Kyushu's largest city still evokes memories of Japan's early exchanges with neighboring nations Map of the Kyushu region Facing the Genkainada Sea and sitting in the middle of the semicircular Fukuoka Plain, Fukuoka is Kyushu's foremost city - the core of its political, economic and cultural activities. In the old days it was divided into two sections by the Nakagawa River: the east area called "Hakata" was a town inhabited by Hakata merchants while the west, "Fukuoka," served as a castle town for the feudal Kuroda family. In 1889, the areas were merged and Fukuoka City was born. The name Hakata still remains however, as the name of Fukuoka's main train station. The city fans out from Hakata station in a westward direction and Nakasu, between the Nakagawa and Hakatagawa Rivers, becomes a neon illuminated entertainment district at night. The business district on the opposite side of the Nakagawa River, the area also called Fukuoka, is lined with office buildings and restaurants and slightly further west lie the ruins of Fukuoka Castle. The moat of the castle has long since been redeveloped into a park named Ohori Park. In the past, the port city of Hakata served as one of the nation's few gateways for foreign culture because of its proximity to China and the Korean Peninsula. Further into the past, Yayoi period inhabitants flourished in and around the area - a fact evidenced by numerous historical remains and cultural relics being discovered. Today though Fukuoka is the home of skyscrapers, a "Seaside Area" facing Hakata Bay represents the city's most modern of districts with its artificial beach stretching along the coastline as contemporary office complexes that have appeared along the Hakatagawa River will transform the city's landscape in their own right for at least the next decade.

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Hakata Gion Yamakasa - Kushida Shrine and other places in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture - July 1st (Tue)-15th (Tue), 2008 Summer in Hakata starts with the Yamakasa as beautifully decorated kazari-yama (decorative floats) made by the masters of Hakata ningyo doll production are shown at different places around the city on July 1st. The origin of the Yamakasa festival dates back to the Kamakura period when, unlike now, 15m high decorated floats were also carried. Floats were divided into 2 types in the later Meiji era due to obstacles such as electric wires posing safety risks; one type being for kazariyama (display) and the other type for kakiyama (carrying). Even though the weight of one kakiyama float is around 1 ton, each float is successfully carried by teams of 300 men taking turns as the floats compete for the best time possible in covering a 5-km course. The climax of the festival is "Oiyama," which starts from 4.59am on the 15th and sees floats rushing around the town as they are incessantly bombarded with water and cheered on by ecstatic crowds on the streets. http://www.yokanavi.com/yamakasa/index (Japanese version only)

Yanagawa Kawakudari (boat tours) and Iris - Yangawa City, Fukuoka Prefecture - Late May - early June, 2008 Iris parks line the southern bank of the Yanagawa River along the route taken by the local boat tours; fitting in that the iris is the chosen city flower of Yanagawa City. As some 50,000 flowers from 50 different varieties reach full bloom from late May to early June, visitors enjoying the boat tours will more than appreciate the burst of color these irises add to the riverbank. http://www.yanagawa-net.com/ (Japanese version only)

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