in Hakata Bay, the closest island to Fukuoka City.

Just under four square kilometers in size.

It has a population of just over 700 people.

If you love the feeling of warm ocean breeze in your hair,

eating fresh sea food,

exploring small towns

or spending time in a National Park,

Nokonoshima Island is one of the best places

to spend a free day in Fukuoka City.

Hey guys, how's it going?

Today it is very, very beautiful outside

and Tatsu and I

are at the Meinohama Passenger Ferry Terminal.

It's those words.

I'm not sure if it's in the right order,

but something like that.

We are just getting ready to hop on a ferry

over to Noko Island.

Noko Island, or Nokonoshima, is a very, very beautiful

little island.

It is one of the easiest islands to get to

from Fukuoka City if you're looking for a day trip,

or a way to spend a beautiful, sunny day in Fukuoka City.

We're gonna grab some lunch, go check out the park,

and I'll show you how to get there, and how to get back.

Hopefully, by the time you come and visit Fukuoka yourself,

you'll have the confidence to make this trip for yourself.

- Round trip tickets to Nokonoshima cost

460 yen, and can be easily be purchased

at the ticketing machine.

Don't worry if you can't speak Japanese the machine

offers written translations in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Just be careful you don't misplace your return ticket

on the way back.

The ferry between the island and the main land runs

once every hour, but if you happen to miss it,

you can hire a water taxi to send you to the island

for only 500 yen, or 5 dollars instead.

- See right in front of those small islands over there.

We are going to head to the closest one over there.

By the ferry, it takes 10 minutes, I think.

Yeah, that's it, good bye!

- So, the ferry between Meinohama Port and Noko Island

only takes about ten minutes,

but on a perfect day, like today,

where it's really warm outside,

and the sun is shining, and the wind feels so nice.

Once you've set foot on the island, you can take a bus

to the Island Park, or you can explore the island on foot,

stopping at one of the local cafe's and restaurants

to get a feel for the local culture

because most of the shops close for business by 5 pm,

I recommend stopping for food first before going out

and doing your exploring.

Because many of the residents on the island work

in the fishing industry, seafood is abundant on Nokonoshima.

This restaurant, Zakko, is famous for their fresh sashimi

set lunches and their fresh sashimi rice bowls.

The menu at Zakko is hand written everyday

based on what's in stock, and popular items sell out

very quickly.

When you're done exploring the harbor, hop on a bus,

and head to Nokonoshima Island Park for some spectacular

scenic views of the city.

So, the bus to Nokonoshima Island Park costs about 230 yen,

one-way, and takes about 13 to 15 minutes.

It is a three kilometer island,

so, you might want to actually just pay to catch the bus,

but if you miss the bus, you could take a taxi as well.

Nokonoshima Island Park is the last stop on the bus route,

so, don't worry, your stop will be hard to miss.

The cost to enter the park is 1,200 yen.

It is a fairly large park, but it closes at 5:30 pm,

so, you have to make sure that you allow yourself

plenty of time to explore it.

Wow, this is as clear as I have ever seen it.

Honestly,

how photogenic,

a little island framed by two trees.

Everything smells amazing here.

Snap dragons, do you love these flowers?

Welcome to Nokonoshima Island Park.

Check the website before visiting to find which flowers

are in bloom in each season,

and don't forget to bring a camera.

Not only is this a popular date spot, but it's also

really relaxing getaway from the busy city life.

You're so strong!

As you walk down here, we've got

an old-fashioned Japanese snack shop.

Yeah, this shop specialized in old show-off 70's, 80's

snacks, memorabilia.

I remember these.

These were the styrofoam,

build-your-own airplane glider things.

Tatsu, did you ever use these?

Do you know what this is?

You don't?

I'm so old!

What'd you find?

- I think it's a very primitive, the first version of drone

known as a dramon's tool.

- How does it work?

- You have to.

- There's surprisingly quite a lot of things to see

inside Nokonoshima Island Park,

and a small assortment of shops located within it

do a great job at preserving

older traditional Japanese feel.

Wow!

So, this field, the main field, the flowers actually change

depending on the season, so right now it is Marigold season,

which means we've got beautiful rows of orange and yellow,

but depending on the month, it could be completely

different colors, it could be completely different plants,

completely different flowers.

The way this is shot it looks like an advertisement

for Nokonoshima salty lemon.

How you choose to enjoy Nokonoshima Island Park

is completely up to you?

You can rent a cottage inside the park

and spend the night and even rent barbecue sets

so you can have your own camping cook-out.

The park also has plenty of play facilities

for your children, making it a fun destination for all ages.

Like a new born baby deer.

You can do it!

Hi!

Wow!

Alright, so now, it is just past 5 pm, and the park

is closed.

We're waiting for the last bus.

The last bus leaves Nokonoshima Island Park at 5:28 pm.

That's the last bus, so, if you do come here, make sure

you don't miss that bus otherwise you're paying for a taxi.

Yeah, I would love to come back here around the afternoon,

and do a barbecue party with friends.

Wouldn't that be fun?

Like a barbecue party, and everyone could come

yaki their niku, and we could play in the flowers,

and take pictures, hang out, and just enjoy the scenery.

Look at the ocean, it would be perfect.

One thing we sort of realized is that the last bus

is almost always crowded, so if you want a seat,

make sure you line up a little bit earlier than later.

Although most of the island closes to the public

around 5 or 6 pm, the last ferry from the island

isn't until around 10 o'clock at night.

If the weather is in your favor, you can stay on the island

long enough to watch the sunset,

or even catch a beautiful night view of Fukuoka City.

It's up to you.

We're grabbing the 6 o'clock ferry

back to the main land.

How you feelin'?

It was warm, and it's actually a lot more exercise

than you would think.

We did a lot of walking.

(foreign language)

- Please be brave

- Yeah.

- to go outside and try to explore whatever you can find

in Fukuoka.

- Yeah, there's lots of cool stuff to do in Fukuoka.

Come check out Nokonoshima. Come check out Fukuoka.

Come be our friend, be our neighbor.

Alright, good-bye.

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Alright, I hope you're having a nice day,

and I'll talk to you again soon.

Bye!