Yanagawa

Everything was great with our small group! Cico gave a very thorough introduction, and the driver drove very smoothly – a perfect day trip! Boating on the Yanagawa River was fun, and we also had delicious eel rice.

We exchanged our tickets for paper tickets at Fukuoka Station, which was very convenient. The Nishitetsu trains are frequent, but Yanagawa is quite far, so we chose the limited express. There's a free shuttle bus from the Yanagawa exit to the Matsugae ferry terminal to take a sightseeing boat. The boats have heated blankets in winter, and the boatmen will introduce the scenery of Yanagawa and sing songs. In the afternoon, we went to Tenmangu Shrine. The Nishitetsu train connections were excellent. We exchanged our tickets for umeboshi mochi (plum blossom rice cakes) from Terada-ji Temple; they were delicious, and there were many tourists there.

The weather was fantastic ☀️ Tour guide Wang was efficient and friendly 😊 The aroma of strawberries 🍓 filled the air as soon as we entered the restaurant, and we were so full 🥰 The Yanagawa eel rice was absolutely delicious 🤭🤭

When we arrived at the meeting point at 8:00 AM, the tour leader hadn't appeared yet, but eventually showed up holding a sign. Perhaps because the tour guide was a local Japanese and didn't speak much English/Chinese, we communicated using Google Translate. This was a slight disappointment, as we joined the tour hoping the guide would provide some background information on Fukuoka and the history of the attractions. The audio guide's commentary was essentially the same as the online promotional text for the trip, not very helpful 🤣. Also, considering that January 5th was still during the New Year period, we were told that the "Raizan Senruji Temple" stop was removed, and the entire group returned to the meeting point around 5:15 PM. Personally, I think the tour guide should have arranged for this location to be visited again before the end of the trip, depending on the vehicle's condition, so that travelers could check it out. Overall, the vehicle condition, driver, and the smoothness of the itinerary were acceptable.

Take the Nishitetsu from Fukuoka to Yanagawa Station. The bus is waiting right in front of Yanagawa Station. It's very convenient to take the bus to Kamenoi Hotel. The boatman has a great singing voice and will interact with the passengers. After the boat trip, you can take a walk along the river, go to Motoyoshiya for eel rice, and then take the bus back to Yanagawa Station. You have plenty of time and it's very pleasant.