The gyoza at Ippudo are small so women don't have to open their mouths so wide. That never bothered unladylike me!

Fukuoka, Kyushu. I happen to be staying close to the original Ippudo ramen house, which opened recently in New York City, as you can see.

I searched high and low for this little sesame grinder and found one at the 100 yen store.

Ippudo's menu in English.

Ippudo entrance.

Ippudo sign. Why so many shots of ippudo? With 1 day in Fukuoka, it's about all I got to do - eat their famous ramen!

Asako at the Khaosan Hostel lent me money so I could sample Ippudo's ramen. I had accidently left my wallet at the Hiroshima Hanna hostel. I retrieved it the next day.

Bikes everywhere, secured by these locks.

And so back to Tokyo, Shinkansen bullet train all the way.

That's a Kodama, the third fastest bullet train. The Nozumi is the fastest and most expensive. I traveled on Hikari, the second fastest.

Back at the Hiroshima Hanna Hostel, I posted Asako the money she loaned me in Fukuoka.

What a Shinkansen train platform signage looks like. It tell syou what car will pull up precisely at this spot for which bullet train. In my case, Hikari Car 3 - non smoiking, non-reserved.

The guard welcomed my tikit on the Shinkansen. In Japan, if you have the slightest sniffle, it's polite to wear a mask.

Making sure I don't miss the 3 hour train to Tokyo - 500 miles away.