The Café by One Fukuoka Hotel (Fukuoka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

For a city that’s relatively short on landmark five-star hotels (aside from the Ritz-Carlton), the addition of the One Fukuoka Hotel, perched atop the skyscraping One Fukuoka Building, has brought Fukuoka not only another world-class accommodation option but also a new shopping and lifestyle hub right in the heart of the city.

Our shopping spree, however, ended before it even began as everyone was still exhausted from all the traveling the night before. Thankfully, The Café on the ground floor of One Fukuoka Hotel came to our rescue.

In addition to The Café's tea salon, there was also a small and casual dine-in area where guests could sit down and enjoy the takeaway sweets from The Café. The warm and inviting vibe was exactly what we needed, so we decided it was time to rest our sore feet.

Perhaps an afternoon nap too (for mom)?

This place is known for its burnt Basque cheesecake, famous for its rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture (too bad they're a one-trick pony) but first, I started with a cup of milk tea for my afternoon caffeine fix.

Milk soft-serve ice-cream (400 yen) – A little treat for little nugget.

Basque Cheesecake (1,000 yen) – Delicious, just as advertised. It felt like biting into a loaf of soft cheese — light, airy and rich, yet surprisingly not heavy. I wouldn’t mind having another slice of this again!

We’ve still got a couple of hours to kill before dinner. Since I haven’t had a chance to explore the Daimyo district (大名區) yet on this trip, we decided to make a quick visit. Hopefully, I’ll find something I like before we head off to Beppu (別府) tomorrow morning.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: G/F One Fukuoka Building, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0001 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Tenjin

Tel: +81 (0)92-752-1110

Website: https://onefukuokahotel.jp/restaurant/the-cafe-by-one-fukuoka-hotel/

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 8:00pm daily

I’m Donut? (Fukuoka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

Fukuoka is the birthplace of my favorite donut chain in Japan, I’m Donut? so naturally, I had to make a proper visit to their flagship shop during this trip. Thankfully, it’s just a few steps away from Hakata Ikkousha Nishinakasu (博多一幸舍 西中洲店), where we just had our ramen lunch, so we didn’t have to walk far at all.

I’m Donut? took the world by storm when owner-chef Ryouta Hirako first launched the concept in Tokyo back in 2022, showcasing his signature nama donuts originally developed at his Fukuoka-based bakery café AMAM DACOTAN (now rebranded as dacō). He later brought the concept back home to Tenjin, Fukuoka in the same year.

Known for their light, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, nama donuts have since made their mark in Tokyo and now even in New York City. I’ve visited a few of their Tokyo locations, which typically offer fewer than 10 flavors, but this was my chance to see their full lineup of over 20 flavors, featuring both sweet and savory options.

It only took about 10 minutes of waiting outside the shop before my turn to experience some of the best donuts Japan has to offer!

The shop was tastefully designed, with wooden cupboards beautifully filled with rows of freshly baked donuts. Staff was seen restocking the shelves with donuts fresh out of the oven.

We began with a collection of traditional ring-shaped donuts, available in a variety of flavors including chocolate, matcha, strawberry, caramel, and more. 🍩🍩

Soon after, the much-anticipated nama donuts made their appearance.

While the original "Nama Donut Plain" was clearly the most popular choice among the few customers ahead of me, I also spotted exciting and new flavors I hadn’t seen in Tokyo before including this mentaiko (明太子) donut.

The anchovy cheese was another intriguing option.

I ended up grabbing four donuts, one each for me and my teammates to indulge in.

Double strawberry 🍓 (330 yen) – For my strawberry loving son. This came with a beautiful strawberry glaze and was topped with strawberry-flavored chocolate pieces.

Nama donut plain (220 yen) – Exactly the airy texture you’d expect from a nama donut. Not bad but it lacked that satisfying mouthfeel of a creamy custard filling.

Pistachio nama donut (440 yen) – For mom who’s a huge fan of pistachio (and nuts in general). I had this a couple of times before and it definitely came highly recommended by yours truly.

Mentaiko egg nama donut (380 yen) – Something new for me. I thought the savory-sweet combination added a nice twist (the dough was subtly sweet, thanks to the pumpkin base), but the mentaiko flavor could have been a bit stronger to let that unique savory-spicy combo truly shine. 

That said, kudos to the team here for trying something innovative and keeping fans on their toes.

The shop is located on the ground floor of the Tokan Building Fukuoka, right across the street from Mitsukoshi (三越). You absolutely won’t miss it — just look for the line of loyal die-hard fans waiting patiently outside.

Later while I was strolling around Daimyo, I stumbled upon dacō, the sister concept of I'm Donut?. 

Here they take their creativity with doughnuts even further, offering funky creations like the Daco Dog with a sausage, the Daco Burger, Chocolate Sand, and more. Too bad I wasn't in the mood for yet another donut at this hour.

Food Rating: 7.2/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: G/F Tokan Building Fukuoka, 5-24-30 Watanabedori, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0004 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Tenjin-minami

Website: https://instagram.com/i.m.donut

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 7:00pm daily

Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka Nishinakasu 博多一幸舍西中洲店 (Fukuoka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We didn’t have lunch plans this afternoon, and since it was getting very close to lunchtime (checking my watch, it was 11:59 a.m.), we decided to slurp a quick bowl of ramen before kicking off our shopping spree.

Luckily, ramen shops are never in short supply on the buzzy Kokutai Road (国体道路) in Fukuoka. With Hakata Ikkousha Nishinakasu (博多一幸舍 西中洲店) just around the corner, we let the final minute tick away as they finally slid open their door for business.

Hakata Ikkousha (博多一幸舍) is a well-loved institution in Fukuoka, known for its pork bone–based ramen. With three different broths to choose from — original (salt-infused tonkotsu), black (with black garlic), and red (spicy) — it’s a popular choice among both locals and tourists alike.

We had the pleasure of trying the original and black tonkotsu ramen at their flagship location back in 2019, and it was a wonderful experience.

Today, we were their first customers! 😂😂

Salt tonkotsu Ajitama ramen (1,000 yen) – Their signature ramen with the original pork based broth, infused with salt.

The body of the broth wasn’t as thick as some other tonkotsu broths on the market which was always a good thing. It still clung onto the noodles relatively well.

The yolk of the soft boiled egg could have been a little more runny.

The char siu not bad but the bamboo shoot not nearly enough for bamboo shoot lovers like us. 

Mini fried rice (400 yen) – After sharing a bowl of noodles with little guy, I had a bowl of mini fried rice myself.

I love ordering fried rice at ramen shops in Japan—they always deliver that incredible "wok hei" (鑊氣). Only wish there was more diced barbecued pork instead of onion; that would’ve made it perfect.

While the shop was empty when we first stepped in, this was 10 minutes later; entirely full with a few customers queuing up inside waiting for a table. That says a lot about the popularity of this place.

Perhaps my palate has changed a little since 2019 but I found the seasoning in the tonkatsu broth and fried rice both a little on the salty side. A sign of aging? 👴👴 

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 3-11-18 Haruyoshi, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0003 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Tenjin-minami

Tel: +81 (0)92-401-0141

Website: https://www.ikkousha.com/store-ikkosha

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00am (Mon - Sat), 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Sun)