G’day all, hope you’re well this fine day. And whilst I’m at it, I hope today IS a fine day! Today’s blog sees me complete my time in Kyushu from last year as I write about Dazaifu, an important Kyushu town with loads of history, temples and a museum which used to be, hundreds of years ago, the capital of the region. Nanzoin is a smaller town famous for its 41-metre Broze Buddha Statue, which in all fairness is probably only a half day trip and hence I’ve put these two together for one blog. This means next comes my adventure in Korea in detail for you! But, to today’s blog first!

Dazaifu

Dazaifu is an easy train ride from Fukuoka via the main Hakata Station, with its own station at the end of its line – although you may need to change at some point I think we did on the way back. I found Google Maps super useful in Japan in Tokyo and in Fukuoka and surrounds with public transport information which seemed to be right pretty much each time. Just over half an hour and you will arrive in the former Kyushu capital of Dazaifu.

Dazaifu is a super popular town to visit with the locals and when we went there it was a sunny, warm day in May with mostly clear skies and there were loads of people visiting too. You get off the train and find yourself in this square at the start of a typical tourist road in Japan with shops on either side selling souvenirs and food – apparently the matcha ice cream is very good there as are the strawberries. I tried a strawberry attached to some sort of waffle pastry. The strawberry was nice but would have been much nicer on its own.

At the end of the road was a tourist information centre and the entrance to the main attraction of the town, Dazaifu Tenmangu, a shrine in these beautiful gardens. Apparently it sees over 10 million visitors a year and describes itself as one of Japan’s most important Shinto Shrines. It dates back to 919 CE so it has an ancient-ish history.

We walked to the entrance past a ‘Divine Bull Statue’, which people touch in the hope it will bring them money. Or intelligence I am hearing conflicting stories on its purpose from my Japanese Source! There is a lovely Japanese bridge and a small lake, a gate and you get to the shrine proper which is interesting because the roof of the shrine actually has soil, grass and plant life on it (this sadly didn’t really come across in my vlog). The gardens are great for a stroll, all in all it’s a worthwhile visit.

There is also a small Dazaifu Museum attached for a fee (shrine is free) that I visited which was okay but I wouldn’t classify it as ‘must-visit’!

Another temple which is worth visiting, although it was limited when we were there is Komyozen-ji. This is a Zen (Buddhist) temple dating back to 1273 CE. The temple I think was undergoing works and was mostly empty when we visited but there were a couple of empty rooms to walk through with tatami mats and then behind the building is this beautiful Japanese garden, which was pretty much all there was to see but it was definitely worth it.

The final thing we did/visited in Dazaifu was the Kyushu National Museum. You will see this building at the top of the hill when you are walking around Dazaifu watching over you. It’s a large, modern building and very cool. The best way to get there is via these escalators which are hella long and an attraction in their own right. When you get to the top of those before entering the museum you can have lunch in a restaurant attached with outside tables over open tanks with fish in them. You can put your feet in the tanks and have fish nibble your feet as you eat. You know, if you want!

The museum itself looks a lot bigger than it is, and well, it’s a museum. But the building is cool. All in all, it’s probably not a full day of sight seeing but more than half – and there are other little shrines you can visit around the town. It’s definitely a good place to go visit when you are in Fukuoka.

Nanzoin

Nanzoin is another town a short train ride from Hakata Station in Fukuoka. This should only require 3-4 hours including the train ride. You take a walk to the entrance of the WALK to the shrine, up some stairs after walking maybe 400 metres from the station and you walk up and around this hill opposite the station, through a tunnel, to get to the shrine of this 41-metre bronze Buddha, possibly the or one of the largest of its kind in the world. Yes, it’s pretty impressive! It dates back to 1899 and well, it’s bloody big. The total walk is maybe 20 – 25 minutes.

When you cross the river to begin going up the hill there’s like a xylophone thing on the bridge which is really cool too and you can play a little tune. There isn’t much else but a couple of tourist shops and probably a restaurant or two and a couple of other small shrines. But the Buddha itself is well worth the visit!

Thanks as always for dropping in today and reading the blog! Take care wherever you are in the world – May the Journey Never End!