We had already booked flights to Hokkaido for early next year, but before the year was out I still wanted to visit a Japanese city we had never been to, so we settled on Fukuoka, figuring it might be the more economical choice. Fukuoka is a popular destination among Taiwanese travelers, with plenty of information online, making it very beginner-friendly. This time we flew Tigerair; to make it easier to look after our daughter, we paid extra to choose our seats—after which the fare ended up being about the same as a full-service airline anyway.

We were up before three in the morning. After packing up, we set off at 3:50, with the driver already waiting downstairs, and reached Terminal 1 of Taoyuan Airport before 4:30 without a hitch. Tigerair had no self-service check-in kiosks, so we had to check in by phone. Entering all the details on a phone there and then was a bit of a hassle, and in the end we still lined up at a regular counter.

We cleared departure procedures quickly. It was so early that the duty-free shops were all closed, so we just headed to the gate area to rest. We had snacks ready for our daughter and reminded her there would be nothing to eat on the plane. She worked through quite a few of them, and there was still plenty of time afterward to wander around upstairs. The gate lounge looked just like the one from our 2017 trip to Okinawa—surely it couldn’t have been the very same one?

The plane took off more or less on time, with our daughter in the window seat. Tigerair has no in-flight entertainment system, so Mommy had packed plenty of toys to keep her from getting bored. Worried she might get thirsty, I ended up ordering the plane’s oh-so-exclusive apple juice.

Fukuoka Airport was crowded when we arrived, but luckily immigration moved fast and we were through in about half an hour. By then Tigerair had already lined up all the luggage; we just had to find our own suitcase and head out through customs.

The international terminal lobby wasn’t very big and was under construction, with somewhat confusing signage, but we still found the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal without trouble.

Right next to where the bus dropped us off was the subway entrance. An announcement on the platform told us not to hesitate and just hop on—since the airport is the line’s terminus, any train heads to Hakata. From Hakata it was two more stops to Nakasu-Kawabata, where our hotel was. Exit 2 was closest to the hotel, but there was no escalator on that side, so Mommy carried our daughter while I hauled the luggage up the stairs. Our daughter had kicked off her shoes the moment she boarded the airport shuttle and refused to walk on her own.

Our hotel this time was the Mitsui Garden Hotel Fukuoka Nakasu. It was our first time in Fukuoka and we had no real feel for the city, so in the end we chose based on convenient transport, price, and online reviews. Four nights came to NT$20,284.

After check-in, our daughter flat-out refused to poop on the toilet and we had a row over it. With a long wait until check-in time (3 p.m.), we decided to grab lunch first. Since we hadn’t looked up any restaurants, we went with the MOS Burger across the intersection. Maybe because there are so many tourists, the staff took one look at us and pulled out the English menu.

After lunch we decided to walk to the Anpanman Children’s Museum—it was really just over the bridge.

Tickets were 2,000 yen each, adults and children alike, and once inside, more than half the space turned out to be shops and food stalls—truly paying for the privilege of spending even more. Our daughter hadn’t played for long before we bought her an 1,800-yen balloon. She played with it at first, but a staff member stopped her, and after that the balloon stayed tied to my backpack.

Even though our daughter had no idea who Anpanman was, she had a wonderful time. She rode every attraction several times, though there was one busier one she didn’t dare try. There were actually quite a lot of Taiwanese visitors.

After a while she got tired, so we sat down for ice cream—just in time for the Anpanman show.

Once the show was over, our daughter bought quite a few more things, including an Anpanman stationery set. Then she went back to play, this time discovering the sand pit—but I was already worn out and just wanted to stand and watch.

After more than two hours, check-in time was approaching and I was ready to head off. Our daughter wanted to keep playing, so I pulled out the ultimate move and told her Mommy and Daddy were leaving without her—only then did she follow. But at the exit she got clingy again, and it took some effort to pry her loose and nudge her out the door. She was tired too, really: not long after we left she said she wanted to sleep, and she conked out in my arms before we even reached the hotel.

Before heading back, we stopped at the 7-Eleven by the subway exit to stock up. Not long after we got into the room, our daughter woke up and started playing with her haul from the Anpanman museum: a pair of safety scissors. She pulled out every scrap of paper she could find and cut it all up, leaving bits everywhere.

We rested at the hotel until six, then on a whim decided to take our daughter to see the Gundam, so we hailed an Uber to LaLaport (what showed up was a regular taxi). The city was badly congested and it took over forty minutes, costing more than 3,000 yen. Our daughter was knocked out cold in the car, and after we got out she refused to sit in the shopping cart and kept demanding to be carried, finally perching on it in a very strange pose.

We went to UNIQLO first, where I bought a coat not yet on sale in Taiwan—a little pricey but very warm, and it would prove hugely useful for the rest of the trip. We also picked up some undershirts and HEATTECH for our daughter.

After that we went to see the main draw: the Gundam. To our surprise, our daughter was scared of it and didn’t want to linger.

So we went back to browse the mall, bought grapes and strawberries, and had dinner on the third floor. By the time we finished it was near closing, with no time to shop more, so we called another Uber back to the hotel (the return car reeked of cigarette smoke).

At night we set up the projector at the head of the bed so our daughter could watch TV lying down, hoping it would help her drop off sooner. It didn’t—she only fell asleep once I switched to a program I wanted to watch.

Note: This article is translated from Traditional Chinese.