【Traveling with the Elderly and Children】For our first free trip to Fukuoka, we discovered that our middle schooler is a navigation god

【That Year, Onboard the Costa Cruise Ship🚢 to Japan (5)】 Actually, this cruise took the Korea-Japan route. It was our first trip abroad, and on the first day, we arrived at Jeju Island for a half-day group tour—simply because there was not enough time, the tour leader was inactive, and the local guide was too much—almost all we did was shop at duty-free stores, rush through exhibition halls, leaving only a tiny village as a scenic spot. They even locked tourists in a hut to noisily push sales... without giving us time to take photos... Once back on the cruise ship, we went to complain to the tour leader. And I made a pact with my child: from now on, we would travel abroad independently and freely. Unexpectedly, that evening an announcement was made that due to a typhoon landing in southern Kyushu, the planned itinerary for Kagoshima the next day was canceled, and we were delayed for a day in Fukuoka. We could join a group tour or go on our own—yes! So quickly, the opportunity for independent travel came! Back then, the internet was not as developed as it is now, there was no WiFi, and no WeChat or QQ. All communication was international long-distance, with poor signal and high costs. So, without any internet access, it was impossible for us to look up travel tips on Ctrip... But the young are fearless! Three excited kids, all anime fans, and my child, after following over two thousand episodes of anime and Japanese dramas, had some sense of the language... So, from entering the Fukuoka subway, we started 'asking for directions' in a mix of Japanese and English: change money-buy tickets-get on-listen to station announcements-when we spoke, my child would 'shush' us with a gesture, staring at the map and listening to the announcements, once in Japanese, once in English... Ah, but no Chinese! Station by station, we arrived at Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station. Then we looked for exits-checked maps-found shopping malls, but my daughter wanted to go to a bookstore, grandma wanted to buy glasses, I wanted to find cosmetics, and we all needed to have lunch... Ah, it was indeed a challenge for my child! For the first time, I discovered that in a strange country, my child was also a navigation god! The Chinese characters in Japanese really helped a lot—reading maps, recognizing directions, finding our way was no problem, and simple conversations were somewhat manageable, but when it came to buying cosmetics and grandma needing to get glasses... that was intimidating! My child exclaimed, 'These are all professional terms, mom...'... Dizzying! Our confusion outside Fukuoka Station was immediately noticed by a young lady who approached us, introduced herself as a volunteer at the 'Fukuoka Tourist Information Center,' a part-time working and studying abroad student, who specifically provided consultation services to independent Chinese tourists near the station... Ah, such good luck? Upon learning where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do, she immediately informed us: getting glasses today would not be possible to take home the same day... Under such circumstances, we followed Yan Ting into the tourist information center where she worked, and after communicating with her colleagues, she led us with a small map to the eyeglass store and also introduced us to an authentic Hakata ramen place... Hehe, the three kids slurped their noodles heartily, while my child chattered with the young lady in a mix of Chinese and Japanese, asking questions on the spot, marking the map, and learning humbly... After that, things became much simpler for my child. When we took the subway back to the cruise terminal, everyone was reluctant to leave but satisfied... Tangrenjie Station Fukuoka Mitsukoshi Hakata Daimaru (Fukuoka Tenjin Store) Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin)