Head over to Fukuoka City’s coast to find an endless variety of activities near Momochi Seaside Park—shopping at Hawks Town Mall, watching a baseball game, or playing with robots, just to name a few. Check out our top 5 picks below.
What We Cover:
Momochi Seaside Park
Momochi Seaside Park is 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) of artificial beach north of Fukuoka Tower and near many Fukuoka attractions, like museums, shopping centers, libraries, and Yafuoku Dome. The fact that it is “artificial” shouldn’t stop you from relaxing on its beautiful sand or wading in the clear water. The beach is line with restaurants and provides easy access for sports like volleyball, soccer, and jet skiing. From the shores of Momochi Seaside Park you can also see Uminonakamichi, Shika Island, and Nokono Island off the Hakata Bay. There is even a ferry port with direct connections to Uminonakamichi Seaside Park. It’s also a great place to grab a drink with a few friends, relax, and watch the sunset. At night, Momochi Seaside Park also acts as a great dating spot. You can hold hands and stroll along the beach with the Fukuoka Tower soaring in the backdrop and daze off in the city’s lights reflecting off the water.
Fukuoka Tower
Fukuoka Tower stands at 234 meters (767.7 feet) and is the tallest seaside tower in Japan. It was built in 1989 as part of the Asian Pacific Expo and is covered with 8,000 half-mirrors. You can take a one-minute elevator ride up 123 meters (403.5 feet) to reach the observation room where you are able to observe a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and islands, Fukuoka City, and Hakata Bay. The city view is especially magnificent on clear nights when you can see all of Fukuoka City glowing from the city’s lights. The tower itself also provides a great illumination that changes with each season or special event.
As with Momochi Seaside Park, it’s also a great spot for romantic couples. Not only is there a sparkling night view of Fukuoka City, but on the third level of the observation room there is also the Lovers Sanctuary. Here you can vow your eternal love with the heart-shaped locket fastened to the sanctuary’s fence that lines the tower’s windows. Lovers Sanctuary also provides a great photo op under a heart-shaped flower arch for lovers.
Hawks Town Mall
Hawks Town Mall is a shopping center located in Chuo Ward next to Yafuoku Dome. The mall is only a subsection of Hawks Town, which also includes Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk Hotel and Yafuoku Dome. On days without events at Yafuoku Dome, the mall can be relatively quiet and without massive crowds or long lines. Some of the shops at Hawks Town Mall are Adidas Performance Center, Nike Factory Store, and various souvenir shops focusing on Fukuoka’s cherished baseball team, the SoftBank Hawks.
With many restaurants and entertainment attractions to pass your time, Hawks Town Mall is not limited to shopping. There is a movie theater featuring Western films, as well as newly released Japanese motion pictures; Zepp Fukuoka concert hall that hosts some of today’s hottest Japanese bands; Namco Wonder Park featuring virtual batting cages, among other sports activities; Trick Art Museum, which is a hands-on art museum that creates the illusion that the depicted objects exist, but are really just two-dimensional paintings; and Kyushu’s only Hard Rock Café, for when you’re craving something familiar.
Yafuoku Dome
Yafuoku Dome is a baseball stadium that’s home to the 2014 Japan Series champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The stadium was built in 1993, sits almost 40,000 fans, and is Japan’s first stadium with a retractable roof. The stadium also has a guided tour available where you can explore the back stage, the baseball field, backup rooms, locker rooms, and dugouts. Japanese baseball is a lot like European soccer in the sense that the fans are wild, chants and songs are endless, and loud instruments are played from the stadium’s cheering section. It’s definitely more exciting atmosphere than watching the American counterpart. If you’ve never been to a Japanese baseball game, why not make the 2014 Japanese champs your first?
Yafuoku Dome is also used for other events like conventions and arena concerts. Perhaps even more interesting than housing crazy Japanese baseball fans, the stadium was used in the 1995 Japanese sci-fi B-film Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe to capture the crazy Gyaos birds attacking local villagers. Gamera, the giant mutant turtle, rose out of Hakata Bay demolishing the dome’s retractable roof. Okay, so maybe that didn’t happen in real life, but at least you can impress your friends with your extensive knowledge of Japanese cult classic cinema.
RoboSquare Fukuoka
Japan is recognized throughout the world as the frontrunners for the advancement of robot technology. From lifelike human robots, to cute robotic mascot characters, Japan has led the charge for robotic engineering. RoboSquare Fukuoka is an exhibition facility that displays a variety of robots, and educates the public on robotics and the possible coexistence between human and humanoid. RoboSquare has three goals outlined in their mission: 1) increasing familiarity with robots, 2) being an education facility for inquiring minds, and 3) actually being involved in the production of robots.
The facility itself isn’t very large, but this shouldn’t matter as there is no admission fee to enter and the exhibited robots are definitely worth the 30 minutes of your time. There are approximately 200 robots and 70 different types that reside at RoboSquare. The staff is friendly, bilingual, and eager to help you operate the robot of your choice. There are also robot performance shows that are held every day between 1100 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
If the weather isn’t cooperating for beach activities, we suggest heading over to Canal City, which offers plenty of things to do on cold, rainy days.
