{"id":91513,"date":"2016-09-28T16:47:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T07:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=feature&p=91513&lang=en"},"modified":"2018-01-15T16:59:04","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T07:59:04","slug":"hakata-trivia-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/hakata-trivia-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Hakata Trivia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hakata-triv-en\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hakata is full of hidden (and not so hidden) gems. Many remain undiscovered by the casual observer, but play a crucial role in telling the tale of the city\u2019s culture & history.<\/p>\n

1) Sumiyoshi Jinja Shrine – The Shrine to The God of Sumo<\/strong>
\n\"fact-1-sumo-shrine\"<\/p>\n

Of the three elements of Japan\u2019s national sport (heart, spirit and body), Sumiyoshi Jinja Shrine enshrines the \u201cspirit\u201d element. Special sumo ceremonies take place here each fall.<\/p>\n

2) Yoshitake Shoten – The Old School Cat Cafe<\/strong>
\n\"fact-3-cat-liquor-shop\"<\/p>\n

Yoshitake Shoten is a popular kakuuchi (liquor shop) where sake-lovers can enjoy sips of sake in the daytime with the friendly four-legged felines that hang out near the shop.<\/p>\n

3) Hakata Sennen no Mon – A Gate to Temple Town<\/strong>
\n\"fact-4-gate\"<\/p>\n

Enter through Sennen no Mon to see a microcosm of local history and culture. Inspired by the Edo period gate Tsuji no Douguchi Mon, Sennen no Mon was built in the architectural style of medieval Hakata.<\/p>\n

4) Taihaku-dori – Fukuoka’s Street-side Museum<\/strong>
\n\"fact-5-outdoor-museum\"<\/p>\n

Taihaku-dori is the huge avenue connecting Hakata Sta. to the port. It is lined with replicas and photographs of artifacts from the Yayoi period to the present. Open 24\/7, admission free!<\/p>\n

5) Ryuguji Temple – The Place Where a Mermaid Rests<\/strong>
\n\"fact-6-mermaid\"<\/p>\n

According to legend, in 1222 a mermaid drifted into Hakata Bay and was buried at Ryuguji Temple. Her bones have been preserved and can be viewed by appointment.<\/p>\n

6) Hakata-ori – The Five Special Colors of Hakata-ori<\/strong>
\n\"fn214-fact-2-hakata-ori\"<\/p>\n

Hakata-ori is one of the main textiles used to make obi (traditional belts). It comes in five traditional colors known as \u201cHakata-ori Goshoku Kenjo\u201d – as seen on Nishitetsu Buses!<\/p>\n

7) Tochoji Temple – Japan\u2019s Lucky (and large!) Wooden Buddha<\/strong>
\n\"fact-7-giant-buddha\"<\/p>\n

At 10.8m high and weighing 30t, Fukuoka\u2019s Great Buddha is Japan\u2019s largest wooden Buddha. The sculptor credits receiving a good luck omikuji (paper fortune) for its successful creation.<\/p>\n

———–<\/p>\n

More to come… stay tuned. <\/p>\n

———–
\nOriginally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn214<\/a>, Oct. 2016)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hakata is full of hidden (and not so hidden) gems. Many remain unnoticed by the casual observer, but play a crucial role in telling the tale of the city\u2019s culture & history. Delve into the world of Hakata Trivia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"91513","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","location-hakata","en-US"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/fn214-main-image.jpg?fit=4096%2C2713&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91513"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106398,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513\/revisions\/106398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}