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Fukuoka
Destinations › Asia › Japan

Fukuoka

calendar_monthMar–May, Sep–Novbest time schedule3 daysplan for child_careYeswith kids confirmation_numberMid-rangeprice
FukuokaYour own route Plan a trip here →

Fukuoka feels lived-in rather than touristy. It is Kyushu's biggest city, built where the old merchant town of Hakata met the samurai district of Fukuoka, split by the Naka River. You arrive at Hakata Station, walk fifteen minutes and hit Tenjin, the shopping core, then find beach and mountains close by.

In pictures

Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka City Museum
Fukuoka City Museum
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum

Sightseeing

Kushida Shrine: 8th-century shrine, the start of the Yamakasa festival.
Tocho-ji: home to a 10.8m wooden seated Buddha, ¥100 to view it.
Nakasu: neon-lit riverside district of restaurants, bars and yatai.
Gion: cluster of old shrines and temples near Hakata.
Fukuoka Castle ruins: stone walls and gates in Maizuru Park, good in cherry blossom season.
Ohori Park: a large pond with a walking loop, next to the castle grounds.

"Ramen, river stalls and easy Kyushu living"Fukuoka

Things to do

Yatai crawl: eat and drink at riverside street stalls, cash only.
Hakata-za: catch part of a kabuki show for around ¥800 if you can't stay all night.
Noh theatre: Ohori Koen venue for a quieter cultural evening.
Canal City: waterfront mall with a fountain show and ramen stadium.
Momochi Seaside: beach and the Fukuoka Tower for city views.
Subway hop: two lines link Hakata, Tenjin and the airport in minutes.
Local food and drinks - Fukuoka

Local food and drinks

Tonkotsu ramen: cloudy pork-bone broth, add pickled ginger and sesame, refill noodles (kaedama) for about ¥300.
Yatai stalls: order yakitori, oden and beer while chatting with strangers.
Motsunabe: hot pot of beef offal, cabbage and garlic chives.
Mentaiko: spicy cured pollock roe, a Hakata specialty, good on rice.
Goma saba: raw mackerel in sesame and soy, a local izakaya staple.
Local traditions - Fukuoka

Local traditions

Hakata Gion Yamakasa: July festival where teams race one-tonne float shrines through the streets.
Hakata Dontaku: May parade with citizens dancing and clapping wooden rice scoops.
Hakata-ori: traditional silk weaving, sold as belts and small goods.
Hakata dolls: hand-painted clay figures made here for centuries.

Do's and don'ts

Slurp your ramen, it is normal and expected.
Carry cash for yatai, small shrines and stalls.
Order kaedama when your broth is still warm.
Use the subway between Hakata, Tenjin and the airport.
Don't rely on a single yatai for a full dinner.
Don't follow touts into unmarked bars in Nakasu.
Don't confuse Fukuoka the city with Hakata Station.
Don't skip pickled ginger with your tonkotsu ramen.
info_outlinePracticalexpand_more
Since: Merged into one city in 1889
Population: 1.600.000

About Fukuoka

The pace is friendly and the scale is manageable. People eat well and cheaply here, especially at the yatai food stalls that line the river from around 16:00. It rewards evenings out over checklist sightseeing.

Things to know

Yatai prices: some stalls charge tourists more, ask before you order and expect cash only.
Name confusion: the city is Fukuoka but the station and port are called Hakata.
Airport is close: a subway ride of about five minutes from Hakata Station, very handy.
Nakasu at night: safe but touts and hostess bars operate, ignore aggressive street invites.

Good to know

Accessibility: Flat downtown with lift-served subways, though older shrines and yatai stalls can be tricky for wheelchairs.
Price level: mid-range
history_eduHistoryexpand_more
History - Fukuoka

Hakata was a trading port for over a thousand years, Japan's main gateway to Korea and China. Mongol invasion fleets tried to land here twice in the 1270s and 1280s and were beaten back, partly by storms the Japanese called kamikaze. Stone defensive walls from that era still exist in fragments.

By the Edo period the Kuroda clan ruled from Fukuoka Castle, west of the river, while merchants filled Hakata to the east. The two towns merged in 1889 under the name Fukuoka, though the port and main station kept the Hakata name. Postwar rebuilding turned it into Kyushu's commercial hub.

Photo: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons