Hakata Culture: Strolling through Daimyo

I decided to write about the Daimyo district when I heard that this month’s issue would focus on Daimyo fashion. After all, I wrote about the Daimyo community for my master’s thesis, so I know a bit about the subject. Still, that was five years ago, in 2003. In those days, young people used to flock to the Daimyo district. So many people from throughout Kyushu were there on weekends it was as if they were holding a festival. In the five years since then, a lot of vacant lots have appeared as shops and buildings have closed their doors. It’s becom... More...

Hakata Culture: Geisha to Grace Hakata-za's Stage

The Japanese term for the office in which geisha are hired is kenban. These offices are located all over the country, but the recent decline in the number of geisha has resulted in fewer requests for their services. The first kenban in Hakata opened in 1889, and by the early 20th century there were five of them here. During this heyday there were over 2,000 registered geisha in Hakata, but now there are only 21, ranging in age from their teens to their 80s. The work of a geisha involves more than just appearing at private parties. The year ... More...

Hakata Culture: Sadaharu Oh – Oh-tsukaresamadeshita!

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh broke into the Japanese major leagues with the Yomiuri Tokyo Giants in 1959 and retired as a player in 1980 after hitting 868 home runs. The kanji for his last name is truly fitting: it means “king”, and he is known throughout the world as a king among players. Oh went on to manage the Giants, and he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1994. That same year, Rikuo Nemoto, the Hawks’ manager at the time, proposed that Oh be his successor. I’ve heard that Oh struggled with the decision to live in Fukuoka a... More...

Hakata Culture: Fielding Foreign Tourists' Questions

The number of overseas travelers visiting Fukuoka is soaring. In 2007, 719,970 people came from abroad through Fukuoka Airport or Hakata Port to visit the city. This is an increase of 15% from the previous year, continuing a four-year trend of double-digit growth. Over those four years, the number of foreign tourists has roughly doubled from a total of 365,151 in 2003. Particularly worthy of note is the rise in the number of South Korean tourists. To deal with the heavy influx, Fukuoka City opened a call center service providing tourism informati... More...

Hakata Culture: Background on Fukuoka's Asian Month

Residents of Fukuoka understand just how close we are to other Asian cities. Travelers from Fukuoka can fly to Shanghai in roughly the same amount of time it takes to Tokyo, and Seoul and Osaka are almost equidistant. That’s why I use my mileage points to visit Asian cities rather than domestic destinations. High-speed jet foils sail daily to Busan in South Korea, which signed a sister city agreement with Fukuoka City in February 2007. Fukuoka's geographical proximity to the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland have allowed the city to long ... More...

Hakata Culture: Asian Tourists Present Opportunities and Challenges

Overseas tourists are visiting Fukuoka in increasing numbers every year. Fukuoka Airport now has 17 regularly scheduled international routes with 316 flights a week. These air routes link us to 16 cities overseas, primarily in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Including Japanese, a total of approximately 2.2 million travelers used the airport in the 2006 business year. Furthermore, in 2007 about 844,000 travelers, both Japanese and foreign, used the Port of Hakata terminal to board ferries and high-speed jetfoils to Busan, South Kor... More...

Hakata Culture: Shudan Yamamise - Expanding Yamakasa's Appeal

The Shudan Yamamise (Group Festival Float Display), which starts every year at 3:30 pm on July 13, is the only event in which the floats for the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival are moved outside the Hakata area, the merchants’ district, to the Fukuoka area, where the daimyo’s castle was once located. Shudan Yamamise began in 1962 at the request of Fukuoka City, whose mayor at the time was Genzo Abe. He wanted to create an opportunity for more residents and tourists to enjoy Yamakasa. The race starts at an intersection in Gofuku-machi, Hakata Wa... More...

Hakata Culture: "Kirei-na" Keyaki-dori

Which is Fukuoka's most beautiful street? If local residents were asked that question, more than half would likely answer Keyaki-dori in Akasaka. Located near the Fukuoka Now editorial offices, the street is known to local residents as Akasaka Keyaki-dori, but it is technically part of National Highway 202. It runs for about 800 meters from the Gokoku Shinto shrine to the Kego-yotsukado intersection. In addition, part of the street is known as the “Kokutai road” because it was built when Fukuoka hosted the National Sports Festival in 1948. As... More...

Hakata Culture: Fukuoka Castle - Behind The Walls

Fukuoka residents don’t think twice about it, but there are actually two names for Fukuoka City. The locals don’t seem to make a clear distinction between the names Fukuoka and Hakata, but the Hakata name is well known among people outside of Fukuoka, and particularly among those outside of Kyushu. Nevertheless, the Fukuoka name was first used during the Edo period (1603-1868), and Fukuoka City became the official name during the Meiji period that followed. Therefore, the Hakata name has been used for a considerably longer period of time. The... More...

Hakata Culture: Avispa Fukuoka's Return to J1!

Avispa Fukuoka's Return to J1! The forerunner of Avispa Fukuoka, the city’s beloved soccer team, was the Fujieda Blux, a club from Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture. In 1993, the Fukuoka Junior Chamber and the Prefectural Soccer Association joined forces in an effort to attract a team to Fukuoka City through a petition drive. They were able to get about 500,000 signatures in just three months, and in 1994 the Fujieda team decided to move to Fukuoka City. The following year, the team was promoted to the J.League and they changed their name to ... More...

Hakata Culture: Fukuoka City: Where the Robots Roam

The Robocup event held in Fukuoka City in 2003 was the first spark for promoting efforts to foster robot-related industries in the area, and make the city “a town where people can interact with robots.” One of those efforts is Robosquare on the second floor of the TNC TV Building, next to the Marizon Fukuoka Tower in Sawara Ward. Did you know that Robosquare has 111 robots on permanent display, of which there are 41 different models? Some of these include Robovie-R, a robot for everyday use that can interact with humans; the Aibo, a dog-shap... More...

Hakata Culture: The Fish Heralding Spring’s Arrival

Several flora and fauna herald the approach of spring in Fukuoka. These include the plum blossoms in Dazaifu and the arrival of the black-headed gull at the Naka River and Ohori Park. Yet another is the fish known as the ice goby. Every year from February to the beginning of April, the fish swims from Hakata Bay to locations near the mouth of the Muromi River, which empties into Hakata Bay at the border between Atagohama in Nishi Ward and Momochihama in Sawara Ward, where it spawns. Another sign of spring is the sight of fishermen using fencing, ... More...

Hakata Culture: The Urban Landscape of Fukuoka City

Fukuoka City began fulfilling its function as Kyushu’s core city circa 1976. That year marked the start of intense retail competition in the Tenjin area, as the Tenjin Underground Shopping Mall and Tenjin Station on the Fukuoka Municipal Subway line both opened. The Tenjin Core building and what is now Vivre opened at the same time. Opening the Tenjin subway line resulted in a major shift in the flow of people in the central part of the city. The flow had formerly been along Meiji-dori on an east-west axis, but shifted to Watanabe-dori on a north... More...

Hakata Culture: Fukuoka’s Fabulous Fish Market

Fukuoka is famous throughout Japan for serving tasty seafood. Equally renowned is the Fukuoka Municipal Fish Market. Established in 1955, the market handles upwards of 130,000 tons of seafood annually, making it the fifth largest in the country. The city’s location on the Japan Sea enables the market to offer seafood caught throughout Japan, but there is also a substantial assortment of fish from China, South Korea, and other countries. The city’s fish market can offer such a maritime bounty because the area is both a production and consumption r... More...

Hakata Culture: A Local Legend

Have you heard of Otojiro Kawakami? Recently there has been a surge of interest in him. Born in the Tsumashoji district of Hakata Ward in 1864, at the end of the Shogunate, Kawakami was a Meiji period actor who toured the world. At the age of 14, he boarded a ship in the Port of Hakata, sailed to Osaka, and then walked to Tokyo. Kawakami became involved in anti-government activities and the Freedom and Peoples’ Rights movement, but left Tokyo after the government began cracking down in the 1880s. The progressive thinker Chomin Nakae suggested tha... More...

Hakata Culture: Shintencho Shopping Arcade: Established on October 15, 1945

A mere 30 years ago, the Tenjin shopping district consisted of only the Nishitetsu arcade, Iwataya Department Store, and Shintencho. Though the district wasn’t what it has become today, it was a wonderful childhood experience for me to visit Tenjin. I looked forward to meals with my family, shopping for clothes once or twice a year, and the raffle held just before Christmas. It was a delightful time. The events at Shintencho never failed to captivate me, including Santas zipping around on scooters and lucky draws for cows! During Dontaku, the Shi... More...

Hakata Culture: Did you know that udon, soba and manju all originated in Hakata?

The hottest season is at its peak, and the best thing to help cool you off and recharge may be a bowl of chilled noodles. Udon and soba are delicious and nutritious... but did you know that they both originated in Hakata? Jyotenji Temple, which was built in 1242 and is located in Hakata 1-chome, is where the famous Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival originated. A stone memorial that reads: 'Udon Soba Hassho no Chi'' (the place where udon and soba were first made) can be found. The monk Shoichikokushi (founder of Jyotenji Temple), upon returning fr... More...

Hakata Culture: Fukuoka Through the Lens

Have you ever had the urge to visit a city after seeing pictures of it? Or maybe you fell in love with a town during your visit? Perhaps you've wanted to see it from the same angles as you found while flipping through a glossy photo book? Did you fall in love with it as a visitor and then decide to re-locate there? Some readers may have had such experiences. Fukuoka City wants you to come back again, stay longer, and maybe even make it your home. Fukuoka City Hall has just published a picture book titled "Fukuoka's Face - Fukuoka Panorama." We ho... More...

Hakata Culture: Hakata-Te-Ippon

From the end of June, groups of men decked out in their finest Yamakasa happi start appearing around Hakata. Known as "Naga happi," these navy and white coats are a formal attire that can be worn on any occasion, from weddings to funerals, and even in the best of hotels. There are two things to keep in mind if you're thinking of living in this city or, more importantly, want to work for a company with roots in the region. Start familiarizing yourself with these two important local customs: the Hakata-Te-Ippon and the Hakata-Iwa-Uta. Te-Ippon ... More...

Hakata Culture: Love Earth Clean-up

June is "Clean-up Month" in Fukuoka Prefecture, with many environmental projects taking place. One of these is Love Earth Clean-up, an event which encourages members of the community to clean up public spaces. It's simple and fun volunteer work, and anyone can participate! Love Earth Clean-up is now held all over Japan, but did you know it originated in Fukuoka? It all began in June 1990, when a group of Fukuoka residents came together to clear local beaches of litter, dubbing their project "Clean The Beach." The "Club of Rome Conference," he... More...
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