Escape to a shoreline made for watersports, a mountainous interior full of trails, and world-class seafood and ramen
Fukuoka Prefecture’s most famous attraction is Dazaifu Tenmangu, a shrine dedicated to the legendary scholar and politician Michizane Sugawara and home to over 6,000 plum trees that blossom spectacularly each spring. The prefecture’s culinary specialties include sushi and other seafood dishes, yakitori or grilled skewers, motsunabe hot pot in the winter, and tonkotsu or pork broth ramen, best enjoyed at a local yatai or food stall. Located on the northern tip of Kyushu and boasting excellent transportation links, Fukuoka is an easy destination.
How to Get There
Fukuoka is well connected by both rail and air. The prefecture has multiple stops on both the JR Kyushu Shinkansen and the JR Sanyo Shinkansen, which links to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. Fukuoka Airport is extremely close to the city center. Fukuoka City’s Hakata Port offers ferries to South Korea and to many of Kyushu’s smaller islands.
Fukuoka City is the prefecture’s main transport center, and from here you can easily board a train, bus or ferry that will take you to the rest of the prefecture and to other places in Kyushu. Hakata Station in Fukuoka City is the prefecture’s rail hub, a terminus of both the Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen lines. The Nishitetsu Group runs most of the local public transport and offers seasonal passes aimed at visitors to get around both Fukuoka City and the rest of the prefecture. Trains to Hiroshima and Nagasaki from Fukuoka City take a little over an hour each, while Tokyo is accessible by air in two hours or bullet train in six hours. Fukuoka is also very accessible from Asia via international flights.
Don’t Miss
• The annual plum blossom display at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine
• A tunnel of wisterias at Kawachi Fuji-en garden in Kitakyushu
• Itoshima Peninsula’s seaside culture: sandy beaches, music festivals and an active surf scene
• Luxurious boat rides through the canals of Yanagawa, and a meal of fresh local eel
