sylvester

Looking at ANA Hotel, Hyatt Rgency (NOT the same as Grand Hyatt!), or Clio Court. All are 3 star but 4 star would be ok if we could find something open. Want to be about 10-15 min from train stn; lots of hotels already booked for end of Oct. Thanks!

mrwunrfl

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Fukuoka and it was very nice. Got a room on the exec club level and the ladies in the club were very helpful.

The hotel is a short walk from Hakata station. Hakata station is the name of the main railroad station in Fukuoka. It is a shinkansen terminal station.

There are two exits from Hakata station, the main one being on the Fukuoka side. That is, the main part of the city of Fukuoka and the city and regional transport hub is on that side. The other exit is on the Hakata side; Hakata being an area of the city (actually Hakata ward, I think).

To get to the Hyatt Regency you go out the Hakata exit. IIRC, when you come down the escalator from the shinkansen tracks the exit is right there, on the right.

Definitely stop and get a bag of the mini-cinammon rolls at the stand in Hakata station. (put your money on the tray next to the cash register, not hand to the counter girl).

mrwunrfl

By "short walk", I mean 5 minutes or so. Close and easy enough to pull a rollaboard.

sylvester

Thanks for the help. I noticed that you've provided lots of help on other topics, so thought I'd also ask this. We're debating flying into F. from Nagoya. I'm having trouble figuring out how far Nagoya airport is from Nagoya train station. In F., I get the sense that it's not too long a trip from airport to town. Any help? Thanks again.

mrwunrfl

Nagoya airport to Nagoya station is about a half hour, maybe a few minutes more, by the very nice Meitetsu express train (not a JR train, so JR Pass would not apply). It's several hours, of course, from Nagoya to Hakata by shinkansen.

Flying from NGO to FUK is a good idea. Fukuoka airport is just a few minutes from Hakata station by subway. The airport station is convenient to the domestic terminal, which you would be using.

IIRC the Hakata station stop for the subway is near the Fukuoka side, downstairs. But you could stay on the subway and take it into the city. You don't really have to stay near Hakata station to be 10-15 minutes from Hakata station (just be a couple minutes from a subway stop).

See www.hyperdia.com for train times.

What is the rest of your itinerary?

mrwunrfl

Ok, maybe you have tried hyperdia and found that it is confusing.

To get the FUK->Hakata info, you type in "Fukuoka" and "Hakata", then press Search. At the form where you select the date, etc., there is a drop down for "Start Point" and you will see the airport option. That is, click on where it says "FUKUOKA" and you will see a choice for "FUKUOKA AIRPORT". Adjust the date and times and "Start". It's a 6 minute trip for 250 yen from FUK to Hakata station.

For NGO to Nagoya station, you first type in "Chubu" and "Nagoya". Then at the dropdown, select "CHUBU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT".

Actually, it would be better to type in MEITETSUNAGOYA as your destination to get the schedule. It is a 4 minute walk from the Meitetsu Nagoya station to the JR Nagoya Station. Maybe a couple more minutes to find the shinkansen tracks, if that is what you intend to do.

sylvester

I reserved the Hyatt hotel online but then they sent confirm for 2 adults and ONE twin bed. I spoke to Hyatt twice, saying we wanted 2 twins, and they said the hotel is completely booked and they can only "request" 2 twins. So now I'm looking at Chisan Hotel Hakata as they seem to guarantee 2 twins. Any experience there? Thanks again for all your help.

mrwunrfl

That's pretty wacky. I saw on hyatt dot com that the superior room had "one twin bed", max of three people, when I looked for a reservation for two people.

I called hyatt and told the guy that I did not understand how they could have a room for two with one single bed. He said it was "the culture over there"!! I explained that was not the case and that what was a part of their hotel culture was to list the dimensions of the bed, so I asked if he could tell me that. He checked a bit and said that the room would have two twin beds or one semi-double.

mrwunrfl

I don't know about the Chisan Hotel but it looks like it is basic hotel. Found a map with it and the others on it:
http://www.knt.co.jp/ec/2005/iac2005/map.html

Chisan is about the same distance as the Hyatt from Hakata station. That side (the west side) of the station is the main part of the city as the map shows.

sylvester

You are amazingly helpful! Do you live in Japan? Unfortunately, a "semi double" won't work for a restless sleeper like me! Meantime, my husband (who speaks some Japanese) has faxed the hotel a plea for a guaranteed twin.

mrwunrfl

Thank you. No, I don't live there, but I've been to/thru Fukuoka three times.

I definitely understand about the semi-double. Not worth the risk of ending up with one, for two people, imo. Definitely a good idea to contact the hotel directly. If you have an international calling plan, it might be worthwhile, even if you don't speak any Japanese.

I really think that there must be some mistake on the website. Good luck. Please report back.

sylvester

Success -- we think. Rec'd reply to my husband's fax (that went directly to hotel) asking if we would like one "twin room" with two beds, or 2 twin rooms for a total of 4 beds! Yikes. We said one room with 2 twins would be fine. Strange...