Fukuoka Tower & Yahoo Dome
This is Fukuoka Tower, which is one of the biggest landmarks of the city. Completed in 1989, the 32 story, 234 metre (767.7 feet) tower offers a great view (for 800 yen to go up) and serves as the TV/radio tower for almost all the broadcasts in the city (one always wonders why they didn't put the tower on a mountain if they were going to do that). Next to it is another landmark, the Yahoo Dome, which is used for the Softbank Hawks baseball team as well as some big concerts and special events. Newer to the area is The Hard Rock Cafe, as well as a theater and other buildings. The tower is about 20 minutes on foot from the Nishijin subway station, or there are direct buses from Hakata Station and Tenjin. It is open until 10PM April-Sept and until 9PM Oct-Mar (entrance closes 30 minutes before closing time). The tower gives a very nice view of the area but you needn't pay money to get much of the same; you can always go to the top of the nearby 35 story Seahawk Hotel next to the Dome, or the Hakata Port Tower (see below). (If you still want to go up the tower, you can get a free 20% off discount card Fukuoka Welcome Card, available for free at the JR Hakata Station information desk or Rainbow Plaza which is in the IMS Building in Tenjin). To get there, if going by subway you need to get off at the Tojinmachi station and walk north about 15 minutes toward the ocean. Or catch a bus from Tenjin (Tenjin Bus Center Mae 1A bus stop; Nishitetsu Bus Nos. 300’s, 14, 44, 151, 152 or 200), Hakata Station (the 1st floor Kotsu Center No. 5 bus stop; Nishitetsu Bus No. 300’s or 39), or the airport (Nishitetsu Bus No. 39). Also nearby is the Fukuoka Hard Rock Cafe. At any rate, these are the de facto landmarks of the city--and you can't help but notice them when you fly into Fukuoka on a plane....
