Day 5 of a 4-night, 5-day trip.
It’s time to go back to Korea.
When I came from Fukuoka Airport to Karatsu,
I took the JR,
but it was quite a hassle with three transfers.
When I searched online,
it looked like taking the airport line would connect smoothly to the Chikuhi Line,
but in reality,
those direct trains only run once or twice during rush hours.
In fact,
I had to transfer once at Meinohama
and once again at Chikuzen-Maebaru.
Including waiting and transfer time,
it ended up taking about two hours.
It was farther and more inconvenient than I expected.
So I was thinking,
going back to the airport would be just as annoying.
And then,
in the hotel lobby,
I happened to see a “bus timetable.”
There,
I found a timetable for a direct bus from Karatsu to Fukuoka Airport !
Buses from Karatsu (唐津) to Tenjin (天神日銀前)
or Hakata Bus Terminal (博多バスターミナル) run quite frequently,
about every 30 minutes to an hour.
And if you match the timing well,
there’s also a bus that goes all the way to
Fukuoka Airport Domestic Terminal (福岡空港国内線).
It only takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes,
so taking the bus is actually much more convenient than the JR.
I left the hotel
and walked about 10 minutes with my suitcase
to the Yozakuminami bus stop.
If your hotel is in a busy area,
it’s probably easier to take the bus from Oteguchi.
That place is basically the transportation hub of Karatsu.
When boarding the bus,
your luggage goes in the compartment underneath.
And I paid the fare
with my ICOCA card on my iPhone.
After about 1 hour and 30 minutes on the bus,
I arrived at the Fukuoka Airport Domestic Terminal.
Now,
to get to the international terminal,
I have to take the shuttle bus anyway.
Before that,
I should grab lunch.
On the 3rd floor of the domestic terminal,
there’s a place called Ramen Runway (ラーメン滑走路).
It’s like a food hall
where famous ramen shops from Fukuoka are gathered together,
based on the concept of an airport runway.
Looking at the lineup of shops,
it really feels like all the famous places are here.
In a way,
it’s similar to the Ramen Stadium in Canal City,
or Hakata Menkaido in DEITOS at Hakata Station.
Of course,
going to a ramen shop in the city has a better atmosphere,
but when you need a quick bowl at the airport or station,
places like this become very convenient.
Today’s ramen spot is here,
Ramen Unari (ラーメン海鳴).
About 10 years ago,
when I used to visit Fukuoka often,
this place became very popular for its Ramen Genova (ラーメンジェノバ),
which adds basil sauce to tonkotsu ramen.
It’s a nostalgic place for me,
where I often came late at night after drinking in Nakasu
for a final hangover meal.
You buy a ticket from the vending machine next to the entrance,
hand it to the staff when seated,
and that completes the order.
Ramen Genova,
that nostalgic bowl after such a long time.
The base is tonkotsu ramen,
but the broth has a green color because of the basil sauce.
Maybe because of its Western-inspired name,
it’s also interesting that they serve pepper and Tabasco as condiments.
I took a spoonful of the broth.
Hmm…
Was my memory idealized?
It doesn’t taste like I remember.
Not that it’s bad,
but in my memory,
the tonkotsu was rich and deep,
and the basil was just a light touch to balance the smell.
This time,
the basil felt too strong,
and it covered the tonkotsu more than I would have liked.
On this trip,
even though I used Fukuoka Airport
and traveled somewhere quite close to Fukuoka,
I somehow didn’t eat ramen at all.
So right before heading home,
I was determined
to have tonkotsu ramen at the airport.
That’s why I came to Ramen Runway.
After adjusting my idealized memories to the present,
I took the shuttle bus to the international terminal.
Bought some gifts at the duty-free shop,
and headed back home.
And just like that,
this trip came to an end.
In the next post,
I might write a summary of this entire trip.
It would be helpful to organize the information in one place,
and maybe I can also refine my mistakes
to suggest a better plan.
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