About this location: Fukuoka
Fukuoka is Kyushu's largest city. Hakata, Tenjin, and Nakasu entertainment districts; Hakata ramen and udon street-food culture; Hakata Bay with Fukuoka Tower; cherry blossoms at Ohori Park; and Itoshima Peninsula beaches — modern city and nature sit side by side here.
Key features
- Nakasu Yatai District — about 40% of all yatai food stalls in Japan (~100 stalls); evening smoke and lanterns epitomize Kyushu nights
- Dazaifu Tenmangu — head shrine to deity-of-learning Sugawara no Michizane; 10 million worshippers annually, plums lining the approach and the vermilion main hall
- Fukuoka Tower (234 m) and Momochi Beach — panorama of Hakata Bay and Seaside Momochi; renowned for sunsets and nightscapes
- Ohori Park — opened 1929 as an urban oasis, with cherry blossoms in early April and skyscrapers reflected upside-down on the pond
- Hakata Dontaku (May) and Hakata Gion Yamakasa (July) — among Japan's largest festivals by attendance, energetic subjects to photograph
