Fukuoka Life and Visitor Travel Tips

(Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan)

The Fukuoka Prefecture is vast and in total, this region has a population of more than five million, with both the cities of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu each being home to over one million inhabitants and amongst Japan's biggest. Fukuoka has long been the most important city in the Kyushu region and contains plenty of sights to see and things to do, including a number of prominent sports stadiums, concert halls and even an impressive local baseball team, known locally as the Softbank Fukuoka Hawks.

Visitors staying in Fukuoka are advised to search out the local English-language magazine 'Fukuoka Now', which is a monthly guide to everything that is happening in the city and is available at the main tourist offices. Other useful publications include 'Rainbow', an events newsletter published by the Fukuoka International Association, and also 'Fukuoka on Foot', where a number of walking trails around the city are described in detail.


Life in Fukuoka varies greatly, with many of the locals being heavily involved with the tourism industry and public transportation, in one way or another. Of particular interest, the Shinkansen Bullet train regularly travels between Morioka and Fukuoka, and has become a famous sight within the city. Here are some travel tips about life in Fukuoka.

Useful Contact Details

The main tourist information centre in Fukuoka can be found at the JR Hakata Station and is open on a daily basis, between 08:00 to 20:00. This branch does contain some English information and maps of the city. More importantly, the tourist information centre is where you will find the free 'Fukuoka Welcome Card', which enables tourists to obtain good discounts at many of the city's hotels, tourist attractions, shopping centres and even restaurants. Further tourist offices are situated on the lower floor of the main international terminal at Fukuoka Airport, and also at the following locations.

ACROS Fukuoka
Address: 2nd Floor, Cultural Centre, Tenjin 1-1-1, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 725 9100
Open hours: 10:00 to 19:00, closed on the second and fourth Monday every month

Rainbow Plaza (Fukuoka International Association)
Address: 8th Floor, IMS Building, 1-7-11 Tenjin, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 733 2220
Open hours: daily, 10:00 to 20:00

HIS No. 1 Travel Agency
Address: Tenjin 1-1-1, Fukuoka, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 092 761 9203
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 11:00 to 16:30

Language and Dialect

Japanese is the spoken and written language in Fukuoka and across Japan. This is a complex language and a good Japanese phrasebook is strongly recommended. Useful Japanese phrases to use in Fukuoka are as follows:

Hello / Good afternoon - konnichiwa
What is your name? - o-namae wa nan desu ka?
My name is... - watashi wa... desu
How are you? - o-genki desu ka?
Fine - genki desu

Visa Information and Passports

In general, unless you are planning to work during your visit to Fukuoka, or stay for longer than six months, it is not necessary to obtain a visa prior to your arrival. Instead, you will automatically be issued a temporary visitors visa at the airport, known locally as 'tanki-taizai'.