Korokan’s Restored East Gate Opens to the Public for the First Time

…”)” stop: get off and walk 8 minutes. [Nishitetsu Bus] Get off at “Fukuoka Castle / Korokan-mae,” “Fukuoka City Museum of Art East Entrance,” or “Otemon / Heiwadai Athletics Stadium Entrance”; walk 5–8 minutes. Get off at “Akasaka 3-chome”; walk 10 minutes. Admission: Free. Food and merchandise are charged separately. Reservations: Not required. Contact URL: “Hikari no Korokan Festival” inquiry form. Details: Official “Hikari no Korokan Festival” website. Attachment: “Hikari no Korokan Festival” flyer [10.4 MB]. Map. Related feature: Find your favorite art at the Fukuoka City Museum of Art, nestled by the waters of lush Ohori Park. Located in lush Ohori Park, the Fukuoka City Museum of Art has been cherished by many as a hub for Fukuoka’s cultural arts since it opened in 1979. The museum houses a collection of approximately 16,000 works. From classical art to contemporary art, this diverse artistic space offers something for everyone to call a favorite and enjoy a special moment. #Art #Nightlife #TouristAttractions. Related attractions.

Fukuoka Castle Ruins. The first lord of the Fukuoka Domain, Kuroda Nagamasa, built the castle over seven years, beginning in 1601. It was a hilltop castle, with large, medium, and small keep platforms and approximately 50 turrets. Today, the Tamon Yagura (an Important Cultural Property of Japan), the (伝) Shiomi Yagura, Shimonohashi Gate, and Shiomi Yagura are preserved, and the Great Keep Platform serves as an observation deck. Tsukushi Ōgayatsuri, a prefecturally designated natural monument, grows wild in the moat, and there are Manyō poem monuments within the grounds. The site is designated a national historic site and is also known as “Maizuru Castle.” Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Ohori Park. When Kuroda Nagamasa built Fukuoka Castle, he reclaimed this area—then part of an inlet of Hakata Bay known as Kusagae—and used it as the castle’s outer moat, or Ōhori, which gave the park its name. Fukuoka Prefecture later began landscaping the area, and the present-day Ohori Park opened in 1929. In Japan…

…among Japan’s leading water-feature parks, it is also known as a fireworks venue in summer and is widely cherished as a place of relaxation for residents of the prefecture. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing #ThingsToDo. Nearby events. “teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins: Light Festival” returns on Friday, October 30, for the first time in seven years. Introducing the artworks, tickets, and event schedule. teamLab will present “teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins: Light Festival,” its third nighttime outdoor art exhibition at Fukuoka Castle Ruins in Maizuru Park, Fukuoka, and its first in seven years. It runs from Friday, October 30, 2026, to Monday, January 11, 2027 (a public holiday). Fukuoka Castle was built over seven years starting in 1601 and was a vast castle, the largest in Kyushu. The central areas, including the main, second, and third baileys, were constructed entirely of stone; the castle was also known as Ishigaki Castle… October 30, 2026 (Fri)–January 11, 2027 (Mon, public holiday). Hours: October 30–November 6, 2026, 18:30–22:00; November 7–December 31, 2026, 18:15–22:00; January 1–11, 2027, 18:30–22:00. Opening hours may vary to ensure optimal viewing conditions for the artworks. Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #FestivalsAndSeasonalEvents #FukuokaCastleKorokan. [FaN Week 2026] [Special Exhibition] Ryusuke Ito…

/ Fuhaku Landscape Study: Will the Time-Traveling Girl Dream of Flight? [Artist Cafe Fukuoka / Grand Studio]. Ryusuke Ito, an artist and video artist who has attracted attention for his distinctive approach: intricate models with built-in mechanisms, whose movement is projected as real-time video. For this exhibition, the entire Grand Studio is conceived as one “giant theater,” creating a world of “realistic virtuality,” where reality and video, matter and image constantly intersect. The exhibition’s theme is Fukuoka City, which has developed for more than 2,000 years as a key hub for diplomacy and trade. From… September 19 (Sat)–October 12, 2026 (Mon, public holiday), 11:00–19:00. Closed Mondays; when Monday is a public holiday or substitute holiday, closed on the next weekday. Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #FaNWeekEvents #Culture #Art. [FaN Week 2026] Special Exhibition × Contemporary Artist Files 2026: Terue Yamauchi, “Records of the Tide” [Fukuoka City Museum of Art] 2026. Terue Yamauchi (山内光枝, born 1982) is based in Fukuoka and creates works focusing on the lives and culture of people who live by the sea. Around 2010, she encountered photographs of ama divers standing on the shore with bare bodies and was deeply drawn to their supple, life-filled presence. This led her to create many works inspired by people who make their lives in the sea, a fluid and vast natural environment…

Her work takes many forms, including drawings, video, and installations… September 8 (Tue)–December 20 (Sun), 2026, 9:30–17:30. Fridays and Saturdays in September and October: 9:30–20:00. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Closed Mondays. Open on September 21 (Mon, public holiday), September 22 (Tue, public holiday), September 23 (Wed, public holiday), October 5 (Mon), and October 12 (Mon, public holiday). Closed September 24 (Thu), October 6 (Tue), October 13 (Tue), October 20 (Tue), and October 21 (Wed). Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #FaNWeekEvents #Culture #Art. [FaN Week 2026] Collectors V — ALL MY LOVING [Fukuoka City Museum of Art] 2026. All the love (put into works). The “Collectors” exhibition series has introduced collectors who are active at the forefront of business while also taking a deep interest in art and collecting works. For this fifth edition, 43 representative works from the collections of architect Yuko Nagayama and entrepreneur Eiji Harada will be exhibited. Collecting an artist’s work because you love it and want to keep it close is, of course, a natural thing for a collector to do. As a result… September 19 (Sat)–October 5 (Mon), 2026, 9:30–17:30. Fridays and Saturdays in September and October: 9:30–20:00. Last admission…

…until 30 minutes before closing. Closed Mondays. Open September 21 (Mon, public holiday); closed September 24 (Thu); exceptionally open October 5 (Mon). Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #FaNWeekEvents #Art. A Japanese garden transforms into a fantastical world of light: immersive night art “SEKAI” [Ohori Park Japanese Garden] 2026. At night, Ohori Park Japanese Garden, one of Fukuoka’s signature Japanese gardens, transforms into a fantastical art space woven from light, water, and technology. The centerpiece is “Ohori Sphere,” an immersive projection-mapped display projected onto a huge sphere floating on the water. The illuminated sphere and its reflection on the water come together, creating a special photo experience that makes it seem to float on the water. Other attractions include “Forest of Prisms,” where turning a handle changes the scenery, and… August 1 (Sat)–December 31 (Thu), 2026. In principle, closed Mondays. Entry hours: August 21–September 30, 19:30–22:00 (last admission 21:30). Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Nightlife #Other. Special Exhibition “Kenji Ishikawa: Moonlight Photography — Moon Bathing on a Moonlit Night” [Fukuoka City Science Museum]. Kenji Ishikawa is a moonlight photographer who continues to take photographs beneath the full moon, which occurs only 12 times a year. After 30 years of traveling beneath full moons across the world’s four continents, he moved to Fukuoka’s Itoshima Peninsula in 2016. His new photographs depict moonlit scenes through Japan’s four seasons, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, with a focus on Itoshima…

…Japan’s spring, summer, autumn, and winter unfold beneath the moon. Beneath the starry sky, plants and living creatures glow with life in the moonlight, and the familiar landscape takes on a different appearance from daytime, making us feel our place in the universe. Please… Fukuoka City Science… September 19 (Sat)–October 25 (Sun), 2026, 9:30–18:00 (admission until 17:30). Closed September 24 (Thu), September 29 (Tue), October 6 (Tue), October 13 (Tue), and October 20 (Tue). Reservations not required. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Culture #Art. A one-night-only celebration resounds in Tenjin’s grove: music offering festival “YOKABAN” at Kego Shrine [Kego Shrine] 2026. “YOKABAN,” a special one-night event dedicated to offering music to the shrine, will be held at Kego Shrine in the heart of Tenjin, Fukuoka. In the shrine grounds, where the bustle of the city meets the shrine’s tranquil atmosphere, music will be performed by Kazuha Izawa, Ryosuke Nagaoka, and Tabuzombie. Stalls open at 16:00 before the performance, offering a chance to relax with a drink in the autumn evening breeze. Food and craft booths connected to Fukuoka and Kagoshima will also be there, bringing local culture as well as music… October 9 (Fri), 2026. Stalls open 16:00; doors open 17:30; performance begins 18:00 (scheduled to end at 20:15). Reservations not required. Tenjin / Yakuin area #Music #Nightlife. [FaN Week 2026] [Special Exhibition] Hitoshi Ushijima / Theater of Playground: Memory, Body, Verification…

…[ONE FUKUOKA BLDG., 1st-floor Grand Lobby]. Once, there was an amusement park on the rooftop of a department store that symbolized Tenjin, Fukuoka. Playing on the roof and having lunch in the large dining hall were cultural hallmarks of Japan’s rapid economic growth and an important form of recreation in city centers. Ferris wheels, circuit-style rides, kiddie rides, and other attractions captivated children of the time, but most have now disappeared. Hitoshi Ushijima finds “beauty” in the aging of discarded playground equipment and the traces left by the many children who touched it… September 19 (Sat)–October 5 (Mon), 2026. Weekdays 11:00–20:00; weekends and public holidays 10:00–20:00. Reservations not required. Tenjin / Yakuin area #FaNWeekEvents #Art. Experience music with your whole body, beyond sight: “Narimichi Kawabata Violin Recital” [Fukuoka Civic Hall] 2026. A special concert featuring world-renowned violinist Narimichi Kawabata, who lost his sight as an elementary school student, will be held at Fukuoka Civic Hall. The program, performed with pianist Rikuya Terashima, is planned to include a presentation in which the auditorium and stage are completely darkened, allowing the audience to experience music without visual information. Its greatest appeal is the opportunity to experience music differently by shifting awareness from “seeing” to “listening and feeling.” People with and without visual impairments… October 24 (Sat), 2026. Doors open 18:30 / performance begins 19:00. Reservations not required. Tenjin / Yakuin area #Music #Nightlife.

Special Exhibition “A Guide to Asian Art: Special South Asia Edition — Beyond Conflict: A Journey Along the Veins of Light” [Fukuoka Asian Art Museum] 2026. The second installment in the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum’s 2026 collection exhibition series! Travel through three regions of Asia and discover the distinctive appeal of each region’s art and culture. In 2026, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum is presenting “A Guide to Asian Art” as a collection exhibition series. Designed to be approachable even for people encountering Asian art for the first time, the series explores three regions: East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia… September 19, 2026 (Sat)–January 11, 2027 (Mon), 9:30–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays). Gallery entry closes 30 minutes before closing. Closed Wednesdays and December 26, 2026–January 1, 2027. Reservations not required. Hakata Old Town area. Nakasu-Kawabata / Riverfront area. #FaNWeekEvents #RIVERFRONTNEXTEVENTS #Culture #Art #Leisure #HakataOldTown #OldTownFestival. Nearby spots.

Prefecturally designated natural monument: Tsukushi Ōgayatsuri. A species of sedge, it is a perennial herb. Its stems are thick and triangular, and grow to a height of 1–1.5 meters. The stems wither in winter, but from late August through October it bears flowers about 10–20 centimeters long. It is found in Malaysia and India, but no other location in Japan is known to have it. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Korokan Ruins Exhibition Hall.

The Korokan was a diplomatic guesthouse built during the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods. Such facilities were established in three places: Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Naniwa (Osaka), and Chikushi (Fukuoka). Of these, the Korokan in Chikushi, located in present-day Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, is the only one whose history is being clarified through archaeological excavation. It first appears in written records in 688 as “Tsukushi no Murotsumi,” and during the Heian period its name was changed to the Chinese-style “Korokan.” For approximately 400 years, from the latter half of the 7th century to the 11th century, it is said to have welcomed envoys to Tang China, delegations from Silla, and merchants. In 1987, remains were discovered during renovation work on the outfield stands of Heiwadai Baseball Stadium, and excavations began the following year. The exhibition hall displays excavated remains, the history of diplomacy with the continent, and trade goods unearthed at the site. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Fukuoka Castle South Maru Tamon Yagura.

…(Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. One of the surviving parts of Fukuoka Castle, which served as the residence of the Kuroda clan for more than 270 years and 12 generations. Other surviving structures include Otemon Gate, Shiomi Yagura, Tamon Yagura, and the Nagaya Gate of the residence of Tahei Mori. It is also designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Fukuoka Castle East Gakumonjo Gate Site. The remains of a major gate that provided access to Ninomaru. The surrounding stone walls contain mirror stones, said to symbolize the authority of the feudal lord. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Fukuoka Castle History Exploration Museum.

The Fukuoka Castle History Exploration Museum opened at the Fukuoka Castle Ruins in April 2012. It introduces the history and appeal of Fukuoka Castle, built by father and son Kuroda Josui and Nagamasa. In the “Time-and-Space Virtual Movie,” historic Fukuoka Castle is recreated with computer graphics. The powerful, realistic images are impressive, depicting the castle’s stately and imposing appearance. The video features the keep of Fukuoka Castle, whose existence remains shrouded in mystery. Explore the castle as past and present intersect. Various organizations hold tour events in the area around the Fukuoka Castle History Exploration Museum. See the official website for details. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Fukuoka Castle Keep Platform.

Documents suggesting that a castle keep existed have been discovered in recent years, bringing the theory that it once existed to the fore. It has also been suggested that it was built but demolished after a dozen or so years; whether a keep existed remains uncertain. The keep platform now serves as an observation deck, offering a panoramic view of Fukuoka and Hakata Bay. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing. Site of the East Domain School (Higashi Gakumonjo Ato). The site of Shuyukan, a domain school established in the castle town of Fukuoka in 1784. It was built in front of the Uenohashi Gate of Fukuoka Castle. Its first headmaster was Sadayoshi Takeda, grandson of Sadanao Takeda, a leading disciple of Kaibara Ekken. In contrast to the West Domain School (Kantokan), led by Sorai-school scholar Kamei Nanmei, it upheld the strict academic tradition of the Zhu Xi school. After the West Domain School closed, it became the central institution for educating domain retainers. It produced many notable figures, including Kentaro Kaneko, who helped draft the Constitution; Takuma Dan of Mitsui; and Enri Hayashi, who ran the Kannosha—a private school and experimental farm—in Shigetome, Sawara Ward. Tenjin / Yakuin area #Sightseeing.

Fukuoka Castle Ruins. The first lord of the Fukuoka Domain, Kuroda Nagamasa, built the castle over seven years, beginning in 1601. It was a hilltop castle, with large, medium, and small keep platforms and approximately 50 turrets. Today, the Tamon Yagura (an Important Cultural Property of Japan), the (伝) Shiomi Yagura, Shimonohashi Gate, and Kin’en Yagura are preserved, and the Great Keep Platform serves as an observation deck. Tsukushi Ōgayatsuri, a prefecturally designated natural monument, grows wild in the moat, and there are Manyō poem monuments within the grounds. The site is designated a national historic site and is also known as “Maizuru Castle.” Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing.

Keyaki-dori. A road developed for the National Sports Festival held in 1948; it is part of National Route 202, which crosses central Fukuoka City. Approximately 100 zelkova trees line the 800-meter stretch, creating a beautiful avenue. Tenjin / Yakuin area #Sightseeing. Maizuru Park. Close to central Fukuoka and about a 15-minute walk from Tenjin, this park takes the Fukuoka Castle Ruins as its symbol. It is a beautiful park, famous as a cherry-blossom viewing spot and for its seasonal natural scenery. Sports facilities, including an athletics stadium, are located in the park, and Ohori Park and the Fukuoka City Museum of Art are nearby. The park bustles with visitors enjoying cherry blossoms in spring. Throughout the year, people also relax here after visiting the museum, and the area is cherished by many residents as a peaceful place rich in culture. Ohori / Ropponmatsu (Fukuoka Castle / Korokan) area #Sightseeing #ThingsToDo.

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