Top 10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Hakata, Kyushu

Fukuoka Bike Tour is the first bike tour in English in Fukuoka started in 2010 by licensed local guides who wanted you to enjoy your Fukuoka trip by an authentic and intimate experience. All of our English tour guides are government-licensed, friendly and familiar with Fukuoka and love riding bicycles. We are really looking forward to discovering Fukuoka by bike with you.

We are a local travel company in Fukuoka City that provides various tours such as waking tour, food tour, bike tour with licensed local guide, cooking class, kimono dress up experience, guide & hotel arrangements, etc. Custom private tours in Fukuoka and Kyushu are also popular. It is the most perfect happiness for us to meet you and spend the time with you. We are really looking forward to discovering Fukuoka, Kyushu with you.

Held annually between July 1st and 15th, this is one of Hakata's signature festivals, along with Hakata Dontaku. There are various opinions concerning its origin, but many believe it started in 1241 when the monk Shoichi Kokushi sprinkled holy water to get rid of diseases. For this festival, floats similar to portable shrines called yamakasa are built up high with countless banners and dolls. For safety, the shoulder-carried floats called kaki yamakasa used for transporting people are three meters high. On the first day, cordoning ropes are dropped (a cleansing event in the style of the region) and the ritual of inviting deities into the yamakasa begins. On the 10th, the floats finally start their parade called the nagare kaki, and the festival really heats up.

An artificial canal flows through this huge shopping mall which includes cinemas, an amusement center, restaurants, numerous shops and an urban theater featuring musical performances and Broadway shows.

Japan’s first Zen temple was founded in 1195 by Esai, who brought Zen Buddhism to Japan from China.

A 1,000-year-old gingko tree shades this shrine, which was built in 757, and serves as the starting point for a famous annual summer race. The Hakata Historical Museum is also on the shrine grounds.

Due to its geographical and historical characteristics, Fukuoka City has served as a gateway to continental Asian culture since ancient times. Today it has assumed a new role, that of a key interactive city for Asia. Fukuoka Asian Art Museum opened in 1999, as a part of the city’s progressive strategy for interaction with different Asian cultures. The Fukuoka Asian Art Museum is the only museum in the world that systematically collects and exhibits Asian modern and contemporary art. The works in the collection of the museum are not imitation of Western art or repetitions of traditional works. Instead they seek to overcome the existing framework of art, being made by artists living in ‘contemporary’ Asia. These artists attempt to acutely express their message in and about this changing world of Asia. FAAM's exhibitions of Asian modern and contemporary art are rich in depth and quality, and wide in scope. They present the originality and charm of Asian art in a way that cannot be experienced in any other museum in the world. The museum has also been functioning as a place for people to become familiar with Asian arts and culture through the artistic creations and researches of the invitees of the Residence Program. It is an interactive museum - the place of meeting, understanding each other and creating together.

Hakata Machiya Folk Museum is made of three halls, introducing the lifestyle and culture reminiscent of the Meiji and TaishoPeriods. ■Exhibition Hall The first floor exhibits Hakata's history and culture. The secound floor exhibits commercial goods used by merchants and also demostrates Hakata's traditional artisan techniques. ■Machiya Hall This Machiya built in the mid-Meiji Period as both factory and residence of Hakata-ori weavers, was moved and restored to the present place. ■Sourvenir Shop Hakata traditional craft and local sweets, Yamakasa goods, stationary and original books are available. □Access -From JR Hakata stastion 15minute walk, 5 minutes by taxi -From the Airport 7 minutes on the subway to Gion Station, from there a 5minute walk -From Tenjin 4 minutes on the subway to Gion station, from there a 5minute walk. Take a Nishitetsu Bus bound for Hakata Station. Get off at Canal City Hakata-mae, from there a 3minute walk.