Fukuoka in 3 days: the closest major Japanese city to Korea and China, where Buddhism arrived in Japan in 1191, where tonkotsu ramen was invented in 1937 and where 150 open-air food stalls set up each evening on the riverbank.
The home of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa (July 1–15): the 1-ton floats carried at a run through the streets. The decorative float (10m tall, thousands of fabric figures) stays in the compound all year.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Hakata tonkotsu vs. Sapporo miso vs. Tokyo shoyu comparison: all 8 Japanese ramen regions in one building, with the fountain show on the hour.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe finest recreational park in Fukuoka: the stroll garden with koi ponds and teahouse inside the park, the best hanami spot in the city in late March.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJapan's last surviving yatai culture: 8 customers at a counter, the river below, the neon of Nakasu behind and a bowl of tonkotsu for ¥1,000. Fire safety regulations abolished this everywhere else in Japan.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe most important shrine in Kyushu: Sugawara no Michizane became the god of learning in 903 AD. The umegae mochi rice cakes sold on the 700m approach are Japan's most famous shrine souvenir.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe museum of Japan's Asian connections: the gold seal given by the Han Emperor to a Japanese king in 57 AD, Korean Goryeo celadon, Tang dynasty ceramics. The fourth national museum in Japan.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideHakata-style: the thinnest noodles of any regional ramen (cooks in 30 seconds), the pork bones boiled for 8 hours until the collagen turns the broth white. Rated the finest tonkotsu in Fukuoka.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Kuroda clan's castle (1607, demolished Meiji era): the stone ramparts above the moat give the finest view of Fukuoka Bay. In April, the best cherry blossoms in the city.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe traditional Hakata townhouse (long, narrow, shop in front): the geometric silk obi weaving demonstration and the Yamakasa festival equipment from July.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe invention of Korean immigrants in the 1950s: fermented pollack roe adapted to Japanese taste, now Fukuoka's most famous food export, eaten on rice, in pasta and in onigiri.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide