Top 10 Fukuoka Attractions
Fukuoka is a great city to explore for people who are new to Japan, this is because it is easy to get around and if you are staying in a Fukuoka hotel in the city, you will never be far from a subway station and trains. They are connected to almost all the main attractions. The metro is relatively easy to navigate and inexpensive, although many people cycle and this is another good way to see the city outdoors.
While riding the subway or pedaling around the city, here’s a guide to Fukuoka’s top ten attractions.
1. Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine
The most important shrine in Fukuoka and is only behind the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto as the most important in all of Japan. Dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, a notorious scholar who is now celebrated as the god of scholars and culture, Temman Tenjin. The sanctuary grounds have 6,000 plum trees and this is the ideal place to be when they bloom about a month before cherry blossom season. The shops around the shrine sell all kinds of good luck charms and the site is popular with students who come to pray to Michizane for good luck on her exams.
2. Fukuoka Tower
A building with iconic status that has a magnificent presence on the Fukuoka skyline. The tower stands at an impressive 234m tall, is built with 8,000 mirrors, and cost $ 60 million to build. For anyone wanting a spectacular view of the city, the observation deck offers just that and is located at 123m. There is also a cafeteria that serves food and the terrace offers a 360-degree experience.
3. Kyushu National Museum
A truly huge building and visitors can walk there from the Tenmangu Shrine in Dazaifu. Inside are hundreds of exhibits displaying Japanese culture and important artifacts from history. There are only three others in Japan in Tokyo, Nara, and Kyoto, which makes the museum even more special.
4. Canal City
A shopper’s paradise and the building itself is quite unusual with bright pink colors and a canal in the center that features a water show at various times of the day. Designer labels hang with the trendiest Japanese designs in some 250 stores and there are plenty of restaurants for shoppers with an appetite after exploring the five levels of retail paradise.
5. Momochi Beach
If it’s hot and the sun is out, try Momochi Beach for a swim and Maruzon Pier has good restaurants and shops if it’s too hot.
6. Ohori Park
Popular with locals because of the pretty pond in the middle and the 2km trail around the outside, where people often jog or go for a walk if things get crowded in town.
7. Hakata District
Formerly a separate city, Hakata joined Castle City to make Fukuoka in 1889. The district has many things to see and do, including the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, which provides insight into what life was like. To taste the tastes of Fukuoka, street vendors will set up food stalls called Yatai at night that serve excellent food and Hakata Ramen is a dish to definitely try.
8. Tenjin District
Another shopping mecca with two department stores in Mitsukoshi and Daimaru. There is also an underground shopping mall that joins the metro and the Daimyo area has many, many fashion boutiques.
9. Shofukuji Temple
Japan’s first Zen temple when it was built in 1195. Since then it has been damaged by fire and needed to be rebuilt, but the Zen principles always remain.
10. The Dome
A must see for baseball fans, as the folks of Fukuoka go crazy for their home team, the Softbank Hawks, when they play at the Dome. Games at the stadium are inexpensive and cost around 1,000 yen to sit on the grounds.