Fukuoka (福岡) is the capital of Fukuoka prefecture and the largest city on the island of Kyushu. Fukuoka is a good starting point for first-time visitors to Japan. As a historic port city, Fukuoka is more welcoming of foreigners than other parts of Japan, and has significant numbers of residents and tourists from abroad, particularly from China and Korea.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Historically, Fukuoka was two cities divided by the central river: the merchant town of Hakata (博多) and the samurai feudal domain of Fukuoka (福岡). According to legend, when the cities merged in 1889, a group of samurai heard that "Hakata" was probably going to win the vote for the name of the merged city, so they crashed the meeting and forced them to name it Fukuoka instead. While probably apocryphal, the important point to remember is that the city is named Fukuoka, but the main railway station and port are known as Hakata Station and Hakata Port.
The Fukuoka City Subway consists of 3 lines. The Hakata subway station, located under the JR Hakata Station, can take passengers straight to Fukuoka International Airport (6 min, ¥260), to Tenjin, the city's de facto downtown district, and to other major stops. An all-day subway pass (ichinichi joshaken) costs ¥640. If you tap a contactless credit card as you enter and leave subway stations, you will be charged no more than the cost of an all-day pass per day. Regular tickets cost between ¥210 and ¥380 depending on distance. The local rechargeable contactless smart card is called Hayakaken and is compatible with other smart cards like PASMO (Tokyo) and ICOCA (Kyoto and Osaka).
1 Nakasu. This area is next to Tenjin and is Fukuoka's red-light district, with over 3500 restaurants, as well as ramen stalls (yatai), shopping, pubs, hostess bars, rooftop beer gardens in summer, one surviving movie theater, and sex trade. The neon lights on the Naka River are famous with over 60,000 visitors a day, and it has the busiest street in Kyushu. (updated Mar 2016) 2 Gion. This area has several historical shrines and Buddhist temples, including: (updated Mar 2016) 3 Kushida Shrine. The 8th-century Kushida Shrine is starting point for the annual Gion-Yamakasa Festival. 4 Tōchō-ji. It has a 10.8-m wooden Great Buddha. Free entry; ¥100 to see the Buddha.
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. 1 Kabuki theatre (Hakata-za). An experience worth checking out. Check times and prices at the Hakata-za near Nakasu. If you don't want to stay for the whole show, or don't have so much money to spend, you can watch part of a show for about ¥800; see here for details. Half price student/young (~25) adult tickets may be available day of performance to be released 20 minutes prior to the show; see here for details. (updated May 2019) 2 Noh theatre, 1-5 Ohorikoen, Chuo-ku, ☏ +81 92 715 2155. A cultural experience that some may not want to miss.
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. Save the broth, because you can order a refill of noodles (kaedama) for around ¥300 at many places. Although there are restaurants all over town serving ramen at various price levels, some of the best joints are yatai, mobile food stalls (see also the Drink section).
Yatai, or street stalls, are plentiful throughout Fukuoka and present a great place to grab a bite to eat and drink while mixing with the locals. Yatai are usually a last stop on a pub crawl since they provide cheap eats that taste better after a long night, and it's easier to start a conversation with a stranger after many beers. Don't rely on one for dinner! And bring your meishi (business cards) if you have any, because they often get swapped here. Along the river in Hakata, from about 16:00, you'll see the yatai vendors setting up their booths and preparing ingredients for the evening crowds. A few of the yatai vendors speak a bit of English.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Fukuoka typically sees ~33°C daytime highs and 12 rainy days.
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