فوكوكا
Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture in northern Kyushu, is the region's largest designated «government ordinance city» with about 1.64 million residents. The city formed when «Hakata» — the historic merchant district — merged with «Fukuoka,» the castle town built by feudal lord Kuroda Nagamasa in 1601, leaving the city with two distinct identities. Notable for Japan's quickest airport-to-city transit (5 minutes by subway from Fukuoka Airport), it hosts the Hakata Dontaku festival in May (drawing 2.2 million attendees, one of Japan's largest), the Hakata Gion Yamakasa in July, the Nakasu-Kawabata food-stall district (about 100 yatai — roughly 40% of all Japan's stalls), Dazaifu Tenmangu, and the Itoshima Peninsula — the gateway to Kyushu, packing tourism into a compact city.
Highlights
- 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
