A craving for ramen hit me as I stood outside Hakata Station in Fukuoka. The drippy, gray weather just amplified my desire for a steaming bowl of Hakata ramen—perfect for a day like this.
Now the challenge was to find a decent ramen restaurant. Google Maps came to the rescue.
Me (blue dot) about to tap the Ramen button.The apparently closest ramen restaurant (black arrow) had a decent 4.1 score so I tapped it. (Reviewers generally rate lower in Japan compared to reviewers back home. 4.1 is usually quite good.)The restaurant, Ippudo, looked fine, so I tapped the Directions button.I was directed about 30 meters to a bank of elevators where I ascended to the 10th floor, as instructed.There were thirty restaurants on the 10th floor!Google Maps was still location aware, even though I was indoors. It had switched to a floor plan of the 10th floor and guided me to the restaurant.That was easy.There was a short line, so it was a few minutes until a server led me to a free seat.I put in my order and finally I had my bowl of delicious creamy Hakata ramen for less than US$8. The broth of Hakata ramen is made from pork bones that have been simmered for many hours. Each region has its specialty ramens.Of course, as I devoured my ramen, a few splatters landed on my shirt. Back at my hotel room, it was laundry time. I favor economical business hotels that provide washers and driers, usually in a common area, but this hotel provides a combo unit in each room. Pricier hotels usually lack laundry facilities
