5 Recommended Souvenirs to Buy in Fukuoka

1. Menbei (Fukutaro)

Menbei is a standard Fukuoka souvenir. Fukuoka, especially Hakata, is an area famous for mentaiko, cod roe pickled in flavors including chili peppers. It\'s often eaten as a side dish for rice, a rice ball filling, in spaghetti sauce, and as a snack with liquor. Menbei uses this mentaiko in a senbei (Japanese rice cracker). They mix squid or octopus with their carefully selected mentaiko into a cracker so the deliciousness of the seafood is condensed into the cracker with a perfect level of spiciness that makes it easy to eat, making it a popular treat. It goes well with beer or sake, and it\'s so delicious that once you start eating them you won\'t be able to stop! There are a variety of variations, including plain, green onion, onion, mayonnaise, bonito, spicy, and more, including regionally limited flavors. If it\'s your first time trying it it\'s recommended that you get the plain, but you should buy other flavors and enjoy comparing them! You can buy them at kiosks and souvenir corners in Hakata Station and Fukuoka Airport. A box of 16 (packaged in 8 bags of 2 crackers each) starts at 480 JPY (incl. tax)).

2. Hakata Nakanaka Dry (Nakashima Shoten)

Nakashima Shoten\'s Hakata Nakanaka is another product that uses Hakata\'s famous mentaiko. They dry the mentaiko using their special technique to give it a characteristic beef jerky-like texture that goes perfectly with beer and sake. You can be fully satisfied by the condensed deliciousness of the mentaiko no matter how much you chew it. It\'s gained a lot of attention recently, so you can buy it in stores and souvenir corners in Hakata Station and Fukuoka Airport. There are 4 types, depending on the type and manufacturing process. There\'s the Hakata Nakanaka Dry (starting at 565 JPY (incl. tax) for 20g), Hakata Nakanaka Kawa Dry (starting at 565 JPY (incl. tax) for 15g) which uses mentaiko skin, Hakata Nakanaka Smoked Dry (starting at 864 JPY (incl. tax) for 20g), and Hakata Nakanaka Mentai and Cheese Stick (starting at 1,188 JPY (incl. tax)). They keep very well and are easy to carry so they\'re great as souvenirs.

3. Hakata Kajuen Ichigo Ichigo (Akai Fusen)

Fukuoka is also famous for strawberries. Hakata Kajuen Ichigo Ichigo uses plenty of one of Japan\'s premier types of strawberries, the Hakata Amaou. They add white chocolate inside an almond cookie that is made using Hakata Amaou strawberries, and they use two of those cookies in order to sandwich more white chocolate. It\'s crunchy and the sour-sweetness of the strawberry matches well with the sweetness of the cookie! It\'s delicious and the film packaging is cute, so you\'ll definitely make someone happy by offering this as a souvenir. There\'s the small souvenir size of 3 pieces for 280 JPY (incl. tax), a 12-pack that you can share with everyone (1,080 JPY (incl. tax)), and an even bigger 20-pack for 1,620 JPY (incl. tax)). You can find it in Hakata Station and the Kashiihama branch of Aeon Mall.

4. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen Najimatei (Ajikura)

Hakata is famous for ramen. After you enjoy your trip around Fukuoka, you\'ll want to eat delicious ramen in your own home remembering your trip, won\'t you? For those people, Ajikura\'s Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen Najimatei is recommended. Being able to easily eat the ramen of the famous Najimatei restaurant, a place that people will line up for twice in one day, makes this product like a dream. It takes a little bit more labor than regular instant ramen, but you can eat genuine Hakata tonkotsu ramen after just boiling the half-raw noodles in a pot, draining them, putting them in a bowl, and adding the soup base and the required amount of boiling water. It\'s great as a personal souvenir as well as a present for your ramen-loving friends. When you make it, be sure not to over-boil the noodles or you\'ll ruin the texture! A package of 4 meals is 1,620 JPY (incl. tax)). You can buy it in Fukuoka Airport or Hakata Station.

5. Tirolian (Chidoriya Honke)

Fukuoka\'s famous sweet maker, Chidoriya, offers a snack called Tirolian, a treat that every person from Fukuoka has eaten at least once. It\'s been over 40 years since it first began being sold, and it\'s a standard souvenir loved by people of all ages. Coffee, vanilla, strawberry, or matcha flavored cream fills a fragrant baked roll cake made with milk and butter. It has a cookie-like texture so it\'s easy to eat and crisp. The balance between the cream and the cookie is delicious. There are two sizes of Tirolian, short and long, as well as the Tirolian Hat which is a cookie sandwich made of thin, round cookies with cream in the middle. As souvenirs, the Tirolian Big Bag (420 JPY for 14) or the cute Tirolian Maru #1 Can (1,080 JPY) are recommended because they\'re easy to carry. There are many stores where you can find it within Fukuoka, but you can mostly find them at Hakata Station and in Aeon supermarkets around Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is full of delicious things so you\'ll definitely have trouble choosing what to pick as souvenirs! Use this article as a guide and please find the best souvenirs for you!