
Ports are not interchangeable. These are the things that happened here — and only here — told properly, then tied to what you can see, taste and book while your ship waits.

Why the city is called Fukuoka and the station is called Hakata
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Japan regulated its street stalls almost out of existence. This city refused.
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One tonne, five kilometres, at 4:59 in the morning
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An accident in 1937, and the vocabulary you need to order it right
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Two invasions landed on this bay, and the word kamikaze came from what stopped them
Read the story →Cruise seasons run spring to autumn, but the port changes underneath them. What each month actually offers — and the traps.
Kyushu flowers before the main islands. Comfortable everywhere.
The best month for Dazaifu and the coast together.
Long evenings, and the yatai are pleasant rather than sweltering.
Canal City and the covered arcades carry the day. Some yatai close.
Decorated floats across the city; the final race at 4:59am on the 15th.
Evening is the only comfortable half of the day. The yatai make sense of it.
Kyushu is exposed. Check the itinerary rather than assuming.
Warm days, cool evenings, and the yatai at their most pleasant.
Autumn colour at Dazaifu, and oden appears on the yatai counters.
Rarely freezes. Motsunabe and yatai oden are winter food and this is their season.
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