Fukuoka City: Dec 29-30. 2018

I visited Fukuoka City in northern Kyushu. The city has about 1.6 million people, the 6th largest population in Japan and the biggest in Kyushu.

It has been a gateway between Japan and Asian countries for thousands of years.

Tenjin is the busiest commercial and business district of the city. Large shopping malls as well as office buildings stand in the area.

Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) station locates in the center of the area.

Underground shipping areas have also been developed. The design is chic.

Nakasu is another busy shopping and entertainment area. It is on an island in the Nakagawa River.

There stands a huge commercial complex on JR Hakata Station.

The ruin of Fukuoka Castle locates in the western part of central Fukuoka.

There were two separate towns – Fukuoka in the western part and Hakata in the eastern part of the area – in the Edo era. Bushi or soldiers lived in the former and merchants lived in the latter. The two towns merged into Fukuoka City in the Meiji period.

The developments of the bay area are accelerating. I visited Yafuoku baseball dome. There are commercial complex facilities near the dome. The construction of residential apartment is underway, I found.

I saw many foreign tourists, including Chinese and Koreans, in the city. There were about 3 million foreign tourists arrived in Fukuoka in 2017, according to the city. The number increased by 3.7 times in 5 years.

The traffic and other signs are written in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. I saw the occasions that drug store stuff attracting Chinese tourists.

The area has been a gateway between Japan and Asia from the ancient era. Small countries in ancient Japan brought tributes to Chinese dynasties, including Later Han dynasty (1st-early 3rd century) and Wei dynasty (3^rd century). The exchanges were made through northern Kyushu. A gold seal was presented from Han emperor to a king of small country in Fukuoka area in the 1^st century. The seal was found in the 18^th century in a small island near the city.

Many Korean people came to Japan through Kyushu between 4^th and 7^th century through northern Kyushu. Japan joined the Battle of Baekgangsent in the Southwest part of Korean Peninsula in 663. The ships were sent from northern Kyushu.

The area received two waves of raids by the Yuan dynasty of China (under Mongolian rule) in the 13^th century. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent troops to Korean Peninsula in the 16^th century. The defense walls against the raids remain in some part of the city.

Now the city is connected with Busan of South Korea, Shanghai of China and other cities in Asia by ship. There are many flights from Fukuoka to foreign cities. The airport locates quite near from the central city.

They enjoy good foods. There are many open-air food stalls in the city.