Kushida Shrine
Hakata · 45 min
Hakata's guardian shrine and the finish line of the Yamakasa race, with a decorated festival float in the grounds all year. The grounds are free and open from early morning.
Fukuoka · Japan · 3 days
3 days in Fukuoka
Three days that walk old Hakata and eat at the Nakasu yatai, ride out to Dazaifu's restored shrine and the national museum, then finish with the reclining Buddha at Nanzoin and sunset over Momochi beach. The subway and a few train rides do the long hops.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 20 stops
- 12 with a ticket
- from ¥7,000 a day
When to go
October and November are dry and mild and the best weeks for this plan. Late March brings cherry blossom to Maizuru Park; Dazaifu's plum trees flower from late January. Hakata Dontaku fills the streets on May 3 and 4 and the Yamakasa float race runs at dawn on July 15; both are worth seeing and both fill hotels. July and August are hot and humid, and winter is gray but rarely cold.
Where to base yourself
Sleep around Hakata Station for the airport, the shinkansen and the temples on foot, or in Tenjin and Daimyo for the restaurants and bars. Nakasu puts you beside the yatai but the lanes are loud and lit until late.
Getting around
Three subway lines cover the center; the Kuko line runs airport to Hakata to Tenjin to Ohori Park, and the Nanakuma line now stops at Kushida Shrine. Tap any IC card (Suica and ICOCA work; the local one is Hayakaken) on subway, JR, Nishitetsu trains and buses. A subway day pass is ¥640. The Fukuoka Tourist City Pass covers subway, JR, Nishitetsu and buses inside the city for ¥2,500, or ¥2,800 with the Nishitetsu train to Dazaifu; you need a passport to buy it and it does not cover the Dazaifu Liner bus.
Day 1
Old Hakata on foot, yatai after dark
- FromYour hotel in Hakata
- 1
- 7 min · walk
- 2
Tochoji
Hakata · 45 min
Ten minutes north on foot. The Fukuoka Daibutsu upstairs is a seated wooden Buddha nearly 11 meters tall, free from 9 a.m.; walk the dark hell-to-heaven passage behind it.
- 5 min · walk
- 3
Hakata Machiya Folk Museum
Hakata · 45 min
Back across from Kushida: a restored weaver's townhouse and a small history floor with craft demonstrations, ¥200. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed the fourth Monday of the month.
¥200
- 24 min · walk
- 4
Hakata Issou, Hakata-ekihigashi
Hakata Station · 45 min
Thick tonkotsu with a foam the locals call cappuccino; buy a ticket at the machine by the door, cash only. Six minutes east of Hakata Station's Chikushi exit, open from 11 a.m. until the soup runs out.
around ¥1,000
- 22 min · walk
- 5
Canal City Hakata
Hakata · 75 min
A mall built round an artificial canal with a fountain show every half hour. Useful for rain, for a department-store food hall and for Ramen Stadium on the fifth floor if you want a second bowl.
- 13 min · walk
- 6
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
Nakasu-Kawabata · 60 min
Beside Nakasu-Kawabata Station, on the upper floors of a shopping building, for modern and contemporary art from across Asia (¥200). Open to 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Friday and Saturday) and closed Wednesdays; walk the Kawabata covered arcade on the way.
¥200
- 9 min · walk
- 7
Nakasu yatai
Nakasu · 90 min
About twenty stalls along the river at the south tip of Nakasu, open from around 6 p.m.; each seats eight to ten, cash only, no reservations. Order a drink first (it works as the seat charge), then yakitori, oden and mentaiko tamagoyaki, and expect ¥3,000 to ¥4,000 a head.
¥3,000 to ¥4,000
Day 2
Dazaifu, then the castle park at dusk
- FromYour hotel in Hakata
- 1
Dazaifu Tenmangu
Dazaifu · 90 min
The shrine to Michizane, god of learning, whose main hall finished its first restoration in 124 years in spring 2026; the temporary Fujimoto hall was due to be dismantled, so check the shrine's site for which hall you pray at. Take Nishitetsu from Tenjin and change at Futsukaichi for the Dazaifu line, 25 to 40 minutes and about ¥500.
- 5 min · walk
- 2
Komyozenji
Dazaifu · 20 min
Two minutes south of the shrine. The moss and stone gardens behind have been closed since 2018 with no reopening date, so look at the front garden from the gate and move on.
- 5 min · walk
- 3
Dazaifu Sando, the shrine approach
Dazaifu · 60 min
Umegae mochi, a griddled rice cake with red bean and a plum stamp, around ¥150 to ¥180 each; Kasanoya has the line, any shop pressing them fresh is good. Then a set lunch along the approach, or the Starbucks woven from cedar by Kengo Kuma.
around ¥1,500
- 8 min · walk
- 4
Kyushu National Museum
Dazaifu · 105 min
Behind the shrine, up the escalator and through the moving-walkway tunnel, about ten minutes. The fourth-floor exhibition tells Kyushu's story as Japan's door to Asia (¥700); open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Mondays.
¥700
- 17 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Ohori Park
Ohori · 60 min
Nishitetsu back to Tenjin, then two subway stops to Ohori Koen. A two-kilometer path round a pond with islands and bridges, free; the Japanese garden on the south side is ¥250 and closes at 5 p.m., so go there first if you want it.
- 10 min · walk
- 6
Fukuoka Castle ruins, Maizuru Park
Ohori · 45 min
Across the road: stone walls, a turret and the base of a keep that was never finished. Climb the keep platform for the city at dusk; free and always open, except during the blossom illuminations.
- 21 min · walk
- 7
Hakata Hanamidori, Tenjin
Tenjin · 90 min
Mizutaki: chicken simmered to a milky broth, served first as soup, then meat, then vegetables, then rice; book on their website a day or two ahead. For motsunabe instead, the Tenjin branches of Ooyama and Rakutenchi take walk-ins before seven.
around ¥5,000
Day 3
Nanzoin or Itoshima, then the Momochi waterfront
- FromYour hotel in Hakata
- 1
Nanzoin, Sasaguri
Sasaguri · 120 min
JR Fukuhoku Yutaka line from Hakata to Kido-Nanzoin-mae, about 20 to 25 minutes, then three minutes on foot, to a bronze reclining Buddha 41 meters long. Entry is ¥500 (free under 19), the grounds are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4:45 p.m., and it is a place of prayer, so dress modestly and do not eat while walking.
¥500
- 16 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Ganso Hakata Mentaiju, Nishinakasu
Nishinakasu · 60 min
A whole mentaiko wrapped in kombu over rice, with a sauce you choose by heat and a side of dipping noodles. Open 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., so it works as breakfast too; the branch inside Hakata Station is the fallback.
around ¥2,000
- 4.7 km · transit or taxi
- 3
Fukuoka City Museum
Momochi · 75 min
Take bus W1 from Tenjin to Momochi, or the subway to Nishijin and a 15-minute walk. The one thing to see is the gold seal a Han emperor sent to the king of Na in AD 57, dug up on Shikanoshima island; ¥200, closed Mondays.
¥200
- 9 min · walk
- 4
Momochi beach
Momochi · 60 min
A kilometer of man-made sand with the Marizon pier in the middle. Walk it, sit on the breakwater and watch the paddleboarders; the beach is free.
- 4 min · walk
- 5
Fukuoka Tower
Momochi · 60 min
Go up half an hour before sunset and stay for the lights: 123 meters, the bay one way and the city the other. ¥800, open 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m..
¥800
- 6.3 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Hakata udon at Hakata Station
Hakata Station · 45 min
Soft noodles in a light dashi with gobo-ten, a long tempura of burdock root, and a side of kashiwa rice. Inaba Udon has a branch in Deitos inside the station.
around ¥800
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The practical bits
From the airport
Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is unusually close to town: the subway from the domestic terminal reaches Hakata Station in two stops and about five minutes for around ¥260, and Tenjin in eleven. International arrivals take the free shuttle bus to the domestic terminal for the subway, about ten minutes. From Tokyo the shinkansen is about five hours; from Osaka about two and a half. From Busan, Camellia Line's ferry docks at Hakata Port International Terminal, a short bus or taxi ride from the station.
What a day costs
About ¥7,000 to ¥10,000 a day per person for meals, museum tickets and trains. Dazaifu day adds the ¥2,800 pass or about ¥1,000 in fares; a mizutaki dinner adds ¥5,000 a head.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- The airport is two subway stops from Hakata Station, about five minutes. From the international terminal take the free shuttle to the domestic terminal first; the subway is under that one.
- Buy the Fukuoka Tourist City Pass only on Dazaifu day (¥2,800 with the Nishitetsu train); in the city an IC card and your feet are cheaper.
- Yatai are cash and small. Carry ¥1,000 notes, order a drink first, and leave when you have eaten so the next people can sit.
- Nanzoin is a place of prayer, so dress modestly and keep tattoos covered. Bring a long sleeve.
- Museums close Mondays and the Asian Art Museum closes Wednesdays. Waystop's hours check will flag either museum if you drop it on its closed day.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Can we swap Nanzoin for Itoshima on day 3 and work out the bus times?Which yatai are open on a Sunday night?One of us doesn't eat pork, what can we order at Hakata Issou?Is the Dazaifu City Pass worth it for two people?What should day 2 look like if it rains?
Questions
Is three days enough for Fukuoka?
Yes. The city itself is a day and a half of sights and a lot of eating; Dazaifu and Nanzoin fill the rest. A fourth day buys Yanagawa's canals or a shinkansen to Nagasaki or Kumamoto.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 1: Canal City, the folk museum and the Asian Art Museum are indoors, and the yatai pull plastic sheets down and keep serving. Kyushu National Museum on day 2 is also a good wet afternoon.
Can I take the ferry on to Busan?
Yes, but only on Camellia Line's New Camellia now; JR Kyushu's fast Queen Beetle was withdrawn and sold in 2025. The day sailing leaves Hakata Port around 12:30 p.m. and takes about six hours; the return runs overnight. From ¥15,000 one way plus about ¥4,900 of fuel surcharge, departure tax and terminal fee from the Hakata side, revised October 1, 2026.
Is the Dazaifu temporary hall still there?
Probably not for long. The restored main hall was unveiled in May 2026 and the Sou Fujimoto hall with trees on its roof was planned to be dismantled afterward, so check the shrine's site for what is open when you go.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Fukuoka. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.