Kurume
Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
As of 1 February 2024, the city had an estimated population of 295,367 in 137,140 households, and a population density of 1309 people per km². The total area of the city is 229.96 km2 (88.79 sq mi).
Getting to Kurume
Kurume is on the JR Kagoshima Main Line. From Hakata station in Fukuoka there are generally one local and two rapid trains per hour operating to Kurume, with more trains during rush hours. Rapid trains take 40 minutes, and local trains take about an hour, at the same cost of ¥720.
Worth seeing
Kurume City Art Museum. Next to the museum is a traditional Japanese koi garden which is open to the public. And there is the Kurume public library. The largest feature in Kurume is by far the Jibo Kannon Statue, which lies within the grounds of Naritasan Temple.
Things to do
Kurume is host to Japanese festivals and parades, occurring regularly throughout the year. Events usually take place on Japanese holidays, and will include dressing up in yukata, which are cotton kimono worn in the summer, and walking through the hooded shopping street for matsuri games such as fishing and balloon tosses.
Where to eat
While at first glance there isn't an abundance of restaurants in Kurume, in reality there are plenty if you know where to look. In the "Ichibangai" pedestrian mall across from the Nishitetsu Kurume train station, there are 3 or 4 larger Japanese Izakaya restaurants which are worth a visit if you're hungry. They are all right next to the am/pm store.
Getting around Kurume the local way
- Get inTimes and prices for other destinations from Tosu are as follows: Kurume: 8 minutes, ¥230 Kumamoto: 1 hour 30 minutes, ¥1650 Saga (Limited Express): 20 minutes, ¥1280 Saga (local train): 30 minutes, ¥460 Nagasaki (Limited Express Kamome): 1 hour 30 minutes, ¥4230 There is a nimai-kippu which allows a day trip on the Shinkansen from Shin-Tosu to Hakata (or Yoshizuka) for ¥2260.
From Wikivoyage: Tosu, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. That article was last edited 2025-03, so a service it names may have changed or stopped.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Alessandro Traini (CC BY 2.0), Wikimedia Commons.