Hakata
・Seal of the King of Na, which is also featured in history textbooks
・Sumiyoshi Shrine, the oldest in Japan
【City description】
Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, is the northern gateway to Kyushu. The Gion Festival is held at Kushida Shrine near Hakata Station, and you can eat a variety of cuisines at the food stalls in Nakasu. There are other attractive areas, but here I will introduce a model itinerary that takes you around Momochi in the bay area and popular tourist spots around Hakata.
【Overall rating】
★★★★★
【Time required】
6 h 30
【Budget】
1780 yen
【Fatigue】
★★★★☆
Check out the best oneday trip plan from Fukuoka
Itinerary Map
Click the square mark on the top left of the map to see a list of tourist spots. If you open the enlarge button on the top right corner on your smartphone, this model course will be displayed on Google Maps along with its location information. You can also quickly return to this map from the table of contents in the sidebar (if using a smartphone, select “Go to table of contents” from the menu at the bottom of the screen).
【Momochi area】
Navigation
【Start】①Hakata Station
★Route time required：15 min
From Hakata Station, take the subway Kuko Line bound for Meihama and get off at Nishijin Station, the seventh stop (fare 260 yen).
★Route time required：a few minutes
Exit onto the ground from Exit 1 and turn left at the intersection in front of you.
★Route time required：5 min
Once you reach the main street, cross the crosswalk and turn left, and you will see the museum on your right, behind the wall monument.
★Route time required：10 min
Turn right after leaving the museum, and when you reach the street, go right. Continue straight and you will see the tower in front of you. Go inside.
★Route time required：30 min
Return to the original road from Fukuoka Tower, go left without crossing the first crosswalk, and take bus number 306 or 312 from the south exit of Fukuoka Tower bound for Hakata Station (260 yen). Get off at Gion-machi bus stop, turn around and go straight at the intersection, and you will see the temple on your right.
Let’s move on to the next map of the Hakata area.
【Hakata area】
Navigation
⑥Tochoji Temple
★Route time required：5 min
As you leave Tochoji Temple and head to the right, you will see a torii gate on the other side of the road. There is no pedestrian crossing, so be careful of cars as you cross the road, go through the torii gate and head straight until you reach the shrine at the end of the road.
★Route time required：15 min
When you leave the shrine from the exit behind the Yamakasa, there is an escalator right in front of you, so get on it and continue along the road. You will then enter the Canal City Hakata shopping center, so continue straight through the store and exit from the exit next to the Gundam store. Once outside, turn left and cross the crosswalk at the nearest intersection, then continue straight into the residential area. Continue straight for a while until you reach a street and you will see a torii gate ahead on the left, so continue past that.
★Route time required：15 min
Return the way you came and cross the bridge over the river to the left of Canal City Hakata, where you will find a food stall street along the river that opens from 6pm.
★Route time required：10 min
Head north along Nakasu and when you reach the main street, turn right and you will arrive at Nakasu-Kawabata Station on the subway. Take the train towards Hakata and get off two stops later at Hakata Station (210 yen).
Hakata Station
【Start】
①Hakata Station
★Route time required：15 min
From Hakata Station, take the subway Kuko Line bound for Meihama and get off at Nishijin Station, the seventh stop (fare 260 yen).
②Nishijin Station
★Route time required：a few minutes
Exit onto the ground from Exit 1 and turn left at the intersection in front of you.
③Sazaesan Street
Time required : 15 min
It opened in 2012 on a street that has a connection to Machiko Hasegawa, the creator of the nationally popular anime Sazae-san.
Sazae-san currently holds the following two Guinness World Records:
・The longest-running TV anime show
・The voice actor who has played the same character in the same TV anime show for the longest time (Sazae-san: Midori Kato)
It is said that author Machiko Hasegawa came up with the characters Sazae-san, Katsuo, Wakame and others while walking along the Momochi Beach at the end of this street. There are monuments of the characters from Sazae-san on the street.
★Route time required：5 min
Once you reach the main street, cross the crosswalk and turn left, and you will see the museum on your right, behind the wall monument.
④Fukuoka City Museum
Time required : 1h30
Admission fee：200 yen
Opening hour：9h30 am – 5h30 pm
Close : Monday (or the following day if Monday is a public holiday), 12/28 – 1/4
This museum was renovated from the theme pavilion of the Asia-Pacific Expo that opened in 1990. The main attraction is the Golden Seal of the King of Na, which can be seen at the very beginning of the exhibits. When you see it in person, you’ll be surprised at how smaller it is than you’d think.
Other exhibits include weapons and documents from the Kuroda clan, who were the feudal lords of Fukuoka, the Nihon-go, one of the three most famous spears in Japan, and the Arrow, Japan’s oldest automobile that still functions. The final part of the exhibits focuses on the lives of the people of Fukuoka and introduces the Yamakasa festival of the famous Gion Festival.
★Route time required：10 min
Turn right after leaving the museum, and when you reach the street, go right. Continue straight and you will see the tower in front of you. Go inside.
⑤Fukuoka Tower
Time required : 30 min
Admission fee：800 yen
Opening hour：9h30 am – 10 pm
Close：6/23, 24
It is the tallest seaside tower in Japan, standing 234m tall. It was built in 1989 for the Asia-Pacific Expo as a symbol of the 100th anniversary of Fukuoka city government. Its triangular exterior, made of approximately 8,000 mirrors, is distinctive as a shining mirror sail sailing into the 21st century. At night, it is lit up with illuminations, which can be used to create a wide variety of pictures. From the observation deck at the 123m point, you can get a panoramic view of Fukuoka’s cityscape and the sea, and it has been selected as one of the 100 best night views in Japan.
★Route time required：30 min
Return to the original road from Fukuoka Tower, go left without crossing the first crosswalk, and take bus number 306 or 312 from the south exit of Fukuoka Tower bound for Hakata Station (260 yen). Get off at Gion-machi bus stop, turn around and go straight at the intersection, and you will see the temple on your right.
⑥Tochoji Temple
Time required : 30 min
Admission fee：50 yen
Opening hour：9 am – 5 pm
Close：No
This is the first esoteric Buddhist temple in Japan, built in 806 by Kukai (Kobo Daishi). It was founded when Kukai returned from his training in the Tang Dynasty and spent six months in Hakata enshrining the statue of Acala that he carved. It was named after the hope that esoteric Buddhism would be spread to the East for a long time. During the Edo period, it was the family temple of the Kuroda family, the feudal lords of Fukuoka, and once had many buildings, but only the main hall was left standing due to war.
Inside is the wooden seated statue of Shaka, known as the Fukuoka Great Buddha, which is the largest wooden seated statue in Japan at 16.1 meters in size. The statue alone is 10.8 meters tall, the same number as the earthly desires, weighs 30 tons, and has approximately 5,000 Buddha statues displayed behind it.
The Setsubun bean-throwing ceremony is an important traditional event that has been held since 1425, and attracts many people every year. In addition to the aforementioned statues of Acala and Kobo Daishi, the main hall also houses the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva, an Important Cultural Property created during the Heian period, which can only be viewed on February 3rd, June 15th, and October 20th.
Inside the hall, you can experience a tour of hell and paradise, first walking down a path painted with pictures of hell, then walking down a pitch black path where you can see a picture of paradise. On this pitch black path, there is a ring of Buddha that will take you to paradise, so try to find it.
★Route time required：5 min
As you leave Tochoji Temple and head to the right, you will see a torii gate on the other side of the road. There is no pedestrian crossing, so be careful of cars as you cross the road, go through the torii gate and head straight until you reach the shrine at the end of the road.
⑦Kushida Shrine
Time required : 30 min
Admission fee：0 yen
Opening hour：9 am – 5 pm
Close：No
This shrine is famous for the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, which is held every July. There are various theories about the origins of its founding, but it is said that it began when Taira no Kiyomori made this area a base for trade between Japan and the Song Dynasty and enshrined a god here from Kushida Shrine in Kanzaki City, Saga. The current shrine building was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and three gods are enshrined in one building, which is said to bring eternal youth, longevity, and prosperity in business.
① Owatatsumi-no-Mikoto (Main Hall : Kushida Shrine)
② Susanoo-no-Mikoto (Right Hall : Gion Shrine)
③ Amaterasu-Omikami (Left Hall : Daijingu Shrine)
The Gion Yamakasa is on display within the temple grounds and is a must-see.
In addition, stones that sumo wrestlers have lifted in demonstrations of their strength have been donated as Chikaraishi, and you can actually feel their weight. The ginkgo tree by the entrance is a symbol of longevity, about 1000 years old, and is designated as a prefectural natural monument.
★Route time required：15 min
When you leave the shrine from the exit behind the Yamakasa, there is an escalator right in front of you, so get on it and continue along the road. You will then enter the Canal City Hakata shopping center, so continue straight through the store and exit from the exit next to the Gundam store. Once outside, turn left and cross the crosswalk at the nearest intersection, then continue straight into the residential area. Continue straight for a while until you reach a street and you will see a torii gate ahead on the left, so continue past that.
⑧Sumiyoshi Shrine
Time required : 20 min
Admission fee：0 yen
Opening hour：9 am – 5 pm
Close：No
Of the more than 2,000 Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan, this is the oldest and is counted among Japan’s three major Sumiyoshi shrines, along with Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka and Sumiyoshi Shrine in Shimonoseki.
The following three deities are enshrined here:
① Sokotsunoonokami
② Nakatsunoonokami
③ Uwatsunoonokami
Together with Amaterasu Omikami and Empress Jingu, who are enshrined in the co-shrine, the shrine is called Sumiyoshigosho-no-Okami. It is said that the sea used to be right nearby, and Sokotsutsuo-no-kami is known as the guardian deity of navigation. The shrine building that enshrines the three deities was built by Kuroda Nagamasa, the lord of Fukuoka, and uses the architectural style of Sumiyoshi-zukuri, the oldest shrine in Japan, and is rebuilt every 25 years as part of the Shikinen Sengu ceremony.
Within the 2.68ha site is a sumo ring, which is related to the most important festival at this shrine, the Sumokai Taisai, which is held every year from October 12th to 14th. The origin of this is that Empress Jingu, who is enshrined in the co-shrine, offered a sumo wrestling ring and sumo to the gods of this shrine as a token of her gratitude when she returned from Korea, and every year before the Kyushu sumo tournament, a Yokozuna enters the ring. There is also an ancient sumo wrestler statue in the precincts, and you can see that it is closely related to sumo, as you can receive power by touching its hand.
★Route time required：15 min
Return the way you came and cross the bridge over the river to the left of Canal City Hakata, where you will find a food stall street along the river that opens from 6pm.
⑨Nakasu Food Stalls Street
Time required : 1h
Opening hour：6 pm – 0 am
Close：No
This area is lined with some of Hakata’s best yatai (food stalls). It’s open at night, so it’s recommended for dinner, and you can enjoy Hakata gourmet food such as fried ramen, motsunabe (offal hotpot), and tamagoyaki (egg rolls) made with mentaiko (spicy cod roe).
Its history dates back to the postwar period, when yatai began to appear during the postwar chaos. After that, the number of yatai exploded, and when the number of stalls exceeded 400, it developed into a social problem, such as disorderly road use, so restrictions were tightened, including a ban on new entrants. As a result, by 2010, the number of stalls had dropped to 150, and the policy changed to keep the yatai, and stalls were now recruited through public competition.
★Route time required：10 min
Head north along Nakasu and when you reach the main street, turn right and you will arrive at Nakasu-Kawabata Station on the subway. Take the train towards Hakata and get off two stops later at Hakata Station (210 yen).
【Goal】
Hakata Station
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