Girls' Time in Fukuoka

After we returned from Nagoya, Chrys had to report to Tokyo for a few days of work. I decided to take Roo to Fukuoka and wander to some of the things the "boys" weren't interested in.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Canal City. It was very nice. Canal City turned out to be a huge shopping complex (that I got lost in constantly - go me and my lack of direction). They have everything from Stage to Cinema, Disney to Dolce. It's neat and we spent quite a bit of our time just looking around. They also had a large indoor play area that I was quite thankful for when most things around (like the museum I wanted to visit) were closed for the typhoon.

We spent one day wandering down by Tenjin station. It's a large shopping area near the hub of the bus and subway activity. Part of it is a large arcade that they've built under the station. I had HUGE problems with this. I have horrid sense of direction and underground with no clear landmarks is a recipe for disaster. I ended up in an offshoot of the arcade and couldn't figure out how to get back so I found my way to ground level and an exit. Turns out I was about 3 blocks from the main street (which is above the arcade). That'll teach me.

We actually made it to the museum (Hakata Folk Museum) after the hurricane...err, typhoon...blew through. It was a fun little museum. They had dioramas of their major festival (during Golden Week), telephones with local dialect (apparently quite entertaining if you're Japanese), and some paper mache masks/head pieces to try on. I put RC in one of the headpieces and caught a picture. There was a free section that showcased how they weave the local fabrics and a room with samples of local crafts in various stages of completion. Then, we went to the little shop where RC played with a wooden toy (that we had to take home) of a daruma that falls down a ladder and I checked out the Hakata dolls. We ended up with a 3 piece set of little girls with different toys in their hand. They were far more affordable than most of the ceramic dolls I've seen and more age appropriate to the one I really buy them for so I couldn't resist.

RC ended up entranced by a play kitchen at the Sanrio store (complete with lying on the floor describing the box contents to me) so she'll get that for her birthday. We squeezed in some driving time around town and a quick trip to Toys R Us for more toy shopping. All in all, it was a good time and I'm thrilled I got to enjoy it.