Art, gardens, the sea, remote islands. A greedy trip in Fukuoka that has it all, 3 days and 2 nights

A cultural day in the Tenjin and Hakata areas, visiting Fukuoka's major galleries, historic temples, shrines and teahouses

Mitsubishi Jisho Artium, Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Sumiyoshi Shrine, Rakusuien

Fukuoka is the largest city in Kyushu. The Tenjin/Hakata area in the center of the city is lined with various shopping facilities and offices, but it is also dotted with many tourist attractions. Mitsubishi Jisho Artium, located inside Tenjin I'ms, is like a pioneer of contemporary art galleries in Kyushu. Since opening together with I'ms in 1989, it has been showcasing artists from Japan and abroad. It is a place that can be enjoyed at any time, and is bustling with visitors from outside the prefecture as well as Fukuoka residents.

The Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, also located in Tenjin, Susaki Park, houses many works by artists with ties to Fukuoka. It is a must-see spot for learning about Fukuoka's art and local culture. There is also a cafe on-site, so why not stop by for a break during your stroll around Tenjin?

If you head towards Hakata from Tenjin, you should stop by Sumiyoshi Shrine, the Ichinomiya of Chikuzen Province. This shrine is thought to be the origin of the 2,129 Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan, and the main hall is a nationally designated important cultural property, while the sword and eleven bronze spears in its possession are prefecturally designated cultural properties. The main hall, built in the unique style known as "Sumiyoshi-zukuri," the oldest style in the history of shrine architecture, is definitely something you should visit.

If you walk north from Sumiyoshi Shrine for a few minutes, the Japanese garden Rakusuien will suddenly appear among the buildings.

Within the park, a villa built during the Meiji period by a Hakata merchant has been renovated, and a replica of the teahouse from that time, Rakusuian, has been restored on the premises. The garden blends in with the greenery of the four seasons in the middle of the city, and you can feel the elegance of the wealthy Hakata merchants of the time. In the evening, a typical course is to go to the Nakasu area and enjoy food from the food stalls. If you tell the stall owners that you're a tourist, they might be able to introduce you to some recommended spots. Such encounters are also part of the fun of traveling.

Beautiful beaches and the latest robots. A tour of the seaside Momochi area, home to many leisure and tourist attractions.

Seaside Momochi Beach, Robo Square

One of Fukuoka's greatest attractions is the beautiful beaches that are easily accessible from urban areas. Seaside Momochi Beach is about a 25-minute bus ride from Tenjin, or 45 minutes from Fukuoka Airport. This beach is a true oasis in Fukuoka, where you can spend a comfortable time on the well-maintained seaside. In addition, music festivals and various other events are held in the Jigyohama area on the east side of the park, so we recommend checking it out before you go to bed.

Located behind Fukuoka Tower, not far from Seaside Momochi Beach, is Robosquare, a robot experience space. Fukuoka City is also a technology-promoting city that is working with Kitakyushu City to develop robots as a "Robot Development and Demonstration Experiment Special Zone."

The appeal of this facility is that, as the name suggests, it has a wide variety of robots that you can actually touch and experience. There are many visitors with children, but adults seem to enjoy it as well. The surrounding area is home to major tourist attractions such as Fukuoka Tower and Yahoo! Auctions Dome, symbols of Fukuoka, so after enjoying your time at the beach, it is recommended that you explore the surrounding area.

A remote island and park rich in nature. Nokonoshima and Ohori Park area, where you can relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the four seasons

Nokonoshima Island Park, Ohori Park Japanese Garden

After actively enjoying sightseeing on the first and second days, why not spend some time relaxing in a place surrounded by nature? Nokonoshima is a small remote island that can be reached by ferry from Meinohama Ferry Terminal at Meinohama Station, two stations away from Nishijin Station, the closest station to Momochi Seaside Beach. The ferry takes about 10 minutes and costs 230 yen, making it a daily means of transportation for the people who live on the island.

The island, which is about 12km in circumference, is filled with seasonal flowers and the beauty of the sea, and Nokonoshima Island Park, which opened in 1969, is particularly famous as a famous flower spot in Fukuoka. You can enjoy flowers of every season, such as rapeseed fields in spring, sunflowers in summer, cosmos in autumn, and daffodils in winter, so it is recommended to return in different seasons. Noco Nico Cafe, located right in front of the ferry terminal, is like the face of Nokonoshima. Why not spend some time in nature and take a break at a cafe?

On the way back to Tenjin from Meinohama, we recommend stopping by Ohori Park. The adjacent Ohori Park Japanese Garden is a stroll-style garden with a hill, forest and spring that combines traditional gardening techniques with modernity.

There are many things to see in the 12,000 square meter garden, including the large pond and artificial hill garden, the meandering stream, the dry landscape garden, and the teahouse built in the Sukiya style. This garden is also close to the city center and has an attractive natural environment. The garden has 40 types of plants and 25,000 undergrowth plants, and from spring to early summer, you can enjoy the beauty of the plants in each season, such as the green of summer, the red leaves of autumn, and the pine trees of winter.

For those who want to continue sightseeing, we recommend visiting the ruins of Fukuoka Castle, an important cultural property, and the Korokan Ruins Exhibition Hall, a guest house built in 700 to welcome foreign envoys, both within walking distance.

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JAL Kyushu Support Project "Let's go to Kyushu!"

When you purchase the "Let's Go! Kyushu" plan, the JAL Group will donate a portion of its profits (500 yen per person) to the Kumamoto Castle, Aso Shrine, and Other Disaster-Affected Cultural Properties Reconstruction Support Committee as a donation to support the reconstruction of Kumamoto Castle and Aso Shrine.

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