To wrap up a very successful second visit
to Fukuoka, I decided to spend my last morning in the city with a relaxing trip
to the famous Dazaifu Tenmangu Starbucks.
When I was in Fukuoka five years ago, this place
did not exist, and I had no reason to travel 40 minutes from the city center to
Dazaifu. Now with the presence of one of the most iconic Starbucks stores in
the world, I thought I world at least make a trip there for a coffee.
Little did I know that my relaxing sojourn
would turn into an epic crusade.
First of all, there are two Starbucks in
Dazaifu. One of them is the famous Starbucks at Tenmangu Station, the other is
a drive-through Starbucks in a quiet suburb of the city.
Yeah, I know. I know because I went there
by mistake, and my 40 minute commute became 2 hours as I studied my GPS
thinking,
“Goddamn this place is really off the grid.”
So my point is, be careful when you look up
direction for Starbucks in Dazaifu. Don’t do what I did.
But on the bright side, I know possess a
vivid image of what a Fukuoka suburb looks like. So vivid that I should
probably write about it, so that trip is not in vain.
Now I will share a few images from my
mis-adventure. I think you'll find a subtle and raw beauty to them that is not as deliberate as the Tenmangu Starbucks:
When I realized my mistake I re-routed my
GPS and was back on track to the real Dazaifu Starbucks which was about one
hour away, including walking time. By the time I made it there I was hot,
sweaty, sun burnt, and only a time to sit for a few minutes before returning to
the city to catch my train to Nagasaki.
No comments:
Post a Comment