My printed copy of Phil’s Multimedia Fukuoka Guide stowed safely in my backpack, I arrived at the International Ferry Terminal in Fukuoka on the Beetle on recent Sunday early afternoon.  Because my “blue form” had arrived at the university where I teach on late Friday afternoon, I hadn’t bothered to exchange any money but just got my ticket on the Beetle for Sunday morning. Since I had both American dollars and an international ATM card with me, I was sure that I would be able to get all the cash I needed for my two-day stay in Japan.
 Surprise!  There is no foreign money exchange office at the Beetle terminal in Fukuoka.  I had the equivalent of about $15 American in Japanese money left from a visit to Tokyo.  Otherwise, I would have been using my VISA card for an expensive taxi ride or walking to a hotel, and none are really close to the ferry terminal.
 Fortunately a city bus goes from the ferry terminal to Hakata Station which is in the center of Fukuoka and near several major hotels.  I made a few mistakes but was helped by a kind man who spoke quite good English; the bus was boarded by a door in the middle, not at the front.  The sign read  Hakata Station in English as well as Japanese, and I should have taken a ticket from a machine as I boarded, but I didn’t.  Most people were using a kind of Hanaro card, and there was no sign to indicate what was supposed to be done.  The ticket has a number printed on it, and as you travel, the number appears on a lighted sign at the front of the bus with the appropriate fare.  This changes as you travel, and both the man who spoke English and the driver helped me to know what my fare was which I paid when I left the bus.  The bus was absolutely spotless, and the ride was smooth, very different from Korean busses which often require hanging on even when seated.  Most of the seats are next to windows, which have blinds which passengers can lower if the sun is too bright.
 Hakata Station is a large train terminal and subway transfer point, and again I was surprised that there was no foreign money exchange office.  It being Sunday, there were also no banks open, and the tourist information office could help me find a room but wanted cash for the first night’s stay.  After trying to use several ATM ‘s unsuccessfully, the woman at the tourist office suggested that I go to a large nearby hotel.  The concierge didn’t want to exchange money for me since I was not staying there, but I begged for only $100 to be exchanged, and the desk clerk and concierge kindly agreed.
  Later I discovered that there is an English-speaking ATM very near Hakata Station.  It is on the ground floor level to the left of the escalator which takes you to the lobby of the Hotel Centraza.  I was able to get Japanese cash using my global ATM card, and the fellow who told me about this, a teacher at a hogwan in Seoul who was also making a visa run, told me that he used his VISA card there.  He was told that this English-language ATM was one of only three in Fukuoka.  When I updated my Korean bankbook, I discovered that I was charged 2000 won for the transaction, but it was well worth it.
 I would also recommend the Blossom Hotel where I stayed both nights.  I had told the woman at the tourist information office that I wanted a hotel for two nights, but she apparently did not understand this because when I got to the hotel, they told me that they had a room available for only one night.  Actually the next morning (Monday) they told me that a room would be available, but the room that I had stayed in was reserved so my bag would have to be moved.  When I returned after spending the day at the air-conditioned shopping mall across the street from the consulate, my bag had been moved to my new room, and the only hitch seemed to be that the rate for Sunday night’s (5500 yen) stay was lower than for Monday night.  At first the clerk on Monday morning had said that a room was available but at only 9000 yen.  When I just quietly said that I thought that I would find another place, she gave me a 10 percent discount, and I agreed to that.
           Unlike some descriptions elsewhere on Pusanweb of hotels in Fukuoka, I found the Blossom to be cleaner, neater, and better kept than hotels in Seoul which cost twice as much.  Although it is very close to Hakata Station, it is wonderfully quiet.  Perhaps I was influenced by the lobby which was filled with flowers with a wonderful scent.  I know that I was influenced by the breakfast which was available for 800 yen in the dining room on the lower level.  My breakfast was American style, but Japanese-style breakfast is also available.  Impeccably served, this consisted of a choice of juices, eggs, bacon (both Canadian and American), a large serving of toast with butter and jam, coffee with real cream, not powdered stuff (but I could have had tea), and a salad with a really good sesame dressing.  I don’t think that I had ever eaten salad for breakfast before, but if the Japanese think Americans eat this, I was happy to oblige them, and I discovered that it really isn’t bad.
     Fukuoka seemed very clean and also very quiet.  Although Hakata Station is huge, the noise level was about the same as that of the reading room at the New York Public Library.  Many museums and places of interest to tourists are closed on Mondays, so I go to Fukuoka again, I will try to be there on another day.  It was very hot and steamy the day that I was there, so enjoying Starbucks iced coffee and sitting in an air-conditioned mall which has a movie theatre and several restaurants of various types, including a Hard Rock Café provided entertainment enough for me. I enjoyed my trip top Fukuoka,  but it would have been a little easier if I had taken people’s advice and exchanged won or dollars for yen in Korea.  Because my Korean ATM card has global service, I was able to use it; otherwise, I would have really been stuck.
   I hope this helps someone else.