Norishico Auto Guesthouse, Fukuoka

If you’re in Fukuoka you should stay at Norishico Auto Guesthouse, and if you aren’t, go to Fukuoka and stay at Norishico Auto Guesthouse.

As a last minute booking, me and my travel buddy chose this hostel, basically because it was cheap and available.

It sits about half an hour away from downtown and the pictures on Booking.com, ngl, had me a little worried; but most places were booked out and any experience is a good experience, right?

RIGHT! This time the stars aligned and I’m so glad that fate, well Booking.com, brought us here.

After a long day of travelling (thank you again for driving Jared!) we turned up at the hostel and checked in. Right from the start the host, Shico-San, was really welcoming. He spoke English too, a lot better than he thought!

When we asked about parking, rather than giving directions, Shico-San got up and physically guided us to the parking, which was really close and really cheap.

Getting back to the hostel, he showed us to our room. It was separate from the main building, had a small table and chair set outside and the inside was straight from an American teen movie from the 90s. I loved it!

We dropped our bags and went to the cosy living room to check in.

We got chatting to a couple of other guests, one of them was an English teacher from Ireland! Feeling super chilled we decided to postpone our plans to go downtown until the next day and stay at the hostel for the night.

Best. Decision. Ever.

The hostel offers dinner for 500 yen and, despite my default veggie worries, they fed me! We bought some ale from the supermarket that was just over the railway tracks and came back for some okonomiyaki served family style!

Since trying it in Hiroshima, I love okonomiyaki and it was great to try it cooked Kansai-style! (I even managed to flip it!)

The whole vibe of the hostel was chill. Everyone was relaxed, chatty and having a good time. Another guest came later, an 18-year-old student who was visiting Fukuoka for a footie match; he and Jared became absolute besties and it was the cutest thing ever.

Later on, four lads from Korea joined us and we had some Korean Soju. We then shared some Japanese Shochu, a drink that’s similar to Sake, but popular on Kyushu, the island I live on.

Lights out was midnight but we stayed up chatting a little past then, swapped details with everyone and then went to bed!

The bed was super comfy, there was free Wifi and the room had a heater, what more could you ask for?

The next morning we were checking out and I spoke to Shico-San about his auto repairs and found out that his hobby is fixing up old bikes. He even let me look around his garage!

The bikes were in great condition considering their age and most of them were running too.

I would recommend Norishico Auto Guesthouse for anyone looking for good accommodation. The stay was comfortable, the price was cheap and the hostel was clean, aesthetic and organised (even if it seemed like chaos). There’s something interesting literally everywhere you turn.

I would recommend it even further for the social aspect. You’re guaranteed to feel at home, getting chatting and making friends is so easy. We had great food and hilarious conversations and, as weird as it sounds, in that one night it felt like a like a little family.

While the downtown nightlife of Tenjin is great, my experience at the guest house meant a lot more to me. There was a warmth, and it wasn’t just from the snug living room. It was so good, I even bought the t-shirt.

You can follow Shico-San on Instagram and Facebook; his photos are hilarious.