Fukuoka City

Introduction
Wrap your hands around a steaming bowl of r ā men before partying the night away. The biggest city in Kyūshū , cosmopolitan Fukuoka is renowned for its nightlife and culinary scene. One dish in particular reigns supreme - rāmen - noodles in a distinctive, whitish broth made from pork bones: slurping sounds emanate from the 400-plus r ā men shops and numerous yatai (food stalls).

Fukuoka-ites are reputedly hard drinkers and outstandingly friendly. The city is full of clubs and bars, and it's often possible to drink for free much of the night in exchange for on-the-spot English practice. Oddly, Friday nights can be kind of dead, as many people work six days a week.

JR Hakata station is the transport centre for the city and is surrounded by hotels. Tenjin is the business and shopping centre - its focus is along Watanabe-dōri. Underneath this busy street is Tenjin Chikagai, a crowded underground shopping mall that extends for 400m (1312ft). The Tenjin bus centre is close to the terminus of the private Nishitetsu Ō muta line. Separating Hakata and Tenjin to the west is the Naka-gawa, site of the impressive Canal City and the island of Nakasu, the entertainment centre of the city. It's a maze of restaurants, strip clubs, hostess bars, cinemas, department stores and the famed yatai (food stalls).

Destination Facts
Time zone: GMT +9
Area: 6668
Coordinates: 33.583 latitude and 130.400 longitude
Population: 2375000
Currency: Yen (¥)
Area codes: 092

Languages:
Set aside several years if you want to learn to read Japanese. Japan has one of the most complex writing systems in the world, using three different scripts (four if you include the increasingly used Roman script romaji). Fortunately, for visitors to Japan, it's not all bad news. Unlike other Asian languages, Japanese is not tonal and the pronunciation system is fairly easy to master. In fact, with a little effort, getting together a repertoire of travellers' phrases should be no trouble - the only problem will be understanding what people say back to you.

Getting there and away
Fukuoka/Hakata is a major international gateway with flights to and from many major cities in Japan, Asia and even Honolulu. ANA and JAL are the two most common carriers, and both have offices here. Cathay Pacific offers flights into Fukuoka via Hong Kong. Japan's only independent cut-price carrier, Skymark, has daily flights to Tokyo's Haneda airport.Ferry services from Fukuoka/Hakata connect to Okinawa and other islands off Ky ū sh ū . An international high-speed hydrofoil service called Biitoru run by JR Ky ū sh ū connects the city with Pusan in Korea. The Camellia line has a regular ferry service to Pusan.Long-distance buses depart from the K ō ts ū bus centre near JR Hakata Station and also from the Tenjin bus centre. Destinations include Tokyo (14.5hrs), Osaka (9.5hrs), Nagoya (11hrs) and many other places around Ky ū sh ū .JR Hakata station is currently the western terminus of the 1175km (730mi)-long Tokyo-Osaka-Hakata shinkansen (bullet train), with services to/from Tokyo (5-6hrs), Osaka (2.5-3hrs) and Hiroshima (1-2hrs).JR lines also fan out from Fukuoka/Hakata to other parts of Kyūshū .

Getting around
City bus services operate from the Kōtsū bus centre in Hakata and the Tenjin bus centre. There are two subway lines in Fukuoka/ Hakata. The Kūkō (airport) line runs from Fukuoka domestic airport terminal to Meinohama station via Hakata, Nakasu-Kawabata and Tenjin stations. The Hakozaki line runs from Nakasu-Kawabata station to Kaizuka. Trains stop running around midnight.

Weather
The island of Kyūshū experiences extreme temperatures that vary tremendously from season to season. In the winter, it can still be quite cold, near freezing at night, and many of the mountains retain their snow caps for much of the year. During the rainy season it is inundated with heavy, often torrential rain. Summer is hot and oppressively humid, and autumn regularly brings typhoons. Landslides are a common problem in less built-up areas due to deforestation, logging, earthquakes, and rain. Travellers to Fukuoka should bring layers and a waterproof rain shell, as it is often too windy to use an umbrella.