First things first, we headed down for breakfast in the early morning and afterwards, promptly checked out of the hotel and stored our luggage in the lobby. It was the long awaited day to Okunoshima Island aka. Bunny Island. We pre-booked our train tickets on the JR the day before, and our departure time was 9:07AM and by the time we get to Mihara station, it would be 9:35AM and then we have to transfer trains to take it to Tadanoumi station (~30 mins). Basically, we took the JR Kodama train from Hiroshima to Mihara and then the JR Kure line to Tadanoumi Station. It was around an hour train ride + extra for the ferry. Once we got off the train, it was apparent that we were in a secluded town. There were nobody there except for a few tourists; the townspeople were virtually not existent. We didn't know how to get to the port but luckily there were some tourists who we "decided" were heading to the same place as us so we followed them.
A map of attractions around Tadanoumi.
Once at the ferry ticketing booth, you need to use a ticket machine to buy the tickets. If you need help, you can ask the middle-age ladies at the counter, though they don't speak much English. The tickets for the ferry to Okunoshima Island cost ¥620 round trip. The ferry doesn't come often, perhaps every 30 minutes, so we were standing around the booth waiting with the other passengers. I had to go to the washroom, so I went to the public toilet near the ticketing booth because once on the island, who knows where and how sanitary the washroom would be. The washroom on land, isn't to rave about either, it was old, dirty and cramped inside the stall. It was WAY TOO SCARY. ˚‧⁺(͘๑̊/﹏\)⁺‧ I can't help but scream while in there.
Ticket booth.
Scenery around Tadanoumi.
The shiba who guards the ticketing booth. He looks so sad... (。┰ω┰。)
Ferry approaching Okunoshima Island. BUNNY ISLAND.
ヾ(@°▽°@)ノ
ヾ(@°▽°@)ノ
As I peered down the seawall to look at the ocean, it is very pretty, the water is almost transparent and the rocks look so surreal.
(;° ロ°)
This little guy looks like he wants to get off the island...
As you walk up some stairs and through some trees and bushes you come across a nice scenic area of the surrounding islands. Though I must say, I screamed many times before I reached here. There's just too many bugs appearing out of nowhere. I couldn't go on anymore and had to go back down.
OMFG!!! ❤️❤️❤️ SO CUTE!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I WANT TO TAKE YOU HOME WITH ME!! ❤️❤️❤️
Once we took the ferry back to the harbour, we headed off to the train station. Once at the train station, we were very confused as to which train to take. We didn't know which direction it should be and what the signs meant. And coincidentally, the ticket officer is also away for lunch. FREE RIDES FOR EVERYONE. There's no one to ask for help, but we did have a tourist couple ask us how to get back to Hiroshima. WELL, we got on the WRONG TRAIN. It took 2 HOURS to get back to Hiroshima. 2 HOURS!!! OMG. We wasted so much time on the train, we could've spent those time exploring Hakata. But on the 2 hours train ride back, we couldn't help but fall asleep. In the beginning we were speaking to the tourists couple and asked them what they are doing in Hiroshima and they said they were here on a "Business trip" and they don't really care for museum and the like, but they like to drink and go to pubs. LOL. Nice. They look like regular middle class citizens (a 50 years old White man and an 40 years old Asian women- very American). It's awkward to talk on the train because nobody is talking, only us. So couple of minutes later, I can feel myself literally nodding off. The train ride back to Hiroshima is very scenic, I would've love to stay awake but I didn't notice I fell asleep. The train goes pass the ocean and mountains, thus the very beautiful scenery.
Once we reached our hotel, we headed to the open dining/resting area for something to drink. Yes, we checked out but we still drank from their FREE customers only drink machine. After resting and drinking some soda, we grabbed our luggage and headed to Hiroshima Station for our ride to Hakata. We got our tickets for the JR Sakura 4:27PM departure and arrival time in Hakata is 5:34PM. One hour ride, not bad.
The ride to Hakata provided us with some insights as to country life in Japan. The houses looks very traditional and big. You can tell it's a quite life, except for noises from the trains.
And a donut to satisfy my hunger.
Once we arrived in Hakata, I was amazed at the grandness of the station, it's very similar to Kyoto Station. There's a lot of shopping and dining you can do here.
For the last night in Japan, we chose "International Hostel Khaosan Fukuoka." This was an approximately 15 minutes walk from Hakata Station. I did feel a bit scared entering this hostel, I mean, look at the condition it is in and doesn't it looks a bit shady? We got a private room with bunk beds but shower and washroom was communal and it was $58.30 CND/night. The room provides free wifi and air conditioning. That's it. Very minimal. You have to brush your teeth and wash your face in an open area with people walking by to reach their rooms. The showers are divided into females and males. I took a shower for less than 10 minutes as it was so cramped in there, perhaps 1 meter by 1 meter (including changing area - so if you are on the bigger end there would be some troubles unless you go to the third floor and use the bathtub). Another thing here is that you must change into slippers before you can walk up to the living area. You leave your shoes in the lobby and then grab any slippers from the basket.
The reception is very nice, but I wouldn't stay here if it was for a long stay. Look at the size of this room, there's no where to walk and you can barely open your luggage. Also, if I get diarrhea, I would be hogging the toilet for myself and everybody on the second floor has to wait for me as there is ONLY ONE TOILET.
The sink and face washing area located in the main hallway of the second floor. The first thing you see when you walk up to the second floor.
And lastly, dinner. We walked around looking for the famous ramen place, but did not find it so we settled for this place. Unfortunately, by the time we entered, it was almost time for them to close. So the manager was like "last order." It was definitely our last order since we ordered SO MUCH! HAHA. An older couple and a Korean lady was looking at the amount of food we have on the table for two skinny females. (*≧艸≦)
This is what I ordered for myself.
First of all, we couldn't read the menu cause it was in Japanese so we chose the food by their pictures. The waitress didn't speak any English at all, so we pointed to what we wanted. And everything here only cost us ¥1910. I chose udon and rice while my sister got udon and some kind of fish; as for the sides, we got takoyaki, fried fish and fried hard tofu. We didn't finish everything though, I was afraid I would get a stomachache which I did the next morning. Diarrhea. When everybody left the restaurant and they started to close up, we asked for a doggy bag, but they have no clue what it was. It was difficult for them to even find containers for us to pack it back. Apparently, in Japan, from what I've read, they aren't really into the whole doggy bagging thing. It was quite embarrassing. I didn't want to waste my rice since I didn't even touch it one bit. But I did ended up wasting it the next morning, had to dump it since my stomach hurts. So much hassle for nothing.
I think it was around 9 or 10 PM by the time we reached our hostel. My sister and I took turns taking a shower downstairs on the main floor. After my shower, as I was heading back upstairs I heard knocking on the door. Apparently, the door is locked at a certain time, and you can't get in without the passcode, which is given to the customers. I was afraid to open the door, SO scared, but I felt so bad too. Eventually after 15 minutes or so he did manage to get in by himself. I know that he saw my shadow while I was going up the stairs. To that young, tall, Caucasian guy: I AM SO Sorry. I didn't want to be liable for any mishaps that happen if I did open the door to an unknown man. Anyways, we saw each other while I was brushing my teeth in the open area on the second floor. Not too bad looking. At least he wasn't out there for the whole night. And I can sleep with no guilt.
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