Fukuoka

Stations worth a stop

• Hakata 博多

  Kuko LineNanakuma Line

  Hakata is Kyushu's main rail hub, where the Kuko and Nanakuma lines meet the Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen and JR lines. The station building, JR Hakata City, has shops, restaurants and a rooftop garden with views over the city.

• Fukuokakuko (Airport) 福岡空港

  Kuko Line

  Fukuokakuko (Airport) station is beneath the domestic terminal of Fukuoka Airport, two stops from Hakata. The airport is unusually close to the city centre, and the international terminal is reached by a free shuttle bus.

• Higashi-Hie 東比恵

  Kuko Line

  Higashi-Hie is the last stop before the airport, in an area of offices and warehouses close to the runway. It sits on the main road between Hakata Station and the airport.

• Gion 祇園

  Kuko Line

  Gion lies in Hakata's old temple quarter. Tochoji, with a large seated wooden Buddha, and Shofukuji, founded by the monk Eisai and regarded as Japan's first Zen temple, are both within about five minutes' walk.

• Nakasu-Kawabata 中洲川端

  Kuko LineHakozaki Line

  Nakasu-Kawabata, where the Kuko and Hakozaki lines meet, is at the northern tip of Nakasu, an island in the Naka River known for its nightlife and riverside yatai food stalls in the evening. The covered Kawabata shopping arcade leads south toward Kushida Shrine.

• Kushidajinja-mae 櫛田神社前

  Nanakuma Line

  Kushidajinja-mae opened in 2023 on the Nanakuma Line extension to Hakata. It is close to Kushida Shrine, the guardian shrine of Hakata and starting point of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival in July, and to the Canal City Hakata shopping complex.

• Tenjin 天神

  Kuko Line

  Tenjin is Fukuoka's central shopping and business district, served by the Kuko Line and linked to the Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) terminal. Tenjin Chikagai, a long underground shopping street with a European-style interior, connects the area's department stores and the Nanakuma Line's Tenjin-minami station.

• Tenjin-minami 天神南

  Nanakuma Line

  Tenjin-minami is the Nanakuma Line's station for the Tenjin district, at the southern end of the Tenjin Chikagai underground mall. Transfers to the Kuko Line at Tenjin involve a walk of several minutes through the underground passages.

• Akasaka 赤坂

  Kuko Line

  Akasaka is just west of Tenjin, near the zelkova-lined Keyaki-dori with its small shops and cafes. Maizuru Park and the ruins of Fukuoka Castle are about ten minutes' walk west.

• Ohorikoen 大濠公園

  Kuko Line

  Ohorikoen is the station for Ohori Park, built around a large pond that was once part of the moat of Fukuoka Castle, with a walking path around its shore. The Fukuoka Art Museum and a Japanese garden are on the southern side of the park.

• Tojinmachi 唐人町

  Kuko Line

  Tojinmachi is the nearest station to Fukuoka PayPay Dome, home of the SoftBank Hawks baseball team, about fifteen minutes' walk north. A traditional covered shopping street runs beside the station.

• Nishijin 西新

  Kuko Line

  Nishijin is a lively district of shops and student housing around Seinan Gakuin University, with a long shopping street running north from the station. Fukuoka Tower and the Momochi seaside area are about twenty minutes' walk to the north.

• Meinohama 姪浜

  Kuko Line

  Meinohama is the western terminus of the Kuko Line, where many trains continue onto the JR Chikuhi Line toward Karatsu. Ferries to Nokonoshima island leave from the Meinohama ferry terminal, a short bus ride from the station.

• Gofukumachi 呉服町

  Hakozaki Line

  Gofukumachi is an office district in the old merchant town of Hakata, between Hakata Station and the port. Shofukuji and the other temples of old Hakata are a short walk south.

• Chiyo-Kenchoguchi 千代県庁口

  Hakozaki Line

  Chiyo-Kenchoguchi is the station for the Fukuoka Prefectural Government offices. Higashi Park beside them has large statues of the monk Nichiren and Emperor Kameyama, recalling the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century.

• Maidashi-Kyudaibyoinmae 馬出九大病院前

  Hakozaki Line

  Maidashi-Kyudaibyoinmae serves the Kyushu University Hospital, one of the largest medical centres in Kyushu, together with the university's medical campus. The hospital entrance is a short walk from the station.

• Hakozakimiyamae 箱崎宮前

  Hakozaki Line

  Hakozakimiyamae is the station for Hakozaki-gu, one of the principal Hachiman shrines in Japan. Its gate bears a large plaque with the words 'surrender of the enemy', linked to the Mongol invasions, and the Hojoya festival is held here every September.

• Hakozaki-Kyudaimae 箱崎九大前

  Hakozaki Line

  Hakozaki-Kyudaimae is named after Kyushu University's former Hakozaki campus, whose faculties have since moved to the new Ito campus in western Fukuoka. The surrounding area is mainly residential.

• Kaizuka 貝塚

  Hakozaki Line

  Kaizuka is the northern terminus of the Hakozaki Line, with a transfer to the Nishitetsu Kaizuka Line toward Shingu. Hakozaki Line trains run through onto the Kuko Line at Nakasu-Kawabata, so many continue toward Tenjin and Meinohama.

• Ropponmatsu 六本松

  Nanakuma Line

  Ropponmatsu occupies the former site of a Kyushu University campus, redeveloped with housing, a bookshop complex and the Fukuoka City Science Museum, which opened in 2017. Ohori Park is about fifteen minutes' walk to the north.

• Sakurazaka 桜坂

  Nanakuma Line

  Sakurazaka is on a hillside residential area south-west of Tenjin, with quiet streets of cafes and bakeries. The Fukuoka City Zoo and Botanical Garden in Minami Park is about fifteen minutes' walk uphill.

• Yakuin 薬院

  Nanakuma Line

  Yakuin is a transfer point between the Nanakuma Line and the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line. The surrounding neighbourhood is known for independent cafes, restaurants and interior shops.

• Watanabe-dori 渡辺通

  Nanakuma Line

  Watanabe-dori is on the avenue of the same name just south of Tenjin, with the Denki Building office complex directly above the station. The Haruyoshi area, with many small restaurants, lies to the east toward the Naka River.

• Fukudaimae 福大前

  Nanakuma Line

  Fukudaimae, short for Fukuoka Daigaku-mae, is the station for Fukuoka University, a large private university whose main campus and hospital adjoin the station. The surrounding streets are full of student apartments and inexpensive restaurants.

• Hashimoto 橋本

  Nanakuma Line

  Hashimoto is the western terminus of the Nanakuma Line in Nishi Ward, in a residential district near the Muromi River. A large shopping centre stands beside the station.