A Taste of Ramen: Fukuoka and Tokyo on SIA and ANA (SIN-FUK-HND-SIN in Y)

[yflyer]

Earlier this week, I made a short work trip to Fukuoka and Tokyo on SQ and NH. It was just 2 days in Fukuoka and a day in Tokyo, but it was enough for a several good business meetings and some delicious food, including a memorable bowl of ramen at Hakata Issou Honten in Fukuoka, in the city and district where the eponymous Hakata-style ramen originated.

I flew SQ and NH in economy class on all sectors. I travelled on a single ticket, SIN-FUK-HND-SIN, issued by ANA, but after booking I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my outbound SIN-FUK sector was a codeshare operated by SIA. This was flight SQ656, a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner service. My FUK-HND sector was operated by NH260, onboard ANA's Boeing 777-200 in Star Wars C3PO livery, and my return HND-SIN leg was operated by NH843, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

My schedule was so packed that I had no time to head out for a run during those 3 days, or even see much of Fukuoka, but I did eat great food in both Fukuoka and Tokyo. Apart from Hakata Issou, I had a memorable sushi lunch at Sushi no Midori in Shibuya, as well as a superb tempura dinner at Tsunahachi Tempura in Shinjuku.

[yflyer]

SQ656 SIN-FUK was a 1.20am departure out of Changi T2. I arrived at the airport just before midnight.



There weren't too many flights departing at that hour. In any case, check-in at the self service kiosks was quick.



My first stop was the T2 Krisflyer Gold Lounge.



This was a fairly old lounge, and not a particularly memorable one, but I took heart in the knowledge that new SQ lounges were being constructed right across from the old ones.



The Krisflyer Gold Lounge was not busy at that hour.



I was in the lounge for one reason only. This flight would not have any meal service after departure, only breakfast prior to arrival, so I was here to grab a bowl of laksa (and a G&T) to avoid hunger pangs after take-off.



Yum...the laksa was absolutely delicious, and a stiff G&T would also help ensure that I got a good night's sleep in my Y seat.



After that, it was straight to the gate.

[yflyer]

Today's flight was operated by Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner rego 9V-SCJ, a 6+ year old aircraft.



Economy class was laid out 3-3-3.



This was SQ's newest Y seat -- pretty comfortable, with great IFE. Each seat came with a large fabric-covered cushion, and cloth blanket.



My seat was a centre bank aisle seat in the last row of the cabin.



There was decent recline for this last row seat, although the recline went straight back to the wall behind. Seats in other rows might have had marginally more recline, but I still managed to recline comfortably in this seat.



Seat back with Krisworld IFE. A/C as well as USB power were available.



There was a great selection of movies, TV and music.



Live televison was available...



The "Lifestyle" category had some interesting shows...



...including a two piano recital by superstar musicians Vikingur Olafsson and Yuja Wang...



...two musicians who were, in many ways, diametrical opposites of each other, but somehow were able to perform well together.



5 hours and 40 minutes flight time to Fukuoka today.



Bathrooms were located just behind the last row of seats.



There were amenities such as toothbrushes in the bathroom.

[yflyer]

Steaming hot towels were handed out prior to take-off...



Possibly the last time I would be viewing the much-loved "Journey through Singapore" safety video.



I've seldom paid a safety video such close attention...

[yflyer]

Our flight was completely full in economy...



After take-off, beverage service...



A G&T before going to bed...



I put on my eyeshades and earplugs.

At some point the cabin lights must have been dimmed, but I don't know when, as I was already fast asleep...

[yflyer]

2 hours prior to arrival, lights came on and breakfast was served.



There were two choices: Western-style eggs, or Teriyaki Chicken with Rice. I picked the Chicken.



This tasted pretty good...

[yflyer]

By then, the sun was already up...



The cabin windows were centrally undimmed...



Lovely ambience in the 787 cabin, with the large windows giving the cabin an airy and open feel.

[yflyer]

We were soon making our final approach to Fukuoka Airport...



Our route today.



We made a smooth touchdown, and soon deplaned at Fukuoka's International Terminal on a bright and sunny morning.



Overall, this was a lovely flight in SQ Economy, with a good cabin product, tasty catering, and superb cabin crew.

[yflyer]

International flights to Fukuoka arrive at the International Terminal.



Fukuoka receives many international toursts, including many from nearby South Korea.



I arrived at what must have been peak hour, with several planes arriving at about the same time, so there was quite a queue at immigration that took close to 30 min to clear.

After that, I headed to the tourist information counter to ask what the best way was to to my hotel, located at Canal City in Hakata. It turns out the airport was quite close to the city, so all I needed to do was to catch a free airport shuttle bus from the international terminal to the domestic terminal, then take the subway to the city. Just 2 stops from the Airport to Hakata station, then a change of train to the Nanakuma line, then one stop to the Kushida Shrine. Canal City would then be just a 2 minute walk away.



The short bus ride from international to domestic took us right around the airport, with great views of the runway along the way.



The shuttle bus dropped passengers off at the Domestic Terminal entrance, which was right at the subway entrance too. Very seamless!

It was possible to just tap a credit card to use the trains, with a very reasonable daily cap of JPY 640 per day for unlimited rides, so it wasn't even necessary to buy a subway ticket. I just tapped my Visa card to get onboard.



It was just 2 stops from the airport to Hakata station, then a change to another line for one more stop, with great signage guiding travellers every step of the way.

Off the train at Kushida Shrine station, it was just a short walk to my hotel, the Fukuoka Canal City Washington Hotel, which was part of the Canal City Shopping Complex.

[yflyer]

Canal City was a large shopping complex with a semi-open design, including a "canal" running through it.



It was great to be staying at a hotel so close to a buzzing shopping/dining area.



There was always something happening at Canal City...



...whether it was musical performances...



...or the occasional water fountain display, set to lights and music.

[yflyer]

My room at the Canal City Washington hotel was small, but comfortable. (Folks with a bigger budget could also stay at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, also co-located within the Canal City Complex).



My room came with a "double" bed, which was really more of a large single, and writing desk. Max capacity was apparently 2 guests, but really this was a single room. If I made Mrs yflyer stay in this size of hotel room with me, my marriage would not last very long. But for a solo traveller, I found it perfectly fine.



The bathroom was also tiny, but well equipped with shower, washlet and a full set of toiletries.



There was a decent sized wardrobe.



My room had a nice view of the Canal City mall.

[yflyer]

It was now just past 10am. Here's the thing about hotels in Japan: hotel check-in and check-out times are quite fixed. It's not like other countries where it is often able to get a room earlier. Here, 2pm check-in meant 2pm checkin, no ifs no buts.

I decided to leave my luggage and head out for an early lunch. A friend told me that the Hakata district of Fukuoka was where Hakata-style ramen originated. It was a no brainer to head out in search of a bowl of Hakata-style ramen as my first meal in this city.

I googled for popular ramen places, and decided on Hakata Issou as the place to try. There were several branches, and Hakata Issou Honten, their main outlet, opened at 11am. It was just over a kilometer away, so took a walk over. By the time I got there at 11.15am, there was already a 50m queue stretching around the block.



There was actually a full time traffic warden who very courteously and efficiently managed the line, which comprised mainly locals, with a smattering of tourists...



Occasionally, a white-clad waitress would come out of the restaurant and take a count of the number of guests in each party in the queue, taking careful note of the exact number of guests in each party.



Near the head of the queue, you would take turns to go into the restaurant to place your order by machine, paying in advance, then receiving little paper coupons for your order.

After standing in line for an hour and ten minutes, I was warmly welcomed inside and shown to my seat at the counter.



It was just a short wait before my steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of me. Sitting at the counter, I was mesmerized by several huge bubbling vats of thick, fragrant pork broth, in a row behind the chefs. The staff moving swifly, in seemingly choreographed movements, to prepare bowl after bowl of delectable ramen, which were then delivered to eager customers sitting at tables and at the counter.



The verdict? Absolutely superb, with great noodle texture and an impossibly rich and delicious pork bone broth.

[yflyer]

Back in Canal City that evening, I headed to Kuohka, which was a gourmet dining zone within Canal City. Here, there were many restaurants, serving both Japanese and Western fare, clustered in a single area.



I had an enjoyable business dinner there, then headed to the wine bar there for several drinks.



The concept here was simple: JPY 900 yen per glass...



It was a great way to try different wines, whether sparkling, white, red or natural/orange.



I asked the friendly staff member how they accounted for differences in prices of the wines, given that they charged the same JPY 900 for each glass.

"We adjust the volume accordingly", she replied. Indeed, each glass was poured out carefully on a measuring scale.



I tried a couple of sparkling wines, then a red...



They had some spirits available too. I sampled one of their gins.



I noticed several bottles of Madeira on the shelf, which brought back good memories of a vacation to the Portugese island of Madeira 3 years ago. I could not resist ending the evening with a glass of Boal medium sweet Madeira.



This was a very nice way to spend the evening.

it was a short walk, though Canal City, back to my hotel room, where I slept very soundly.

[yflyer]

The next afternoon, after a morning business meeting, I headed to Fukuoka Airport for my flight to Tokyo.

Once again, from the Canal City Washington Hotel, I caught the subway to the airport.



The subway station exited directly into the airport terminal.



The domestic terminal was very busy. Unlike many countries where domestic services were operated by small narrowbodies such as A320's or 737's, here many domestic flights were operated by widebodies, including 777's, 787's...



...as well as older 767's, such as this one operated by JAL.



The domestic terminal also had a viewing gallery accessible from the landside area. I would have liked to visit it, but I thought I had better prioritize changing my flight to earlier departure, rather than plane-spotting.



In the departure area, I was momentarily disorientated as all I saw was bank of self service check-in kiosks, and not a single manned ANA counter in sight. I needed to change my flight from an evening departure to an earlier one, but where could I do this? There weren't any manned counters that I could see anywhere on the departure level.

I headed to the information counter to ask for directions to a manned staff counter, and was directed to the arrival level, of all places, however as I was walking to the arrival area, I noticed a separate ANA premium check-in entrance for business class and frequent flyers/Star Alliance Gold members. Inside this premium- check-in area were several manned counters, as well as direct access to a separate security queue. Brilliant!

Once inside, the staff were happy to change my flight and issue a boarding pass for NH260, a 4.15pm departure for Haneda. I thanked them profusely and headed airside.

[yflyer]

Boarding pass in hand, I headed to the ANA Lounge to pass time before my flight.



Having recently visited ANA's domestic lounges in Japan previously, I knew what to expect: A fairly basic lounge with no food, only beverages. That said, the beverage selection was more than adequate, with beer, whisky and shochu available.



I had late work calls that evening, so I resisted the urge to pour myself a drink.



Instead, I treated myself to a glass of kale juice...which was quite delicious despite it's pond water green appearance.



Other beverage options included zero alcohol beer...



...and soft beverages.



Small packets of snack mix were also available.