Nakasu is the red-light district of the city. Here you'll find an old movie theater from the 1970s (the better theaters are in nearby Canal City), exhorbitant hostess bars, the sex industry, many ramen stalls (yatai) by the river at night, and basically where middle-aged Japanese business men go at night to entertain customers and drink their problems away. This area is one that has been hit hard by the recession. In fact, since its heydey the amount of neon has gone down by about 25%, since companies aren't spending as much for advertising in the flatlined economy, not to mention getting an insanely high electric bill every month. If things get better you might see more growth, but in the future you'll probably see more energy efficient LED lights than neon. Still, you'll find the busiest streets in Kyushu with over 60,000 people a day going to visit over 3500 bars, clubs, restaurants and other establishments.
Nearby you can go to Riverrain or "Super Brand City" for wildly high designer brand goods shops, and in the
summer a few "beer gardens" where you can drink your fill on the roofs of several large buildings. They close early
though -- 10PM or so. It's small by Tokyo or Osaka standards, but gives a colorful view of neon on the water...
