Make Fukuoka City Your ‘Detour Destination’ for 2025
Fukuoka City, Japan’s sixth largest city, is located in the southwest of the country and a five-hour Shinkansen ride from the capital. Cited in Expedia’s recent Unpack 25 – The Trends in Travel as the ideal ‘Detour Destination’* from Tokyo, it is steeped in history, has a highly regarded food culture which includes seafood, ramen, Amaou strawberries and a buzzing outdoor food scene, and organically blends natural and urban environments. Below are three reasons to add this ‘oasis in the city’ to your go-to list for the year ahead.
Mountain Outdoor Living
Make your base camp the Snow Peak YAKEI SUITE ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA which opened in April 2024. Located on Mt. Abura, the 12-room resort offers the best of both worlds with nature in abundance and sweeping views of the Fukuoka skyline – all just 30-minutes’ drive from the city centre. The resort is the vision of Japanese architect Makoto Tanjiri who designed three accommodation options that integrate the in- and outdoors. VILLAs sleep up to four people in two bedrooms and feature kitchen, dining area and wood stove as well as a private outdoor living space with glass-screened sauna. COTTAGEs offer breathtaking views, an outdoor living room, private sauna and cold bath. TENTs use a special ‘land cave’ tent custom-designed by Snow Peak and provide a glamping experience for up to six people. During the day guests can indulge their senses exploring the surrounding forest and mountain landscape, and in the evening enjoy an okamochi-style interactive dining experience by Chef Hiroki Yoshitake (awarded one Michelin-star in Paris) while taking in the panoramic night view of the Fukuoka skyline. Rooms start from £270 per night (check in 3pm, check out 11am).
Island Flower Power
Take a day trip to Nokonoshima Island in Hakata Bay. Just a ten-minute ferry ride from Fukuoka City harbour, a day trip here promises fishing, swimming, and hiking around the island which has a circumference of approximately 12km. From Nokonoshima Observation Deck (elevation 195 metres) visitors are rewarded with 360-degree views of the Bay, including city landmarks like the Fukuoka Tower. The north of the island is home to Nokonoshima Island Park which was established in 1969 by Kosaku Kubota as an antidote to urban expansion and a place where people could seek solace in nature close to downtown. It’s a famous flower spot with cherry blossom and rapeseed flowers in spring, cosmos in autumn, and camellias and a blanket of white oxalis in winter. The park is open Mon-Sat, 9am-5.30pm; Sunday and national holidays 9am-6.30pm (5.30pm in winter).
Coastal Park Life
Discover the flora and fauna of a national park located on a sandbank – Umi-no-Nakamichi Seaside Park. A 20-minute ferry from the city centre, the 350-hectare national park is surrounded by the two seas of Hakata Bay and the Genkai Sea. The best way to explore it is by bike following a 12km cycle path that winds through pine forests, through tunnels of cherry blossom and along the coastline. Along the way you can take in the ‘Eight Views of the Sea’ – photogenic spots that derive from a seven-character Chinese poem by Zen monk Tetsuan Dosho of Shofukuji Temple – including Flower Hill and ‘power spot’ Shigaumi Shrine. Accommodation options within the park include The Luigans Spa & Resort offering sweeping ocean-views and INN THE PARK Fukuoka which has unique dome-shaped glamping tents which light up at night. Diving, boat cruises and fishing trips are available from Umi-no-Nakamichi Marina & Tennis. The Park is open 9.30am to 5.30pm November through February, and 9.30am – 5pm March through October.
For more information about Fukuoka City visit www.gofukuoka.jp
-BreakingTravelNews
