Fukuoka: Day 70 to 73

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April 12th 2024

Published: April 15th 2024

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WonderYears

Kushida Shrine

Kushida Shrine at Fukuoka

I headed to Fukuoka in the Kyushu region, western part of Japan.

As a child, in geography, when I read about regions of Japan, I only remembered Kyushu, maybe because it was a cute name. I had no idea that one day I will be traveling here.

Kyushu region has been the port of entry for both invaders and traders to Japan. And Fukuoka, the biggest city in the area has been at the forefront of this intermingling with the rest of the world.

Fukuoka is the 6th largest city in Japan, a port city and a city of canals.

One interesting bit is when the Mongols invaded Japan in 1274, they with a much larger force and an armada of 4,000 ships managed to push into only 15KM from Fukuoka. But then, out of nowhere came a typhoon that wiped out the invading armada. And the Japanese call that divine wind "Kamikaze". So to the Japanese, Kamikaze is a positive word, means a lucky break from a difficult situation, not Kamikaze as we know it (as suicide attacks by Japanese airplanes in World War II). Language also many times depends on perspective.

On the first

Maizuru Park

Maizuru Park, Cherry Blossoms

day, I went to the Kushida Shrine, a Shinto Shrine in Hakata (Fukuoka and Hakata merged to become Fukuoka, but the station is still called Hakata).

And then I headed to the Maizuru Park, which is close to the Fukuoka Castle Ruins. The Cherry Blossoms were beginning to fall, but it was a beautiful site with a lovely sunset.

Fukuoka Castle Ruins, by the Naka river is a lovely walk and as I was there post sunset, I got to see the castle tower and surrounding Cherry Blossoms lit up.

I also explored Ohori Park, a small park with a beautiful lake.

Next day, in the morning, I explored the underground mall of Fukuoka and the Tochi Ji temple with its beautiful pagoda.

In the late morning, I headed to the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, a national park spread over 350 Hectares and 6KM long, surrounded by two seas, the Hakata Bay and Genkai Sea.

I had read that this was the season for Nemophilas and I was keen to see them. What I witnessed was a massive bloom of Nemophilas, Tulips, Gardenias and much more. The national park is massive and I spent nearly

Maizuru Park

half day exploring it. Because it's on the coast, this is the end of the line for local trains and the train that comes here has only 2 cars, so sometimes it gets crowded. But the spectacular national park was worth the effort.

The next day, I visited the Teamlabs Forest experience park.

TeamLab is an international art collective, an interdisciplinary group of artists. Formed in 2001 in Japan, the group consists of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects who refer to themselves as “ultra-technologists". It creates artworks using digital technology.

The Fukuoka experience included Forests and Ocean where you get to catch animals with your smartphone (and release them) and the more you catch, the more you learn about the animals including physical aspects, ecology and interactions with humans. The art feels so real that I saw children running to catch an animal or a fish with their hands.

The experience also had an Athletic Forest, that trains spatial awareness through unevenz interactive surfaces and digital art. It almost felt psychedelic and a lot of fun.

In Fukuoka, I hardly saw tourists. It's less visited, but has some really beautiful nature if