Fukuoka, Japan Summary

A big, semi-industrial city at the southern end of the Shinkansen, FUKUOKA was, until recently, simply a place to negotiate as quickly as possible en route to Kyushu’s more picturesque regions. However, over the last few years it has established itself as western Japan’s major cultural centre and an important international gateway. Though not a huge place (just under 1.3 million people), the city combines tremendous vitality with a determination to make the rest of Japan sit up and take notice – already it claims the country’s biggest hotel, longest bar, largest cinema complex and most advanced baseball stadium. For the visitor this translates into a thoroughly modern city with all the energy and atmosphere of a Tokyo or Osaka, contained within manageable proportions.