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Kyushu's largest city still evokes memories of Japan's early exchanges with neighboring nations |
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Map of Kyushu area
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Facing the Genkainada Sea and sitting in the middle of the semicircular Fukuoka Plain, Fukuoka is the island of Kyushu's foremost city and the core of its political, economic and cultural activities.
In the old days it was divided by the Nakagawa River into two sections: the east, called "Hakata," was a town inhabited by Hakata merchants; the west, "Fukuoka," served as the castle town of the feudal Kuroda family. In 1889, they were merged into one and became Fukuoka City. The name of Hakata however, still remains as the name of Fukuoka's main train station.
The city fans out from Hakata station in a westward direction. Nakasu between the Nakagawa and Hakatagawa Rivers transforms into a neon-glittering entertainment district at night. The business district on the opposite side of the Nakagawa River, the area also called Fukuoka, is lined with office buildings and restaurants, and further west lie the ruins of Fukuoka Castle. The moat of the castle has been redeveloped into a park named Ohori Park.
In the past, the port city of Hakata served as the gateway for foreign culture to flow into the country because of its proximity to China and the Korean Peninsula. Yayoi period culture flourished here long before that, the proof of which are numerous historical remains and cultural relics scattered around the area.
Yet today, Fukuoka is the home to skyscrapers. The "Seaside Area" facing Hakata Bay, in particular, has undergone rapid development as the city's most modern of districts, with an artificial beach stretching along the coastline. Contemporary office complexes have also sprung up along the Hakatagawa River, transforming the city's landscape.
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