Fukuoka (福岡 — the largest city on the island of Kyushu, 1.6 million people in a city that regularly wins "most liveable city in Japan" surveys and consistently ranks highly in quality of life assessments worldwide) is the gateway city between Japan and the rest of Asia — closer to Seoul (240km) than to Tokyo (880km), and historically a trading city that absorbed Korean, Chinese and Southeast Asian influences before transmitting them to the Japanese archipelago. Fukuoka is where Buddhism entered Japan (via a monk who arrived from China in 1191 and founded the first Zen temple in Japan here — Shōfuku-ji). The city is famous throughout Japan for three things: its food (Hakata ramen — the rich, cloudy tonkotsu pork bone broth ramen that originated in Fukuoka in 1937 and became the most influential regional ramen style in the world; mentaiko — the spiced pollack roe that is a Fukuoka specialty eaten on rice, in pasta, in onigiri; and the yatai (屋台 — the open-air food stalls that set up each evening in the Nakasu and Tenjin areas, the last surviving yatai culture in Japan), its excellent festivals (the Hakata Gion Yamakasa — the most famous matsuri in Kyushu, July), and the Dazaifu Tenman-gu (the most important Shinto shrine in Kyushu, dedicated to the god of learning).
Kushida Shrine (櫛田神社 — the oldest and most important Shinto shrine in the Hakata district of Fukuoka: the shrine is the home of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival (博多祇園山笠 — the most dramatic matsuri in Kyushu, held July 1–15: the highlight is the Oiyama race (July 15, 4:59am) when seven teams carry 1-ton decorated floats (yamakasa) at a run through the Hakata streets, the record time 28 minutes for the 5km route). The enormous yamakasa festival float (the "kaza yamakasa" — the decorative float that stays at the shrine year-round, 10m tall, covered in thousands of individually crafted fabric figures) is on permanent display in the shrine compound.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCanal City Hakata (the 1996 shopping and entertainment complex designed by Jon Jerde (the American architect who also designed Universal CityWalk): a large-scale "city within a city" with the manmade canal running through the center (the Star Court fountain show on the hour, 10am–10pm, the water choreographed with lights and music), the 250 shops, the 13 cinema screens, the Ramen Stadium (the 8-restaurant ramen hall on the 5th floor with the 8 most important regional ramen styles in Japan under one roof — Hakata tonkotsu, Sapporo miso, Tokyo shoyu, Kyoto chicken paitan).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideOhori Park (大濠公園 — the 2km lake park created from the outer moat of Fukuoka Castle (the largest castle in Kyushu, 1607, demolished during the Meiji era): the lake (the 0.66 km² artificial lake, three islands connected by bridges) is the finest recreational park in Fukuoka. The Japanese garden within the park (the Ohori Park Japanese Garden — an exceptional stroll garden with teahouse, stone lanterns, koi ponds and seasonal displays: cherry blossoms in April, irises in June, maples in November) and the Fukuoka Castle ruins (the ramparts and gates remain, with Fukuoka Tower visible in the distance to the west).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideYatai (屋台 — the open-air food stalls (literally "shop stand") that set up each evening on the Nakasu (the sandbar island in the Naka River) riverbank and along the Tenjin waterfront: approximately 150 yatai operate in Fukuoka (the only city in Japan where this traditional institution survives in significant numbers — in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto the yatai were abolished by post-war fire safety regulations). The yatai serve: Hakata ramen (the tonkotsu bowl that comes from this neighbourhood), oden (the slow-simmered winter stew of radish, fish cake, tofu and egg), yakitori, mentaiko onigiri and Suntory whisky highballs. The atmosphere is the main attraction — 8 customers at a counter with a canvas roof above, the river below, the neon of Nakasu behind.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideDazaifu Tenman-gu (太宰府天満宮 — the Shinto shrine 10km south of Fukuoka (15 min by Nishitetsu train, ¥410): the shrine of Sugawara no Michizane (菅原道真 — the 9th-century Heian court scholar, poet and politician who was exiled to Dazaifu by his court rivals (901 AD), died here in 903, and was deified as Tenjin (天神 — the god of learning and scholarship) after a series of calamities in Kyoto were attributed to his angry spirit). The plum trees in the shrine garden (Michizane loved plum blossoms — the Ume-gae Mochi (梅ヶ枝餅) rice cakes sold in the 50+ shops on the approach to the shrine are the most famous food souvenir in Kyushu). The approach path: 700m of shops selling umegae mochi, calligraphy brushes (Dazaifu is a center of traditional calligraphy) and study amulets (omamori — the students of Japan come here to pray before university entrance exams).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Kyushu National Museum (九州国立博物館 — the fourth national museum in Japan after Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara (opened 2005, adjacent to Dazaifu Tenman-gu): the museum dedicated specifically to the cultural exchanges between Japan and the rest of Asia (China, Korea, Southeast Asia) through the Kyushu gateway — the most important collection of East Asian trade objects in Japan, including the Song and Tang dynasty ceramics, Korean Goryeo celadon, Southeast Asian bronzes and the spectacular Gold Seal of Han (漢委奴国王印 — the gold seal given by the Han Emperor of China to the king of the Japanese state of Na, 57 AD, one of the oldest and most important artifacts in Japan).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideHakata tonkotsu ramen (博多豚骨ラーメン — the ramen that originated in Fukuoka in 1937 when a Hakata street vendor (Tokio Miyamoto) began selling a rich pork bone broth ramen influenced by Chinese noodle soup: the Hakata style is distinctive for its milky white (白濁) broth (the pork bones boiled at high heat for 6–8 hours until the collagen emulsifies into the broth), the very thin straight noodles (the thinnest ramen noodle of any regional style — cooks in 30 seconds), the kakuni (the soft braised pork belly), the green onion, the pickled ginger (beni shoga) and the black sesame. Shin-Shin (天神/薬院) is consistently rated the finest tonkotsu in Fukuoka by Japanese food writers.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Tenjin yatai (the evening open-air stalls along the Watanabe-dori (渡辺通り) and the Naka River bank in Tenjin — the commercial center of Fukuoka): the whisky highball (Suntory Toki in a tall glass with ice and soda) is the most common drink at the Fukuoka yatai, and the mentaiko onigiri (the rice ball filled with the spiced pollack roe that is Fukuoka's most famous export) is the best snack.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFukuoka Castle (福岡城 — Maizuru Park — the castle built by the Kuroda clan 1601–1607 on the highest ground in the Hakata area: demolished during the Meiji era (the Meiji government systematically demolished feudal castles as symbols of the old order), but the stone ramparts, the turrets and the watchtower (tenshukaku — partially rebuilt) remain. The highest point of the ruins gives the finest view of Fukuoka Bay, the Genkai Sea and the city spread below. Excellent cherry blossom viewing in late March–early April (the castle ramparts and moat are among the finest hanami sites in Fukuoka).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideHakata Machiya Folk Museum (博多町家ふるさと館 — the 1910 Hakata townhouse (machiya — the traditional Japanese merchant townhouse, long and narrow with the shop in front and the living quarters behind) converted to a museum of traditional Hakata culture: the Hakata ori (博多織 — the traditional Hakata silk weaving, one of the finest textile traditions in Japan, with the characteristic geometric patterns used for obi (kimono sashes): the weaving demonstration is shown throughout the day), the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival exhibits and the traditional Hakata ware ceramics.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社 — founded 1800 years ago (before the modern city of Fukuoka existed) on the original shoreline of Hakata Bay: the most ancient sacred site in the Fukuoka area, the three Sumiyoshi deities (the gods of the sea and navigation — appropriate for a port city) enshrined here. The stone torii (the oldest in Fukuoka), the ancient camphor trees and the quiet stone-paved courtyard make this the most atmospheric of Fukuoka's shrines, largely unknown to tourists.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMentaiko (明太子 — the spiced and cured pollack (Alaska pollock (mintai)) roe that is the most famous food product of Fukuoka: the Korean kimchi culture meets Japanese seafood tradition in this cured roe (the word mentaiko is the Japanese pronunciation of myeongtaejanjorim (명태젓조림) — the Korean fermented pollock roe that Korean immigrants in Fukuoka adapted to Japanese taste in the 1950s). At Hakata Ippudo (the original Ippudo — the ramen chain that brought Hakata tonkotsu to the world in 1985) or at Yamamotoya, the mentaiko specialist: mentaiko on steaming rice, mentaiko pasta (the uniquely Japanese fusion dish invented in Fukuoka), mentaiko with soy-marinated raw tuna.
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