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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. Ranked as the ...

Uncovering the Secrets of Fukuoka

Hajime Kimura for The New York Times

For the city's famous ramen, head for a yatai, or street cart.

By INGRID K. WILLIAMS

Published: August 24, 2012

THE crowd at Akatan, a narrow, standing bar in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, thickened as each glass of sake and shochu was poured. By midnight, strangers had swept my husband, Dave, and me — the only Western faces in the smoky bar — into alcohol-fueled conversations that, with the language barrier, often devolved into comical pantomime. Every time we explained that we were visiting Fukuoka as tourists, the same question arose: “But why?” 

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Hajime Kimura for The New York Times

Tenjin, one of several notable shopping neighborhoods.

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Hajime Kimura for The New York Times

A beach in the Fukuoka area.

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Hajime Kimura for The New York Times

A shop selling handmade purses.

 Despite its many assets, relatively few tourists have discovered Fukuoka. But with a multitude of new transport links, that may soon change. 

Cruise ships began docking in the port three years ago, joining ferries from South Korea and China. In 2011, the Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line was completed, linking Fukuoka to Kagoshima, on the southern tip of Kyushu. And this year, two new low-cost airlines, Peach Aviation and AirAsia Japan, have started flying to Fukuoka from Osaka and Tokyo, respectively. 

To explore the subtle appeal of this often overlooked city, I turned to two local experts, Nick Szasz, a Canadian and 22-year Fukuoka resident, and his wife, Emiko, a Fukuoka native. They run Fukuoka Now, a bilingual monthly magazine with a comprehensive online city guide (fukuoka-now.com). 

Over dinner at the upscale restaurant Yakitori-Hachibei, they told me that Fukuoka has long had a reputation among the Japanese as a great place to live. But it is not thought of as a holiday destination, partly because it lacks a standout attraction.

“The biggest crisis for this city is defining an identity,” Mr. Szasz said. “What we have is great, but how can we brand this?” 

What Fukuoka does have — a little bit of everything — is pretty enticing. West of the city center is the manicured Ohori Park, whose wide walking, jogging and biking paths encircle a lovely artificial lake. On its periphery is the Fukuoka Art Museum, with a plump Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture plopped out front. Nearby is a hilltop with castle ruins and views across the city to Hakata Bay, which is partly lined by a wide beach, also artificial. 

(Getting an overview of the city became easier last year, with the introduction of boat tours on the Naka River. Also, in March bus tours with multilingual commentary were inaugurated.)

An easy 25-minute train trip takes you to Dazaifu, a city with impressive cultural sights. During our early-spring visit, plum blossoms framed the town’s Tenmangu Shrine. A short stroll from there is the Kyushu National Museum, one of Japan’s four national museums, which opened in 2005. Its exterior, a soaring cerulean glass facade that reflects the lush vegetation-covered hills, houses stunning exhibition halls packed with ancient treasures.

But even finer than these sights are Fukuoka’s intangibles: the laid-back atmosphere, the friendly people, the relaxed pace of a city large enough, with about 1.4 million people, to have its own attractions but not so large as to be overwhelming. 

So, compared with navigating Tokyo’s busy subway system or hurrying to visit one last shrine in Kyoto before closing time, taking in the sights in Fukuoka actually feels like a vacation. It’s one that may be spent sipping locally roasted coffee at Manu, a welcoming coffee shop with neon-yellow walls, mellow music and piles of design magazines. Or lounging on the low banquettes, cocktail in hand, at Bar Klug, an elegant, cavelike hideaway. 

Even shopping has an unhurried quality. Sure, big-name brands are on offer in the trendy Daimyo neighborhood and the bustling Tenjin area, where a Barneys New York opened last year. Across town, the JR Hakata City complex packs two department stores and more than 200 shops and restaurants into 11 floors. 

But it’s possible to skip those stores altogether and browse back-street boutiques in the quiet Imaizumi neighborhood, poking around shops like Naif, Dice & Dice, Curve and Florent to unearth delicate handmade bracelets, leather-bound notebooks, bags fashioned out of seat belts, suede T-strap sandals and racks of clothing bearing labels from local designers and Lanvin alike. Fukuoka’s shopping scene led Monocle lifestyle magazine to dub it Retail City.

“Frankly, I don’t think that’s right,” Mr. Szasz said at dinner at Yakitori-Hachibei. “Gourmet City would be closer to the truth.” 

The outstanding yakitori we ate that night, including sake-spritzed skewers of plump chicken, ginkgo nuts and edamame croquettes, supported his claim, as did the succulent gyoza, a local specialty, at Yuu Shin a few nights later. There, the diminutive dumplings were seared to a delicate crisp and served sizzling in the cast-iron skillet. 

The dish the city is most famous for, however, is not high end, or even close. It’s Hakata ramen, made with thin noodles and rich tonkotsu (pork bone) broth. (Hakata, once a separate city, is a ward of Fukuoka.) 

I was schooled in slurping by Patrick Mackey, a local blogger, ramen-lover and freelance translator, over piping hot bowls at Shin Shin. 

“For ramen, most people say Fukuoka is the best,” he said. Two of Japan’s most famous ramen chains, Ichiran and Ippudo, hail from the city. 

But the one can’t-miss dining experience in Fukuoka is yatai. 

Yatai are tiny street food carts that are constructed (and deconstructed) nightly. Plastic curtains typically enclose a bare-bones kitchen and minuscule counter around which no more than a dozen or so diners can cram. Many yatai serve basic fare like grilled things-on-sticks or ramen; some supplement counter seating with folding tables and chairs.

“Yatai used to be all over Japan,” Mr. Szasz said. “In Fukuoka, they’ve hung on in great numbers.” 

Today, there are about 150 operating yatai in Fukuoka, with most clustered along main roads, parks and the riverfront. Because of a law that bans the opening of new yatai, those numbers are dwindling, said Mr. Szasz, who serves on a committee created to review the law. He expressed optimism, however, that it might soon be reversed, noting that Fukuoka’s new mayor, Soichiro Takashima, views yatai as a tourism draw. 

With their curtains drawn, yatai can seem exclusive, for regulars only. The opposite is true.

“It’s a community experience: part the curtains, sit down and you’re with friends,” Mr. Szasz said. “Once you’re in there, it’s like a mini-party.” 

And a mini-party it was when Dave and I squeezed onto a bench at the popular yatai Ajifu on Watanabe-dori on a cold weekday night. Inside, 10 other diners, all local people, were tucked around the U-shaped counter. Cigarette smoke commingled with the familiar aroma of ramen broth as we sipped cold Asahi beers and devoured yakitori pulled from the grill outside. And much like at the sake-and-shochu bar Akatan, we were soon among friends.