Shikanoshima & Uminonakamichi
Where else in the world can you go and have a beach BOTH on your right and your left? Shikanoshima, or "Island of Shika" isn't even a real island at all but a long peninsula that forms Hakata Bay. As you go down the 8km (5 mile) Uminonakamichi you'll find it has a lot to offer, including a few small amusement parks (like Uminonakamichi Seaside Park) especially great for small kids, scenic parks, swimming, and Chili Joe (Nata 1-11-10, tel 092-608-2828), the best Tex-Mex restaurant that Fukuoka has to offer (go 1 km west past the railroad crossing, til you find a Lawson's). Shinanoshima also has some historic significance through the discovery in 1784 of a lost gold seal from China (it's now in the Fukuoka City Museum) and there is a whole area devoted to this find called Kin-in Park. You'll also find an area in the southern part of Shikanoshima called Mokouzuka dedicated to the only 2 times in old history when Japan was invaded, in 1274 and 1281 by the Mongols (both times in the trip over they were decimated by typhoons, hence the name Kamikaze or "God's winds"). For scenery though if you only go down Uminonakamichi you'll miss one of the best sites -- an observation deck at an elevation of 165m in Shiomi Park in the middle of the hills with a 360 degree grand view of the whole bay and ocean. You can catch a 30 minute ferry to Shikanoshima from the Hakata Wharf, or take a train that goes around the city and onto the peninsula, or a one hour bus ride from Tenjin.
