cake cos we finally reached the end of the meal

Before Covid, I used to think Japan has no bad food. Even if it is bad, it was just average. This meal totally changed my perception and I was thinking to myself, wow, my SQ Hanakoireki tasted better than this! (and yes, I cannot believe I said that)

Anyway after a very forgettable dinner, I headed to bed early after a long day of travelling

And before you know, day breaks for a new day ahead!

Breakfast for one

Breakfast was definitely better with the warm soft bread, omelette and the luncheon meat sausage. The yoghurt was decent too but I was trying not to finish them all cos I really wanted to eat lunch later

And the staff kindly offered to help me take a photo though it wasn’t exactly what I had pictured in mind. lol

One in yukata for the memory

I loved how yukatas are provided for these onsen experiences just so it makes your whole experience feel completed

Decided to explore the town a little after breakfast and first stop, Yufuin Floral Village

The place only opens at 930 so I was a little early. So I walked down the street and back again

It’s a really tiny tiny place and I reckon you will be done in 10 minutes if you didn’t explore each shop

There’s a feeding area for the animals if you like to

More animals if you are interested

Decided to walk to Yunotsubo Street next cos there was really nothing much to do there

When I saw this, I was fairly amused. I guessed they have to satisfy both the cats and dogs lovers. It was really one shop selling everything cat-related and the other with all dog-related

Also popped by this music box shop where they were selling all sorts of musical box and you could even personalised them

🙂

The bear looked like it had been stuck inside for a very long time. lol

And with that, I decided to kickstart lunch

With this freshly made Dorayaki

It’s ain’t any of those ready-made pre-packed filling where the pancake tasted artificial. This was really soft pancake with a nice, thick redbean filling oozing out. Wah, I had never tasted freshly made dorayaki to be honest and I was pretty satisfied

Moving on, checking out the famous croquette kiosk that appeared all over social media. The croquette was well-cooked with a golden crust, crisp and airy and the filling generous. Though I was pretty full on one and thankfully I only had one. I must say, the options all looked inviting though

Last stop, the karaage really caught my eye and I did not regret stopping for it. I got the Yufuin-special Yuzu Kosho flavour and it was SO good. I could still reminisce about the flavour and texture now that I think of it

So after lunch which I was pretty much done with, I popped by random stores and buying souvenirs before wandering into Snoopy Chaya

This Snoopy Chaya is huge. And next to it was a shop selling every Snoopy-related. For all the Snoopy lovers out there

Cos how cute right?

A+ for presentation

And there’s always room for desserts. lol. Though my stomach was about to burst

I couldn’t finish them but the desserts were not bad. The street food was definitely one to shout about and I would go back to Yufuin for them

On my way to my next destination, I saw this stall with a super long queue selling grilled mushrooms. But I really can’t eat anymore. So I didn’t try them

Dropped by Kirin Lake cos I really needed to walk it out. It was full of tourists – Taiwanese and Korean alike. So. Many. Of. Them. Gosh

So I decided to come back again during sunset. Hopefully the weather would be nicer and less crowded by then

Glad I still managed one decent shot among all the crowd

I decided to take a slow walk to the train station. Yes, the whole town was actually pretty walkable, though abit far from where my hotel was and if you are carrying luggages with you then it’s not advisable. There’s more souvenir shops to pop into and restaurants in this area

I got myself some canele. They were not very nice

This shop with sake/wine-tasting at ¥200 caught my eye. But when I saw how small the cup was, I felt a bit cheated. On top of it, the amount dispensed was SO tiny. Okay, it was legit just tasting portion

Anyway I decided to go back hotel to chill for abit cos there was still time to sunset

And I decided to enjoy the warabi mochi that I had purchased earlier from Yunotsubo Street. Cos the sign said ‘limited portions’ and I was totally just sold by it. lol. Thankfully, these warabi mochi tasted good. They were soft, yet bouncy and I loved the kuromitsu syrup that came with it

Sunset was definitely more peaceful and less crowded

And you could have all the photos you want 😀

With that, I headed back to hotel cos it was almost time for dinner. After my previous experience the day before, I decided to have 0 expectation this time round, and hey, they surprisingly did much better. lol

They have a complimentary list of alcohol menu which you can choose from. After trying half of it the first night, I decided to try what I didn’t try. And starting with champagne which was very meh

The staffs also cutely prepared the menu in English for me for the second night. Was it cos I had asked too much the day before? But wasn’t it normal to know what you were eating? Anyway, it’s great so at least they don’t have to explain so much. lol

Roast Beef, Saikyo Miso Cream Cheese

Crab & Seasoned Chrysanthemum Greens

Lobster Karasumi-yaki, Pufferfish Tataki Sushi

They weren’t fantastic. They were average

Tempura of Parma Ham & Asparagus w Caponata Sauce

Flounder Sashimi

I concluded they don’t do great on sashimi. Pass please

Chawanmushi w Plum & Lily Root

I thought the flavour was good but the overall texture of the chawanmushi was very average. Like I felt the chanwanmushi at Ningyocho Imaham was way better

Cheese Gratin w White Mushroom in Tomato Sauce

This was surprisingly not bad. It’s like a mushroom ball wrapped with cheese dipped in tangy tomato sauce

Lime Sorbet, to cleanse your palette before the mains

Ooita Wagyu Sukiyaki w Onsen Tamago

Uni w Toro Yuba

Well, thankfully I had a good meal when I landed so when I tried this sukiyaki, it was just okay. lol. The quality of beef ain’t great. I felt like you probably can find better meats at Donki and they definitely don’t have a melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture. So, just don’t expect much

Still, it was better than the night before

Matcha Ice cream, Roll Cake and Fried Tempura

The matcha ice cream was okay, cake was a bit dry and the tempura was strange. I rather they had just added a wafer instead

In conclusion, if you could find better options elsewhere, go elsewhere. If you are too lazy, maybe dabao a bento from the train station or just settle for cup noodles just for that night. Then you could hit the streets the next day and fill your tummy instead cos I sincerely think ¥22,000 per meal (for dinner) is not worth it

And with that, I prepared to check out the next day as I made my way down to Saga next. The staffs were lovely as they prepared a goodbye gift for me and hoping I would come back again. To be honest, the hotel was great in terms of comfort and facilities and the onsen was fantastic. I wouldn’t mind staying here again for that, besides the dinner of course. But now that I know how dinner would be like, I would have prepared food beforehand. lol

It was unexpected to see policeman guarding the train station as I alighted. Or rather, I was confused. It turns out they were handing out flyers to locals to inform them of a runaway. I’m not sure if they were doing it for promotional activities since it seemed like they had professional photographers taking photos of them doing so. Interesting

Then my train arrived. The Yufu Limited Express train that will take me to Tosu, before transferring to Saga. The trains are not meant for big luggages, so luggage delivery will definitely help in this case. Thankfully there were a few empty seats so the train attendant kindly offered some of the tourists (who were struggling) to place their luggages at those seats

And also, the very smart me booked a connection time of 4 minutes for my next train. So I alighted at Tosu, saw that my train was at another platform, grabbed my luggages and ran (cos if you know how punctual Japan trains are)

Thankfully I made it. Thankfully I used luggage delivery. And I prayed I was on the right train. lol

15 minutes later, I was at Saga station. The station was cutely decorated in view of the annual Saga balloon festival (which I specially came for). Then I made my way to Comfort Hotel Saga which was located right next to the station

I liked the hotel for its location and convenience and they marked out all the nearby attractions for you

I locked my luggages since it was not time for check-in (and yes, my big luggage arrived safely too) before proceeding for lunch

which was a very homely place located near the hotel called 和料理みね家

This was the lunch menu and I went for the steak set. The diners were mostly local and many went for their daily lunch special which I overheard was seasonal fish of the day. But I was worried I wouldn’t understand what fish it was and if they had many bones in it so I decided to go with something safe. lol

It’s not a big place but I liked that it was very local

Highball to start

Before my mains arrived quickly

The steak was a little on the oily side but other than that, everything else was actually quite delicious. It tasted rather home-cooked. But I was surprised by how everyone else asked for more rice (after they finished their first bowl) and I was like, I can’t even finish mine. lol

The set comes with coffee or tea and I chose my iced black to end the meal

The meal was actually not bad in my opinion. Definitely better than the kaiseki meal. lol

I went back to the station to get my tickets to the festival. Do note the tickets are sold separately for the event and you cannot use JR pass for it. But even with this ticket, I had to top up when I alighted at Balloon Saga station cos of some fare adjustments. Not sure if it’s cos of the train I took but anyway, I just paid

I had some time before my train to Takeo Onsen arrives so I thought of checking the streets of Saga out

But after walking 30 minutes in the very hot sun, I regretted immediately and decided to walk back to the train station and just chill there instead which I found supermart and random Watsons-alike stores

The amount of curry packs surprise me. The locals must have really loved their curry

I wanted to try everything. lol

The sushi/bentos caught my eyes as well

Not that I had any stomach for it. But if all else fails and there’s nothing to eat for dinner, at least there’s bentos to the rescue. lol

There was nothing else in Saga that pretty much interests me so I decided to visit Mifuneyama Rakuen that was located about an hour away from Saga station. Took the train to Takeo Onsen before catching a cab to the garden

A photo for keepsake!

Looking at the map, it seemed a little big and I was contemplating if I should walked the entire garden

Glad there was still some autumn colours to light the photo up

But as I climbed up to the main attraction, I saw that I was a little too early for the season change. lol. It needs a little bit of imagination here

Else you can refer to the photos. I guess it would be much prettier when the garden is in full autumn bloom but for now, I just had to make do with it

Stayed there for awhile to cool down before I was entertained by a group of ahjumma/ahjussi tourists who decided to pick up a conversation with me in half Korean/half English before telling me one of them looked like Brad Pitt. I burst out laughing inside but controlled

Not wanting to miss my bus to Takeo Onsen station, I made my way down earlier since the bus only comes 1 every hour. But 5 minutes passed the schedule time, it was still not here and I 小 panicked. Realised bus timings are not that accurate as their train counterparts but thankfully the bus arrived in the end

The bus in red is the public bus that goes around

Decided to check in and shower cos I was feeling so hot from the heat. The hotel was basic and the room was not big. But it was sufficient enough if you just needed a place to sleep

Checked out the laundry room as well. I love how hotels in Japan has these just so you can wash your clothes and not pack so much for a long travel. Some of the hotels provide detergent too but if they don’t you can always buy from the convenience store. Oh, don’t worry. They are everywhere #onlyinjapan

So after a nice freshen up, I headed downstairs in search for dinner. This Saga Bar caught my eye and so, dinner it shall be for the night

The staffs were friendly and tried to speak English to me. There were also a number of tourists around and some salarymen that needed to unwind after work

The grilled seaweed was a popular item here so I got myself some and a sake to start. They go by different sizes and mine was the medium

Well, tastes like seaweed lor. But I guess if you drank too much and wanted something light to much on, seaweed works well

They don’t have a mix platter for 1 and min order is for 2 pax. I was asked to pick ala carte instead and I asked them to recommend. Well, it was okay.. lol

As I munched on this karaage, my mind floated back to the karaage I had at Yufuin. They were really that good. This.. I felt like I could have this in Singapore too

And some ochazuke cos I really wanted to try it

And desserts to end the night, with Ureshino Tea Icecream (which was a little too generous in my opinion)

Personally, I don’t think the food here was fantastic. They were pretty passable but if you want to try a wide variety of sake and too lazy to venture far, then you could probably consider this

I wanted to check out the light-up that was supposedly happening on the streets of Saga so I looked at the map and walk

But when I took a look at this and went – I think Orchard Road Christmas light-up probably beats this, I made a u-turn and head back to hotel. lol

It was an early early morning as I had to head down to Saga Balloon Fiesta, held annually during the month of November. And that was the reason why I decided to visit Saga in the first place. Initially I wanted to catch the 6.19am train but I really couldn’t drag my tired body out of bed so I took the 6.39am train leaving Saga station instead. The journey was in all just 5 minutes so one would have plenty of time to spare

And by the time I reached the venue, it was still peaceful and quiet

Even had time to witness the beautiful sunrise

So I followed the locals and just chose a seat on the steps. I was very impressed with how prepared they were, coming with mats and cushions. Well, I was just mentally blocking myself from the cold. It was actually quite chilly in the morning (but that didn’t last long)

So before the competition begins, there were already some balloons around. And the emcee explained those on the right were the sponsor balloons while those on the left were the one going for the competition

The balloons on the left gearing up for competition. There were a set of rules they had to follow so they would be judged based on that

Say Hello to Honda (one of the sponsors)

The backdrop makes the balloons look so pretty in the sky

Waking up for this was definitely worth it. The colours were beautiful, weather was great and the wind seemed more controlled which in turns > higher chance of balloons flying

You definitely need to witness this in real to actually see how beautiful it was

Soon, the balloons were all gone so I decided to wander to the stalls below to see what was going on

And there was Hisamitsu giving out free Salonpas. Cos this aching aunty in me aches quite easily, I happily took some

Basically, this was like a HUGE pasar malam selling all kinds of street food/snacks from all over the world

I legit was quite impressed

And then I decided to get a fishcake for breakfast though it was a little salty. lol

The day I visited happen to be kids’ day so they had a special balloon parade for kids. I headed back out soon to check out the balloons

And they were so adorable

By then, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and OMG, it was beginning to feel so warm. And it was only 10am! Part of me was thinking how to survive the entire day here

They really had lots of kids that day. It was like a school excursion decked out in their similar school uniform. The kids really looked super cute in them

I concluded I was getting roasted so I decided to head indoors and hide under the tents and also get some food for lunch

It was only slightly better indoors cos you could still feel the heat from outside and there weren’t exactly many fans around

I spotted this huge banner with the fragrance of the curry oozing from their pots. They had 4 large pots of it and also saw many locals buying from them. So I joined them

Literally curry with rice. Like the only ingredients I found inside was potatoes. lol. Was it good? I thought it was okay. Will I buy again? Probably no

I found this stall selling drinks and an iced cold drink sounds fantastic. So I got myself an iced Mango smoothie which was actually quite yummy

I was feeling tired from all the morning activity and I found myself in another tent with performances going on. That tent was actually more conducive and with that, I took a short nap in there. lol

By the time I woke up, it was time for magic tricks and balloons. I must say the balloon sculptor was quite impressive. The intricate details of the balloon was wow. At the end of the show, he gave them all away. Look at those happy kids faces. Part of me went – I want one too! But then the other part of me went – You have no luggage space

I decided to leave the tent and walk towards the balloon area to see what else was going on. There were stalls with the sponsors and I see they were showcasing their cars?

It was soon time for the afternoon competition that was supposed to happen at 3pm but the weather condition wasn’t conducive enough so everyone had to wait under the hot sun till 4pm to know if the competition would go on or not. So that marked an hour long wait. Oh gosh. I wanted to melt…

An hour later, YAY, the balloons took off!

I wouldn’t say the afternoon competition was as nice cos of how strong the sun was and it made the photos looked harsher as well. But, it was still a sight to behold

And with that, I happily hopped to the train station so I could finally return to hotel. I thought the Saga Balloon Fiesta was worth going and you need to be there to witness how magnificent it was. The photos do no justice. And I liked it came with alot of food stalls. But the next time I visit, I would just go for the morning session and skip the afternoon cos the weather was simply too unpredictable

I rested for awhile in the hotel before heading down for dinner. This place is just located right next to the train station and there are a few food options in there. So I spotted this place the night before and decided to check them out that night

No Stand

It felt like a yakitori/oden place to me

It was only empty cos I was pretty early but the place soon filled up with locals

Oden

Tsukune / Chicken Tail

Garlic Shrimps

Grilled Ika

The food here was actually pretty decent and I was satisfied with the dishes. If you had asked me to pick, I would recommend this place over the sake bar (even though they speak mostly Japanese). But you can google translate the menu and just point. lol. It works as well

And with that, that’s goodbye Saga!