Fukuoka
Fukuoka is a designated city in the Kyushu region of Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.
Fukuoka is a designated city in the Kyushu region of Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the gateway to the country, as it is the nearest point among Japan's main islands to the Asian mainland. Although humans have occupied the area since the Jomon period, some of the earliest settlers of the Yayoi period arrived in the Fukuoka area. The city rose to prominence during the Yamato period, and because of the cross-cultural exposure, and relatively great distance from the social and political centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and later, Edo (Tokyo), Fukuoka gained a distinctive local culture and dialect that has persisted to the present day.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Fukuoka
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Fukuoka Dome
The Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, officially the Fukuoka Dome, is a domed baseball field located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Home to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the 40,000 seat stadium was built in 1993 and was originally named Fukuoka Dome.
3.7 km · stadium · Wikipedia - 02Fukuoka Tower
Fukuoka Tower is a 234-metre tall tower located in the Momochihama area of Fukuoka, Japan. It is the tallest seaside tower in Japan.
4.7 km · broadcasting and observation tower in Fukuoka, Japan · Wikipedia - 03Hakatanomori Football Stadium
Best Denki Stadium, renamed on March 1, 2008 for naming rights), is located in the Hakata Ward of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the home ground of the J1 League association football club Avispa Fukuoka.
5.5 km · multipurpose stadium in Fukuoka City, Japan · Wikipedia - 04Fukuoka Mosque
The Fukuoka Mosque, officially the Fukuoka Masjid Al Nour Islamic Culture Center, is a mosque located in Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, in the city of Fukuoka, in the Fukuoka Prefecture of Japan. Opened on 12 April 2009, it was the first mosque on the island of Kyūshū.
4.1 km · mosque in Japan · Wikipedia - 05Fukuoka Art Museum
Fukuoka Art Museum is an art museum in Fukuoka, Japan. It contains a notable collection of Western and Asian art, and exhibits various temporary exhibitions.
2.2 km · art museum in Fukuoka, Japan · Wikipedia - 06Shōfuku-ji Temple
Shōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the Gokushōmachi neighborhood of Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan. It belongs to the Rinzai school Myōshin-ji-branch of Japanese Zen.
1.4 km · Buddhist temple in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan · Wikipedia - 07Fukuoka Castle
Fukuoka Castle is a Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. It is also known as Maizuru Castle or Seki Castle.
1.8 km · Japanese castle in Fukuoka city · Wikipedia - 08Hakozaki Shrine
Hakozaki Shrine is a Shintō shrine in Fukuoka.
3.4 km · Shinto shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan · Wikipedia - 09Fukuoka City Museum
Fukuoka City Museum opened in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1990. The permanent exhibition, which tells the history of Fukuoka, is arranged in eleven sections, including those focussing upon the King of Na gold seal, the Kuroda clan, and the Hakata Gion Yamakasa.
4.5 km · museum in Fukuoka City, Japan · Wikipedia - 10Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art
Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art opened in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1985. The collection focuses upon artists from Fukuoka Prefecture and Kyūshū more generally, and includes works by Koga Harue.
900 m · museum in Fukuoka, Japan · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Nakasu
- 02Gion
- 03Kushida Shrine
The 8th-century Kushida Shrine is starting point for the annual Gion-Yamakasa Festival.
- 04Tōchō-ji
It has a 10.8-m wooden Great Buddha.
- 05Shōfuku-ji
Japan's first Zen temple.
- 06ACROS
The ACROS building has a terraced roof that merges with the park and contains some 35,000 plants representing 76 species.
From Wikivoyage: Fukuoka, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
For a good listing of what's happening and places to eat and drink, the local monthly English-language magazine Fukuoka Now is a great start.
- 01Kabuki
Check times and prices at the Hakata-za near Nakasu.
- 02Noh
A cultural experience that some may not want to miss.
- 03Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Winning the Japan Series seven times between 2011 and 2020, the Hawks was undoubtedly Japan's strongest team in the 2010s.
- 04Momochihama
A stretch of beach where visitors can enjoy a bit of swimming and sun.
- 05Nokonoshima
A small (about 12 km around) island in the middle of Hakata Bay and offers some splendid hiking, swimming, and camping.
From Wikivoyage: Fukuoka, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Hakata is famous for its style of ramen, known as tonkotsu (豚骨, lit. "pork bone") ramen, which has a very pungent smell thanks to the thick broth that is made from simmering pork ribs for at least 12 hours (up to 3 days at some of the best restaurants), and is one of Japan's top three ramen. Enjoy it with pickled ginger and lots of sesame seeds.
- 01Nagahama
Famous for Hakata's Nagahama ramen, with stalls (yatai) that get set up daily to handle the locals who are proud of their ramen.
- 02Ichiran
- 03Ramen Stadium
This celebration of ramen offers 8 restaurants with every style of ramen between Kyushu and Hokkaido.
- 04Yama-chan
Tasty ramen and late night hours off the streets of Oyafukodori.
- 05Asahiken Gyoza
Pot stickers, steamed rice, miso soup and beer.
From Wikivoyage: Fukuoka, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Fukuoka
- Airports
- Fukuoka (FUK), 5 km · Kyushu Saga (HSG), 50 km · Kitakyushu (KKJ), 65 km
- Stations
- Fukuoka Airport, 4.7 km · Hakata Station, 1.8 km · Meinohama Station, 7.1 km · Fukuokakūkō Station, 4.4 km · Hashimoto Station, 8.4 km
- Saga → Fukuoka42 km · quickest by road, 1h 11m · ¥630–860
- Kitakyushu → Fukuoka49 km · quickest by road, 1h 24m · ¥720–980
- Nagasaki → Fukuoka107 km · quickest by road, 2h 45m · ¥1,580–2,160
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Fukuoka
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Fukuoka. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inBusan-Fukuoka: Camellia Line, +81 92 262-2323 (Japan) or +82 51 466-7799 (Korea), operates a ferry that takes about 8 hr and starts at ¥12,000; if overnight, it may stop and wait in front of Busan Port in the morning until Korean Immigration opens.
- Get inThe JR Kyushu Ferry (the "Queen Beetle") which had operated between Fukuoka and Busan has been discontinued.
- Get inAn economy-class ticket on the Meimon Taiyo Ferry from Osaka to Kitakyushu costs about ¥6,000 (20% discount if booked online); tickets in other price ranges are available.
- Go nextMunakata Itoshima Karatsu Iizuka Yanagawa Yoshinogari Beppu — and its famous Hells (unique hot springs for viewing) is a potential day trip at 2 hr via Sonic Limited Express trains (departing via Hakata Station), or a bit longer via bus.
From Wikivoyage: Fukuoka, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01556 km
- 02871 km
- 031,198 km
- 041,299 km
- 051,547 km
If you know how people move in Fukuoka – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Fukuoka
Fukuoka is 32 km from Kurume, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Ōnojō-shicity in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan9.3 km
- Kasugacity in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan8.9 km
- Hakata-kuone of the seven wards of the City of Fukuoka, Japan1.2 km
- Kasuyatown in Kasuya district, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan7.7 km
- Shimetown in Kasuya district, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan7.2 km
- Suetown in Kasuya district, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan9.8 km