Fukuoka

Fukuoka (福岡市) is a city in Japan. Fukuoka is the capital city of the Fukuoka Prefecture and is located within the northern part of Kyushu Island. The city is located in the middle of the crescent-shaped Fukuoka plain, facing the Genkai Sea and on the north are the Sefuri, Sangun and Inunaki mountains. The climate is very mild with an average temperature of 17 degrees Celsius. The population of this city is 1,409,535 with a total land mass of 240 square kilometers.

The key industries are claimed to be the wholesale and the retail business. The growth rate for these areas rank among the highest of the 13 major cities in Japan. Fukuoka City accounts for 50% of all transactions in Kyushu. The Fukuoka City's wholesale industry is valued at 17 trillion yen and ranks fourth among the 13 major cities in Japan. This cities industry focuses on tertiary industry, or in other words the service industry. There is little focus on Secondary industries and no focus on primary industries.

History

Many believe this city to be one of the oldest in Japan. It was founded as a city April 1, 1889. Some famous history follows this city from back in the 1200's. Kublai Khan ruled over the Mongol Empire and showed interest in conquering the area. He made several invasion attempts around 1274. After some harsh actions between the Hojo Tokimune beheaded five Mongolian emissaries and Kublai Khan sent another invasion force in 1281. He conquered the area and made it as far as Dazaifu. The Mongols lost due to a typhoon which was later named Kamikaze.

In 1889 Hakata and Fukuoka merged to form this new city. The city was to be named Hakata, but a group of samurai ended the meeting forcing them to name it Fukuoka. The area is still referred to as the Hakata area despite the samurai's attempt. In 1945 this area was bombed, but sustained no major damage. Since then there have been airports open, zoos, subways, baseball teams and then in 2005 the Fukuoka city subway line started operation.

Points of Interest

The Fukuoka castle ruins are an interesting part of history. The feudal lord Nagamasa Kuroda spent seven years building this castle. The tower was composed of 47 turrets of different sizes, but had no main tower. The only parts of the castle remaining are the Otemon gate, Tamon turret and limited other areas. These are very popular for locals and tourist.

The Korokan Historical Museum is an official guest house from the Heian period that was found while the outfield stands of Heiwadai Baseball Stadium were being repaired in 1987. It offers a reproduction of the "shukubo" lodging of the time and shows Chinese porcelain and West Asian glass products of the 7th to 11th centuries. This shows the role this town took in international exchange long ago.

External Links

• Fukuoka Official Website (English)
• Fukuoka Official Website (Japanese)