City Info
Japan | Fukuoka

Fukuoka is the capital of Fukuoka prefecture and the largest city on the island of Kyushu. Fukuoka is a modern city; most of its buildings are new. Historically, it was divided into Hakata and Fukuoka two separate cities divided by the central river, and the main railway station and port are still known as Hakata Station and Hakata Port. The city really has two centres: one in Hakata and one in Tenjin. While still a big modern city, it's not hard to get around. A subway connects most of the city's main attractions. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Osaka. Greater Fukuoka with 2.5 million people is part of the North Ky?sh? zone.

Fukuoka is said to be the oldest city in Japan, because it is the nearest city to China and Korea. The area around Fukuoka is among the oldest non-J?mon settlements in Japan. Dazaifu was an administrative capital in 663 A.D., but some saya prehistoric capital was in the area. Ancient texts such as the Kojiki and archaeology confirm this was a very critical place in the founding of Japan. Some scholars even go as far as to claim it was the first place outsiders and the Imperial Family set foot, but like many early Japan origin theories, it remains contested. Fukuoka is sometimes still referred to as Hakata, the central ward of the city.

Sky Dream Fukuoka, located in Fukuoka City's western ward, is one of the world's largest ferris wheels at a height of 120 meters. Fukuoka Castle located adjacent to Ohori Park features the remaining stone walls and ramparts left after a devastating fire during the upheaval of the Meiji Restoration. It has now been preserved along with some reconstructed prefabricate concrete towers constructed during the 1950s and 1960s, when there was a trend across Japan to rebuild damaged castles as tourist attractions. Ohori Park is also the location of one of Fukuoka City's major art galleries. There is a newly opened Kyushu National Museum in nearby Dazaifu. The Marine Park Uminonakamichi is located on a narrow cape on the northern side of the Bay of Hakata. The park has an amusement park, petting zoo, gardens, beaches, a hotel, and a large marine aquarium. For tourists from other parts of Japan, local foods such as mentaiko, Hakata ramen and motsunabe are associated with Fukuoka. Yatai (street stalls) serving ramen can be found in Tenjin and Nakasu most evenings.

Fukuoka was formerly the residence of the powerful daimyo of Chikuzen Province, and played an important part in the medieval history of Japan. The renowned temple of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the district was destroyed by fire during the Boshin war of 1868. The modern city was formed on April 1, 1889, with the merger of the former cities of Hakata and Fukuoka. Historically, Hakata was the port and merchant district, and was more associated with the area's culture and remains the main commercial area today. On the other hand, the Fukuoka area was home to many samurai, and its name has been used since Kuroda Nagamasa, the first daimyo of Chikuzen Province, named it after his birthplace in Okayama Prefecture and the "old Fukuoka" is the main shopping area and now called Tenjin. When Hakata and Fukuoka decided to merge, a meeting was held to decide the name for the new city. Hakata was initially chosen, but a group of samurai crashed the meeting and forced those present to choose Fukuoka as the name for the merged city. However, Hakata is still used to reference to the Hakata area of the city and, most famously, to refer to the city's train station, Hakata Station, and dialect, Hakata-ben.

As you can see there are many opportunities for internships-4U to arrange an internship for you in Fukuoka.