Fukuoka on foot (2/4): Museums, sights, and Apple Store
Posted by Wesley on
Having gone through the wharves and big parks, I headed northwest, walking about 20 minutes more towards Fukuoka Tower. More big things were ahead, including the very reason I was in this city in the first place.
On my way towards Fukuoka Tower, I saw the Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome (Yafuoku = Yahoo Auctions), the home stadium of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks baseball team and a venue for large-scale concerts that can accommodate about 42,000 people
Near the Yafuoku! Dome was the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Fukuoka, displaying the information about expatriate voting for the 19th Presidential Election
Across the street from the Fukuoka City Museum was the Fukuoka City Public Library, built in 1996 and housing about 1.2 million books
The ground floor of the Fukuoka City Museum looks grandiose, with the stairs leading up to the exhibition halls - permanent on the left and special on the right
The museum let you see the full history of the Fukuoka area, starting from the ancient times like these artifacts from Jomon era...
To the modern era, showing people's love for baseball as seen in this exhibit
Robosquare, a mini-museum in the TNC (Television Nishinippon Corporation) headquarters next to the Fukuoka Tower, showcases a variety of robots including popular children's toys and vacuuming machines
Due to the heavy sea fog, it was better to see the Fukuoka Tower itself from the Momochi Seaside Park than going up the tower to see the town
This beautiful building at the center of Momochi Seaside Park is Marizon, a bridal shop and restaurant that obviously is doing an excellent job of providing a backdrop for wedding photos
As I head out of the area, I noticed the Fukuoka City Disaster Prevention Center near the City Museum celebrating its 25th anniversary - I visited this place a few years ago to experience simulated earthquakes
At this point, it was around 5:30PM, which meant that I've been walking nearly non-stop for 5 hours. I needed to go back to the Tenjin area, but that was a good 5km away and I needed to rest a bit, so I decided to take the subway this one time.
Waiting for the subway at Nishijin Station on the Kuko(Airport) Line to go to Tenjin Station
Shintencho Shopping Street is at the heart of Tenjin area and you can buy and eat pretty much anything here
All these walking made me hungry but I didn't need anything fancy, so I dropped by Yoshinoya to have a quick bowl of butadon (pork-topped rice) for JPY 470
And now, the real reason I came to Fukuoka - to visit Apple Store Fukuoka Tenjin for repairing my Apple Watch
An Apple Store staff ran diagnostics on my Apple Watch to see what conditions it was in
After all the problems were documented, the Apple Watch was placed in a box to be shipped to the service center for final inspection, while I signed the contract for the repairs
Here are some more details on the repair. My first generation Apple Watch was bought in the United States with the AppleCare+. As this protection plan is valid wherever AppleCare+ is available, I was able to apply it in Japan. The staff told me that final verdict on the repair would be determined at the service center in about a week. If further actions from me was necessary I would be contacted via e-mail during that time. In the end, the repaired or replaced device would either be sent back to the store or to a Japanese address of my choosing.
I wouldn't be staying in Japan that long, so I gave out my address for proxy shipping. But then I was told that there wouldn't be any tracking number associated with it, something I need to notify the proxy before it arrives. So I instead asked for the watch to be sent back to the store once it's repaired, and I would pick it up at a later time. The maximum holding time was 60 days, which seemed plenty.
With the crucial business finished, it was 9PM and I headed to the hotel I reserved.
Defined tags for this entry: Apple Store, Apple Watch, butadon, Fukuoka, museum, park, restaurant, tower