When we woke up the next morning in Beppu, we were treated to a very traditional Japanese-style breakfast. After we finished packing, we headed out to the lobby to check out. The nice obasan told us it would likely be raining all afternoon. Lo and behold, on the way to Beppu station there was already a slight drizzle outside.

We hopped on the train which took us to Kokura, then switched over to Mojiko. By the time we arrived in Mojiko it was raining pretty steadily. We took a short walk over to the Kyushu Railway History Museum, which is located right beside the station. The museum is split into two sections with an outdoor exhibit displaying retired trains, and an indoor exhibit in the main building. Luckily the outdoor exhibit was covered, so we didn’t have to worry about getting drenched. Some of the trains were open to the public, so you can actually go inside and see how everything was laid out. In the main museum there were exhibits on old train tickets and uniforms and it showed how the stations transformed over the years. After browsing the collection, we headed back out for the exit.

Just as we were leaving we noticed a sign pointing to a mini train park. There are tracks running around the front and for a small fee you can can ride one of the mini trains. I’m pretty sure this was an attraction for children, but because I have the mentality of a six year old, I dragged everyone to go on a train with me. We rode the mini tsubame train, which fit exactly three adults.There was a gas pedal you can press and a whistle inside. It really looked like the real thing. =P

When we left the museum, we took a walk over to the harbour in hopes a finding a place for lunch. Because Mojiko Station was undergoing renovations, we sort of missed the signs pointing to the restaurants and ended up taking a big detour. Since it was raining, the view from the harbour looked pretty gloomy. Once we finally found the restaurants, we picked a place which served kawara soba, which is a local specialty. It was one of my favourite dishes in Kyushu.

After lunch, we took the train back to Kokura, then switched over to another train for Fukuoka. I was pretty miserable after being drenched by the rain, plus my shoes were completely soaked. Regardless, we kept going and by the time we reached Fukuoka, we switched over to the subway and headed to Daizaifu. Unfortunately it was STILL raining by the time we got to Daizaifu. I had already changed into a fresh pair of socks but it really didn’t help much with wet shoes. Even though I was trying to make the most of our time, once we finally made it to Daizaifu Tenmagu, I already had enough of the rain. We took some photos of the area then made our way back to Fukuoka.

When we got back to Fukuoka the rain surprisingly tapered off. We walked back to our hotel and I immediately threw out my shoes. Afterwards we took the subway over to Tenjin, where we stopped by the JE shop and browsed through the underground malls. Later at night we were trying to find a yatai. We ended up walking in circles without having much luck, then I remembered a place that Ben recommended called Mami-chan’s. Thanks to his instructions and the last of my dying WiFi connection, we managed to locate it.

It was already packed when we got there, but somehow she managed to squeeze another three people inside. It was my first time eating at a yatai, so I wasn’t sure what kind of experience I would have. Luckily we had an amazing group of people with us. I’ve never sat with a group of salarymen before, but we ended up having lots of fun speaking a mix of English and Japanese. Mami-san was also super nice and gave us a dish on the house. We ended up ordering pretty average things like cha-han, gyoza (as recommended by her) and yakitori. But my favourite thing by far was her hakata ramen. It was heavenly.

I was super happy by the time I left the yatai. Mami-san rounded us up for a commemorative photo outside. (^_^)

Even though the rain slightly dampened our spirits, I’m glad we managed to make the most out of our day. Our trip to Mojiko and Daizaifu was the only day in our entire three week vacation that rained, so it wasn’t a bad trade off. I was so full from yatai and chu-hi that it didn’t seem to matter anymore. =P