Fukuoka (福岡市 Fukuoka-shi) is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.  Voted number 16 in 2009's poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting.  It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by Kitakyushu City (北九州市).  It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Osaka.  The city was designated on April 1, 1972 by government ordinance (政令指定都市).  Greater Fukuoka (福岡都市圏) with 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka-Kitakyushu zone, as well as Northern Kyushu.
  Fukuoka (the area of Kashii [香椎], Hakata, Sawara [早良] and Imazu [今津]) 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-Jomon settlements in Japan.  Dazaifu was an administrative capital in 663 A.D., but a historian proposed that a prehistoric capital was in the area.  Ancient texts such as the Kojiki [『古事記』; the Record of Ancient Matters] 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.
  Fukuoka's Hakata Bay (博多湾) is Japan's gateway to Korea and China.  Gateways, of course, attract interest; after having conquered and terrorized Asia, the great Mongol Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire turned his attention towards Japan starting in 1268, exerting a new external pressure on Japan with which it had no experience.  Kublai Khan first sent an envoy to Japan to make Shogunate Government acknowledge Khan's suzerainty.  The Kamakura Shogunate refused.  Mongolia repeatedly sent envoys thereafter, each time urging the Shogunate to accept their proposal, but to no avail. In 1274 Kublai Khan mounted an invasion of the northern part of Kyushu with a fleet of 900 ships and 33,000 troops, which included troops from the Goryeo Dynasty (高麗王朝) on the Korean Peninsula.  This first invasion was compromised by a combination of incompetence and storms.  After the first invasion of 1274, Japanese samurai built a stone barrier 20 kilometers in length bordering the coast of Hakata Bay in what is now Fukuoka City.  The wall, between 2-3 meters in height and having a base width of 3 meters, was constructed between 1276 and 1277 and was excavated again in the 1930s.  Kublai sent another envoy to Japan in 1279.  At that time, Tokimune Hojo (北条時宗, 1251-1284) of the Hojo clan [北条氏] was the Eighth Regent (八代執権).  Not only did he decline the offer, but he beheaded the five Mongolian emissaries after summoning them to Kamakura.  Infuriated, Kublai made another attack on Fukuoka Prefecture in 1281, mobilizing 140,000 soldiers and 4,000 ships.  The Japanese defenders, numbering around 40,000, were no match for the Mongols and the invasion force made it as far as Dazaifu, 15 kilometers south of the city of Fukuoka.  However, the Japanese were aided by another typhoon which struck a crushing blow to the Mongolian troops, and the invasion was thwarted.  It was this typhoon that came to be called the Kamikaze (Divine Wind).
  Fukuoka was formerly the residence of the powerful daimyo of Chikuzen Province (筑前の国), and played an important part in the medieval history of Japan. The renowned temple of Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川家康) in the district was destroyed by fire during the Boshin War (戊辰戦争) 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 (黒田長政), 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 (天神).  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 (博多駅), and dialect, Hakata-ben (博多弁).  (Referred to the site of "Wikipedia.")
  

IMAGE	IMAGE NO.	DATA
JR Fukuoka Station		JR Fukuoka Station (JR福岡駅)
	ffo2010-002	(Saturday 20 March) JR Fukuoka Station
Anchor Hotel Hakata		Anchor Hotel Hakata (アンカーホテル博多) is located at 1-4-6 Hakata-Eki-Minami, Hakata-ku, Hakata City (福岡市博多区博多駅南1-4-6): 7 minutes' walk from JR Hakata Station.  It is a very good hotel with its location and the price.
	ffo2010-003	(Saturday 20 March) Anchor Hotel Hakata, 1-4-6 Hakata-Eki-Minami, Hakata-ku, Hakata City
	ffo2010-005	(Saturday 20 March) Anchor Hotel Hakata, 1-4-6 Hakata-Eki-Minami, Hakata-ku, Hakata City
Nagahama Ramen		Nagahama Ramen (長浜ラーメン)
	ffo2010-006	(Saturday 20 March) Road sign of "Nagahama"
	ffo2010-006	(Saturday 20 March) The original place of "Ganso-Nagahama-ya Ramen" Restaurant (元祖長浜屋ラーメン, 1952-2007), which suddenly closed on March 14, 2010.  The present original address is 2-5-19 Nagahama, Chuo-ku, Hakata City (福岡市中央区長浜 2-5-19): Their new restaurant will open in May 2010 near Hamanomachi Park (浜の町公園) within a walking distance from the original place.
	ffo2010-006	(Saturday 20 March) "Ganso-Nagahama-ke Ramen" (元祖長浜家ラーメン), which has run by a former cook of Ganso-Nagahama-ya Ramen" Restaurant since late November, 2009: located in the opposite site of the street: 2-7-10 Otemon, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市中央区大手門2-7-10).
	ffo2010-011	(Saturday 20 March) "Ganso-Nagahama-ke Ramen" (元祖長浜家ラーメン), 2-7-10 Otemon, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市中央区大手門2-7-10.
	ffo2010-013	(Saturday 20 March) "Ganso-Nagahama-ke Ramen" (元祖長浜家ラーメン), 2-7-10 Otemon, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市中央区大手門2-7-10.  In this restaurant, you do not have to tell your order to the staff: once you enter, one of them ask you your preference of the softness of noodles.  You can say, like, "bari-kata" (バリカタ; very hard), "kata" (カタ; hard), "yawa" (ヤワ; soft), "bari-yawa" (バリヤワ; very soft), etc.  The local people seem to prefer "bari-kata" or "kata."   If you like to have another ball of noodles, you can say, "Kaedama kudasai" (「替え玉ください」: Another ball of noodles, please).  The clerk will bring you another ball of noodles, and put it in the soup.  The "kaedama" is a unique system employed by all Hakata-Nagahama ramen restaurants.  The total price of my order (one ball of noodles with one "kaedama") is only 500 yen!  My big stomach is full of delicious ramen!
Ad for Hakata-Gion-Yamakasa		A poster of Hakata-Gion-Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠) at Tenjin Station (天神駅).  It is a very famous annual festival held in July.>  It has been held over 760 years here.
	ffo2010-014	(Saturday 20 March) A poster of Hakata-Gion-Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠) at Tenjin Station
Shiosai		Shiosai (シオサイ) is a tavern located at 2F Suzuki Bld. 1-1-17 Akasaka, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡県福岡市中央区赤坂1-1-17 鈴木ビル2F): 5 minutes' walk from Akasaka Station (赤坂駅) on the Underground Line.  Highly recommended.
	ffo2010-015	(Saturday 20 March) Shiosai, 2F Suzuki Bld. 1-1-17 Akasaka, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City: The lady from Kagoshima is the mistress of the tavern.
Nobunaga-honke		Tsukushi-guch Branch of Nobunaga-honke (信長本家筑紫口店) is a "motsu-nabe" restaurant near the Tsukushi-guchi exit of JR Fukuoka Station.  Their address is 45 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市博多区博多駅中央街45).      "Motsu-nabe" (もつ鍋) is a type of "nabemono" (鍋物) in Japanese cuisine, which is made from beef or pork offal.  A hot pot ("nabe") is filled with soup, prepared beef or pork offal and boiled for a while; cabbage and garlic chives are added.  The base soup is usually soy sauce with garlic and chili pepper, or miso.  Champon noodles are often put into the pot and boiled to complete the dish.  The offal used in "motsu-nabe" is mostly beef intestines, but various kinds of offal can be used.  Originally, "Motsu-nabe" was a Fukuoka dish, but some restaurants advanced into Tokyo in the 1990s, and it was made a boom by the mass media and became known nationwide.  (Main reference: the site of "Wikipedia")
	ffo2010-016	(Sunday 21 March) Tsukushi-guch Branch of Nobunaga-honke, 45 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
	ffo2010-017	(Sunday 21 March) "Motsu-nabe," Tsukushi-guch Branch of Nobunaga-honke, 45 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
Hakata Tetsunabe Honten		Hakata Tetsunabe Honten (博多鉄鍋本店) is located near the Tsukushi-guchi exit of JR Hakata Station.  Their address is 1F Nishi-Kokashita, 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市博多区博多駅中央街１-１西高架下1F).
	ffo2010-018	(Tuesday 23 March) Hakata Tetsunabe Honten, 1F Nishi-Kokashita, 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
	ffo2010-020	(Tuesday 23 March) "Motsu-nabe," Hakata Tetsunabe Honten, 1F Nishi-Kokashita, 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
Osshoi Ramen		Osshoi Ramen (おっしょいラーメン) is located near the Tsukushi-guchi ext of JR Hakata Station: 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City (福岡市博多区博多駅中央街１-１).   "Osshoi" is an encouraging shout uttered by male participants of Hakata Yamahasa Festival.  In the standard Japanese, it is "Wasshoi."
	ffo2010-021	(Tuesday 23 March) Osshoi Ramen, 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
	ffo2010-022	(Tuesday 23 March) "Kaku-ni Ramen" (角煮ラーメン, 780 yen), Osshoi Ramen, 1-1 Hakata-eki Chuo-gai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City

        

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