 Yahuoku! Dome where the Softbank Hawks call home - and the first stadium with a retractable roof in Japan For our last full day in Fukuoka, and since I didn't feel like Nate had the full Japanese baseball experience, we headed over to the Yahuoku! Dome to see if we could score last minute tickets to the Softbank Hawks.  Check out the chip flavors in Japan :) Lucky for us, we were able to score some tickets but it was standing room only. And it was TAKA Girl day - I had no idea what this meant at the time but there was lots of pink and we got free jerseys! #score #souvenir After some research, I found out this is one of the Hawk's nicknames - taka - 鷹, meaning hawk. So it looks like this game was encouraging the Hawk's female fans to attend - clearly I was in good company!  Checking out festivities before the game
 Taka Girl day! I talk about my first experience at a Japanese baseball game when I first attended with Nate's family back in Osaka, but to recap, these are some of the many reasons why I love Japanese baseball games and think everyone should attend:
 We headed to our standing room only seats but were met with fun fans around us. People come prepared for the games with their own seats, blankets, and snacks - basically creating their own picnic before and during the game.  Making friends before the game
Getting pumped for the game!!  Here we go!! Part way through Nate and I saw seats only a few rows up from the field, so we headed down around the 4th inning to get a better view.  Having fun at the game YAAASSSSS!! BALLOON TIME!!! My fav! We need to do this in America!!  Balloon time!  Balloon time! Cheering on our team through the leftover balloons :) After the game, I felt like Nate finally had the Japanese baseball experience - and something I recommend to anyone heading over to Japan! Even though there's not much English, it's hard not to stop smiling or having a great time, listening to the chants, and cheering/clapping your team on! We went to go check out more of Fukuoka on our last night, heading to Nakasu Island, one of Japan's busiest entertainment districts, but specifically Oyafuko Dori (which roughly translates to "street of unruly children" due to crammed schools that once lined the street.  Fukuoka Tenjin We found a tasty yakitori bar where we ate lots of delicious little plates of meat and appetizers!  天神信長 親不孝通店 Yakitori on Oyafuko Dori
After dinner and drinks, we hopped back on the subway to head back to our hotel. We couldn't resist stopping by our new favorite pastry shop we discovered in the subway building filled with lots of delicious goodies. We may or may not have gotten more bites before bed...
Before catching our flight back to Okinawa, we had time to visit one more spot, Tochoji Temple. This temple was built in 806, making it the oldest Shingon temple in Kyushu. It was founded by the famous monk Kobo-Daishi (Kukai), when he came back from China and prayed for Tantric Buddhism to spread to the east.  Tochoji Temple
 Tochoji Temple  The Great Buddha of Fukuoka One of the main attractions at the Tochoji Temple is the Fukuoka Daibutsu (Great Buddhist statue). This statue took 4 years to carve and is the largest statue of a seated Buddha in Japan. It stands at 10.8 meters tall and weighs 30 tons. In addition, the ring of light behind Buddha is 16.1 meters high and has numerous images of Buddha also carved into it.  Tochoji Temple
 Buddhas lining the walls of the temple  Tochoji Temple It was a pleasant way to end our last trip to the mainland before heading back to the states! Until next time! - The Bonds Follow in our Footsteps:
Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome 2-2-2 Jigyohama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken (walk from Tojinmachi subway station takes 15-25 minutes) 天神信長 親不孝通店 (yakitori) 3 Chome-4-14 Tenjin, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0001, Japan Hours: 5pm - 1am Tochoji Temple 2-4 Gokushomachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0037, Japan (Near Gion station) +81 92-291-4459 Hours: 9am - 4:45pm
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Megan Bond - AUTHORJust a girl raised in California and loved exploring Southeast Asia with my husband! We're back in the States but still exploring the world as much as we can! Archives
February 2019
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