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The shop owner making red bean cakes.Authentic matcha with red bean dessert.A model of old Hakata city at theHakata Machiya Folk Museum.A craftsman at work in the museum.One of the floats used for the HakataGion Yamakasa festival.Kushida Shrine was just across the road. Kushida Shrine hasa long history as the village shrine in Fukuoka City. Shrines foreach of Shinto’s three gods (Amaterasu Omikami, Ohatanushi no-Omikami, and Susano no-Omikami) were built in 757 AD and 941AD. The shrine is fervently revered as “Okushida-sama” or “God ofImmortality and Success in Business”. It is also the starting pointof Fukuoka’s most famous festival, “Hakata Gion Yamakasa”, whichis held on 1st to 15th of July. You will see tens of men carrying afloat or “Oi-Yama” weighing as heavy as one ton racing down theroads in the early hours of the morning on the 15th day.Next stop is the Canal City Hakata. Most ladies will like thisplace. Other than the Tenjin shopping area, Canal City Hakatais the place to be for food, shopping and entertainment. On thefifth storey, you can find cinemas and many restaurants. There isa Ramen stadium on the sixth storey serving different types ofRamen from all parts of Japan. At the basement, you can findopen areas to relax and admire the musical fountain as the watersways to the music. The recently-opened annex contains a hugeUniqlo store and several international brands. I find the quaintcafes especially interesting. One can literally spend a whole dayin Canal City. After shopping, you may walk along the Naka Riversituated just beside Canal City and enjoy the romantic scenery.You can even try the “Yatai”, which are standalone sheds dottedalong the riverside and serving authentic Fukuoka cuisine.After wrapping up our shopping at Canal City Hakata, we tookthe Velotaxis, a form of human-peddled modern trishaw, for atour around the city. Many shoppers were amused by our modeof transportation and waved at and posed with us. It was thirtyminuteride and we alighted at the Tenjin shopping area.DAY 5 to 7. I extended my trip by another 3 days to take in moresights of Kyushu and to visit and relax at some of the best onsensin Japan. No more driving from now on. However, I did miss all thedriving because it felt so therapeutic to drive on such wide roads andbe accompanied by wonderful sights, not to mention the utmostcourtesy and driving etiquettes displayed by Japanese drivers.I visited Yufuin, one of the best-known onsen towns in Japan.From Tenjin station, I took a two-hour bus ride to eastern Kyushu.I have heard so much about this place from the locals. Yufuin is aquiet little town situated in a valley and blessed with numerousonsens. The main thoroughfare is located 5 minutes away fromThe Kushida Shrine, God ofImmortality and Success in Business.The sprawling shopping complexof Canal City Hakata.The Velotaxi, a human-peddledmodern trishaw.6Enjoy the numerous onsens in Yufuin.Like a screen grab out of the show “Japan Hour”.Delicious onsen-boiled eggs for sale.