This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI
It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.
Moving to Fukuoka
Fukuoka City is a designated city at the northern tip of Kyushu, facing the Genkai Sea. It has 1,672,512 people across 343.47 square kilometres, divided into seven wards: Higashi, Hakata, Chuo, Minami, Jonan, Sawara and Nishi. In the preliminary Reiwa 7 census it had grown 3.2% in five years, the fastest of the 20 designated cities.
🔴 The city's defining feature is that the airport sits inside it.Hakata Station to Fukuoka Airport is 5 minutes and ¥260 by subway, and 11 minutes even from Tenjin. The built-up city runs right up to the runway.
Its other defining feature is water. After 287 days of water restrictions in Showa 53 and 295 days in Heisei 6, the city built up the transfer from the Chikugo River, its water distribution control system and seawater desalination. 1 June is "Water Saving Day", a day the city set for itself. There are 787 second-hand detached houses on the market.
Population
1,672,512 people
Estimate for 1 August Reiwa 8; 894,926 households
Population growth over 5 years
+3.2%
Reiwa 7 census preliminary figures; 1st of the 20 designated cities
Homes for sale
787 listings
¥7,000,000– / median ¥39,990,000
Hakata Station to the airport
5 min
City subway Kuko Line, ¥260, no transfers
Medical costs for children
to the end of the school year at 18
¥0 for a hospital stay; outpatient care up to ¥500 a month per clinic
It lies at the northern tip of Kyushu, between the plain cradled by Hakata Bay and the Sefuri mountains that rise to the south. 1,672,512 people live in 343.47 square kilometres. It became a designated city on 1 April, Showa 47, and on 10 May, Showa 57 the Nishi Ward of the time was divided into Sawara, Jonan and Nishi wards, giving the seven wards of today. The defining feature of the land is that the hills and the sea are close together, and 1,600,000 people fit onto the flat ground between them.Of Sawara Ward's 95.87 square kilometres, 75.81 (79%) falls under the Irube Branch Office — which is to say, the Sefuri hills. Of Nishi Ward's 84.16 square kilometres, 48.22 (57%) falls under the Seibu Branch Office.Chuo Ward has just 15.39 square kilometres. As set out in §2, life differs completely from ward to ward within the same city.
The airport is inside the cityFukuoka Airport is in Hakata Ward. Counting from National Land Numerical Information, this site finds two airports inside the city boundary (Fukuoka Airport and the Nata district of Fukuoka Airport), and the nearest airport outside is Saga Airport, 55.5 kilometres away.
Hakata Station to Fukuoka Airport Station is 5 minutes and ¥260 on the city subway Kuko Line, and 11 minutes from Tenjin. Step off the plane, ride the subway five minutes, and you are at Hakata Station on the Shinkansen. The price of that is the aviation height limit, which long held down the height of buildings in the city centre. The "Tenjin Big Bang" in §12 begins with the easing of that limit.
The history of water made this city's characterFrom the city's records: for 287 days, from 20 May, Showa 53 to 24 March, Showa 54, water was restricted for an average of 14 hours a day. For 295 days, from 4 August, Heisei 6 to 31 May, Heisei 7, the average was 8 hours, and "tap water was maintained during the supply hours and no water tankers had to be sent out".
"Moreover, although rainfall in Heisei 17 was the third lowest on record, it did not lead to water restrictions" — the city gives the reason as "the development of water resources since Showa 53, above all the transfer from the Chikugo River; the building of a water distribution control system that manages the flow and pressure of water from the treatment plant to the tap by computer; and, more than anything, the growth of water-saving awareness among residents".
1 June is "Water Saving Day"The city set the day itself, because "1 June is the first day of the period when water restrictions were at their tightest during the drought of Showa 53".
The city puts it like this: "If every resident of Fukuoka City saved one 10-litre bucket of water per person per day, about 6 million cubic metres of water would be saved in a year. That is as much as the Minamihata Dam holds when full."The Uminonakamichi Nata Seawater Desalination Center (Mamizu Pier) was completed in March, Heisei 17, and began supplying water that June.In Showa 56 the city introduced its water distribution control system and put the Water Management Center into operation.What surprises new arrivals first is how often the water supply comes up in ordinary conversation.
250,000 more people in 19 yearsFrom the key indicators in the city's statistical yearbook, the estimated population as of 1 October each year: Heisei 17, 1,401,279／Heisei 22, 1,463,743／Heisei 27, 1,538,681／Reiwa 2, 1,612,392／Reiwa 6, 1,656,737. That is 255,458 more people (18.2%) in 19 years.What lies behind the figure changed in Reiwa 3, though. Natural change (births minus deaths) turned from +696 in Reiwa 2 to −681 in Reiwa 3, and has continued at −2,080 in Reiwa 4, −2,775 in Reiwa 5 and −3,308 in Reiwa 6. The population still rises because net migration (arrivals minus departures) came to +18,629 in Reiwa 6. §10 looks inside those figures.
Sources: the area, population, households and ward areas are fromFukuoka City, "Estimated and registered population (latest)"ofEstimated population as of 1 August, Reiwa 8 (PDF)(13 August, Reiwa 8, Statistics Division, Planning and Coordination Department, General Affairs and Planning Bureau／Fukuoka City: area 343.47 km², 894,926 households, 1,672,512 people [788,574 men, 883,938 women]／Higashi Ward 69.46 km², 172,465 households, 342,901 people／Hakata Ward 31.62 km², 171,228 households, 266,793 people／Chuo Ward 15.39 km², 136,771 households, 216,589 people／Minami Ward 30.98 km², 136,361 households, 272,072 people／Jonan Ward 15.99 km², 70,044 households, 134,775 people／Sawara Ward 95.87 km², 106,144 households, 225,613 people [of which the Irube Branch Office covers 75.81 km²]／Nishi Ward 84.16 km², 101,913 households, 213,769 people [of which the Seibu Branch Office covers 48.22 km²]／share of population: Higashi 20.5%, Minami 16.3%, Hakata 16.0%, Sawara 13.5%, Chuo 12.9%, Nishi 12.8%, Jonan 8.1%／"Areas follow the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's 'Survey of areas by prefecture and municipality' as of 1 April, Reiwa 8. (Branch office areas were measured independently by the Statistics Division of the Planning and Coordination Department, General Affairs and Planning Bureau.)"／"The estimated population is calculated from the preliminary results of the Reiwa 7 census together with movements recorded in the basic resident register")／the 19-year series of estimated population, natural change and migration is fromthe same, "Fukuoka City Statistical Yearbook, Reiwa 7 (2025) edition, Chapter 1 Key Indicators"(PDF, as of 1 October each year／Heisei 17: 1,401,279 people, 649,138 households／Heisei 22: 1,463,743／Heisei 27: 1,538,681／Reiwa 2: 1,612,392, natural change +696, migration +9,577／Reiwa 3: 1,619,585, natural −681, migration +7,412／Reiwa 4: 1,631,409, natural −2,080, migration +16,602／Reiwa 5: 1,642,571, natural −2,775, migration +16,556／Reiwa 6: 1,656,737, 888,630 households, population change +14,221, natural −3,308, migration +18,629)／the droughts and water saving are fromthe same, "Record of the droughts of Showa 53 and Heisei 6"("Fukuoka City lived through droughts with prolonged water restrictions in Showa 53 and Heisei 6", "In Heisei 6 the annual rainfall was the lowest in the history of the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory, harsher conditions than in Showa 53, and water was restricted on 295 days, more than in Showa 53. The total hours of restriction, however, came to 2,452, fewer than the 4,054 of Showa 53, and tap water was maintained during the supply hours so that no water tankers had to be sent out", "Moreover, although rainfall in Heisei 17 was the third lowest on record, it did not lead to water restrictions", "This can be put down to the development of water resources since Showa 53, above all the transfer from the Chikugo River; the building of a water distribution control system that manages the flow and pressure of water from the treatment plant to the tap by computer; and, more than anything, the growth of water-saving awareness among residents"／restriction periods: 20 May, Showa 53 to 24 March, Showa 54; 4 August, Heisei 6 to 31 May, Heisei 7／average daily hours of restriction: 14 in Showa 53, 8 in Heisei 6, 0 in Heisei 28) andthe same, "Water saving among residents"("If every resident of Fukuoka City saved one 10-litre bucket of water per person per day, about 6 million cubic metres of water would be saved in a year. That is as much as the Minamihata Dam holds when full", "1 June, Water Saving Day (a day set by Fukuoka City itself)", "1 June is the first day of the period when water restrictions were at their tightest during the drought of Showa 53")／the seawater desalination centre and the water distribution control system are fromthe same, "Water Resource Development"／the move to designated-city status and the ward split are fromFukuoka City, "Outline of Sawara Ward"("Nishi Ward, created in Showa 47 when the city became a designated city, was divided into the three wards of Sawara, Jonan and Nishi, and Sawara Ward was born on 10 May, Showa 57") andthe same, "About Jonan Ward"／the Kuko Line journey times are fromFukuoka City Subway "Fukuoka Airport Station"(5 minutes to Hakata Station and 11 minutes to Tenjin／the Kuko Line runs 13.1 km from Meinohama to Fukuoka Airport)／the airports and interchanges inside the city were counted within the city boundary by this site from National Land Numerical Information (airports and expressway time series) (2 inside the city; the nearest outside are Saga Airport at 55.5 km and Kitakyushu Airport at 74.2 km)／checked 2026-08-25
What kind of town is Fukuoka City?
A designated city at the northern tip of Kyushu, facing Hakata Bay. It has 1,672,512 people (estimate for 1 August, Reiwa 8; 894,926 households), an area of 343.47 square kilometres, and seven wards: Higashi, Hakata, Chuo, Minami, Jonan, Sawara and Nishi. 🔴 Its defining feature is that the airport sits inside the city — Hakata Station to Fukuoka Airport is 5 minutes and ¥260 by subway.
CHAPTER 02Seven areas, and life in each
Because Fukuoka City is a designated city, the unit of the town is the ward. And every year the city sets out, in its own words, the "character" of each of the 7 wards in a booklet called the Ward Administration Outline. The descriptions on this page are taken from it. Population, households and area come from the estimated population for 1 August, Reiwa 8, and population density from the Ward Administration Outline (as of 1 April, Reiwa 6). The 7 wards fall into three city-centre wards, two residential wards and two wards of hills and sea — Chuo and Hakata run at 8,000 to 13,800 people per square kilometre, while Sawara and Nishi run at 2,300 to 2,500. Within one city, a sixfold difference.
Ward
Population, Area
listings
What kind of place it is (in the city's own words, "Ward Administration Outline")
Higashi Ward Higashi-ku
342,901 people 172,465 households / 69.46 km² / 4,801 people/km²
"Higashi Ward, the most populous of the 7, is also the ward where several redevelopment projects are running at once.""Large housing and commercial developments are going ahead at Island City, further population growth is expected, and Teriha Habataki Elementary School opened in April, Reiwa 6", while "Fukuoka Smart East" is under way on the former Hakozaki Campus of Kyushu University. Shikanoshima and Uminonakamichi form a quasi-national park, Mt. Tachibanayama holds a virgin camphor forest designated a Special Natural Monument of Japan, and the Wajiro Tidal Flat is a stopover for migratory birds. Hakozaki-gu Shrine, Kashii-gu Shrine and Shikaumi Shrine are here too. Listings sit at 1.8 to 64.2 metres above sea level (median 15.5).
Minami Ward Minami-ku
272,072 people 136,361 households / 30.98 km² / 8,709 people/km²
"Second only to Higashi Ward in population, it is a residential and educational district blessed with a natural setting — a 'town for living' where quiet detached houses and large housing estates spread across the whole ward."Aburayama Shimin-no-Mori, Aburayama Ranch, Hanahata Engei Park and Hibaru Sports Park, plus Notame Ohike, the largest pond in the city. "Hakata Onsen, which yields unusually hot water for the city," is here too. The area around Nishitetsu Ohashi Station and Takamiya Station is the southern regional hub, and Nagazumi and Hanahata form a local hub. Listings sit at 4.6 to 74.6 metres above sea level (median 25.6).
Sawara Ward Sawara-ku
225,613 people 106,144 households / 95.87 km² / 2,337 people/km²
"A ward stretching long from north to south and blessed with a rich natural setting: the north faces Hakata Bay, the Muromi River runs through the west, and the green Sefuri mountains cradle the south."It is the largest of the 7 wards by area, and 75.81 square kilometres of that (79%) falls under the Irube Branch Office. Seaside Momochi holds Fukuoka Tower, the city museum and the city central library, and Nishijin and Fujisaki are the commercial and educational hub. Listings run from 1.2 to 128.9 metres above sea level, the widest range of the 7 wards (median 40.4).
Nishi Ward Nishi-ku
213,769 people 101,913 households / 84.16 km² / 2,528 people/km²
"A beautiful coastline running from Ikinomatsubara to Nishinoura, the islands of Oro, Genkai and Noko, and a rich natural setting including Mt. Iimori and Mt. Kanadake.""It has the most farmland in the city and active farming and fishing, but in recent years housing development has spread and the population has risen year by year."Kyushu University moved to the Motooka and Kuwabara districts, and Kyudai-Gakkentoshi Station opened.Meinohama Station is where the city subway meets the JR Chikuhi Line.Karatomari Ebisu oysters (§13) are farmed by this ward's fisheries cooperative. Listings sit at 1.5 to 78.2 metres above sea level, and the median of 4.7 metres is the lowest of the 7 wards.
Hakata Ward Hakata-ku
266,793 people 171,228 households / 31.62 km² / 8,212 people/km²
"The north of the ward holds the gateways by land, sea and air, making it the hub through which people, goods and information move across Kyushu, while housing districts spread across the south." Around JR Hakata Station, "more than half of all the wholesale businesses in the city are concentrated". The Port of Hakata is an international hub port handling about 32,610,000 tonnes a year (preliminary figure for Reiwa 5). Fukuoka Airport is "one of the most convenient airports in the world, linked directly to the city centre by subway". Kushida Shrine, Toka Ebisu Shrine, Sumiyoshi Shrine and Shofuku-ji Temple are here, and so is the Hakata Gion Yamakasa (§11). With 28 listings it has the fewest of the 7 wards (median elevation 13.3 metres).
Chuo Ward Chuo-ku
216,589 people 136,771 households / 15.39 km² / 13,810 people/km²
"In ancient times the Korokan guest house stood here, and in the Edo period it flourished as the castle town of the Fukuoka domain.""Tenjin, the face of Fukuoka, is a transport hub where the rail and bus networks begin.""Under the Tenjin Big Bang, ageing buildings are being replaced with advanced, highly earthquake-resistant ones" (§12). "Green and water run in an unbroken line from Nishi Park through Ohori Park and Maizuru Park to Minami Park with its zoo and botanical garden, and on to Mt. Konosuyama; parkland accounts for more than 10% of the ward's area."Its median asking price of ¥79,800,000 is the highest of the 7 wards.
Jonan Ward Jonan-ku
134,775 people 70,044 households / 15.99 km² / 8,354 people/km²
"Most of the ward is residential; its population density is third only to Chuo and Minami wards, and large housing estates are dotted across the whole ward.""It has two universities, Fukuoka University and Nakamura Gakuen University," and "many single people, including students, and a lot of movement in and out."The subway Nanakuma Line opened on 3 February, Heisei 17, and the Fukuoka Outer Ring Road and Urban Expressway Route 5 came through as well. Yusentei Park was the villa of Tsugutaka, the sixth lord of the Chikuzen Kuroda domain. The median year built among the listings is 2015, the newest of the 7 wards.
The wards gaining people now are Higashi, Chuo and HakataComparing the estimated population for 1 August, Reiwa 8 with a year earlier: Higashi +1,971 (+0.6%), Chuo +1,360 (+0.6%), Hakata +1,131 (+0.4%), Sawara +199 (+0.1%), and Nishi −427 (−0.2%), Minami −940 (−0.3%), Jonan −163 (−0.1%).
The city as a whole gained 3,131 people (+0.2%)."Fukuoka City is growing" is true, but the growth is in the three city-centre wards; the residential wards are flat or slightly down. That difference matters when you look for a house in §4.
Asking prices differ completely from ward to wardSorting the 787 listings into the 7 wards gives medians of ¥79,800,000 in Chuo, ¥50,890,000 in Hakata, ¥44,900,000 in Minami, ¥40,490,000 in Nishi, ¥39,000,000 in Sawara, ¥38,490,000 in Higashi and ¥35,990,000 in Jonan. Chuo and Jonan differ 2.2-fold.Across the city, 8 listings (1%) are at or under ¥10,000,000: 3 in Nishi, 2 in Minami, 2 in Sawara and 1 in Higashi. The city-centre wards — Chuo, Hakata and Jonan — have none at all at that price. On the other hand, the median plot is 219 square metres in Higashi, 202 in Minami, 202 in Nishi and 200 in Sawara, against 132 in Jonan and 129 in Hakata — the cheaper the ward, the wider the plot.
You can tell the "hill wards" from the "sea wards" by elevationTagging each of the 787 listings with its own elevation gives a range of 1.2 to 128.9 metres across the city, with a median of 18.7. 222 (28%) are under 10 metres and 94 (12%) are 50 metres or higher.
The medians by ward are 40.4 metres in Sawara, 25.6 in Minami, 16.9 in Jonan, 17.2 in Chuo, 15.5 in Higashi, 13.3 in Hakata and 4.7 in Nishi. Sawara Ward reaches 128.9 metres and Nishi Ward 78.2 — even within one ward, the hill side and the sea side differ by more than 50 metres. Compare only on "x minutes' walk from the station" and you will miss the slopes. Read §5 on flooding alongside these elevations.
The ward is the unit of public servicesEach of the 7 wards has its own ward office, and there is an Irube Branch Office in Sawara Ward (Higashi-irube 2-chome) and a Seibu Branch Office in Nishi Ward. The health and welfare centres (public health centres), citizens' centres, libraries and gymnasiums are also organised by ward.Rubbish collection days and primary and lower secondary school districts are set at a finer grain within each ward (§7 and §11). When a property catches your eye, check first which ward it is in, then which school district. The city's website is generally arranged so that you can search by these units.
Sources: the quotes describing the 7 wards are fromFukuoka City "the Ward Administration Outline (FYReiwa 6 (2024))"(PDF, Citizens' Affairs Bureau／each ward's population, households, density and area are as of 1 April, Reiwa 6／Higashi Ward 167,322 households, 333,468 people, 4,801/km², 69.46 km²／Hakata Ward 164,301 households, 259,657 people, 8,212/km², 31.62 km²／Chuo Ward 135,099 households, 212,537 people, 13,810/km², 15.39 km²／Minami Ward 134,873 households, 269,805 people, 8,709/km², 30.98 km²／Jonan Ward 69,705 households, 133,586 people, 8,354/km², 15.99 km²／Sawara Ward 106,011 households, 224,080 people, 2,337/km², 95.87 km²／Nishi Ward 100,209 households, 212,730 people, 2,528/km², 84.16 km²)／each ward's population, households, area and year-on-year change are fromthe same, "Fukuoka City estimated population (as of 1 August, Reiwa 8)"(PDF)／"many single people, including students, and a lot of movement in and out" for Jonan Ward is fromthe same, "About Jonan Ward"／how Sawara Ward was split off is fromthe same, "Outline of Sawara Ward"／"the most farmland in the city" for Nishi Ward is fromthe same, "Outline of Nishi Ward"／the per-ward property figures are the same SUUMO data as in §4, sorted by the ward name in each address and totalled by this site (0 unclassified)／checked 2026-08-25
How do the 7 wards differ?
The highest density is Chuo Ward at 14,059 people per square kilometre and the lowest is Sawara Ward at 2,348, so Chuo Ward is about 6.0 times Sawara Ward (Reiwa 7 census). 🔴 The median asking price also differs 2.2-fold, ¥79,800,000 in Chuo Ward against ¥35,990,000 in Jonan Ward.
CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around
Getting about this city is built around Hakata Station and Tenjin, five subway minutes apart.The city subway has three lines: the Kuko Line (Meinohama to Fukuoka Airport, 13.1 kilometres), the Hakozaki Line (Nakasu-Kawabata to Kaizuka) and the Nanakuma Line (Hashimoto to Hakata). From Hakata Station on the Kuko Line, 181 services a day run to Fukuoka Airport and 182 to Meinohama.The Nanakuma Line runs 177 a day from Hakata Station. On JR, the Kagoshima Main Line runs 142 services a day from Hakata towards Mojiko and 155 towards Tosu, with 87 Sanyo Shinkansen, 51 Kyushu Shinkansen and 28 Hakata-Minami Line services. By Shinkansen it is 2 hours 28 minutes to Shin-Osaka with no transfers, 49 minutes to Kumamoto and 15 minutes to Kokura. The fastest way to Tokyo is 3 hours 22 minutes by air (5 minutes on the subway, then Fukuoka Airport).
Where to go
Hours
Fare
How to get there
Fukuoka Airport
5 min
¥260
Two stops from Hakata Station on the city subway Kuko Line (Hakata – Higashi-hie – Fukuoka Airport). From Tenjin it is 11 minutes."Five minutes on the subway and you are at the airport" is this city's single greatest strength. There are 181 services a day from Hakata Station.
Kokura
15 min
¥2,160
Sanyo Shinkansen, no transfers. The Shinkansen is the fastest way to Kitakyushu; the rapid service on the conventional Kagoshima Main Line takes about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Kumamoto
49 min
¥5,310
Kyushu Shinkansen, no transfers. The Kyushu Shinkansen runs 51 services a day from Hakata Station. There is also a page on Kumamoto.
Nagasaki
1 hr 42 min
¥5,960
Limited express Relay Kamome + Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen, 1 transfer (cross-platform at Takeo-Onsen)
Shin-Osaka
2 hr 28 min
¥14,750
Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi, no transfers.87 services a day from Hakata Station. You can reach the Kansai region in a seat, without changing trains.
Tokyo
3 hr 22 min
¥40,338
5 minutes by subway to Fukuoka Airport, then Haneda, then Tokyo Station (3 transfers). By Shinkansen alone it takes about 5 hours.
With the Nanakuma Line reaching Hakata Station, the subway became a loopThe Nanakuma Line opened between Hashimoto and Tenjin-minami on 3 February, Heisei 17, and the Tenjin-minami to Hakata extension opened on 27 March, Reiwa 5. That put Hakata Station within reach without a change from Jonan Ward, southern Sawara Ward and Hashimoto in Nishi Ward.
From April, Reiwa 8, the later last train was extended from Fridays only to Monday through Saturday on all subway lines (city newsletter). New rolling stock is entering service on the Nanakuma Line and services are increasing."Along the Nanakuma Line" is where conditions in Fukuoka are changing fastest right now — and as noted in §2, the median year built among listings in Jonan Ward is 2015, the newest of the 7 wards.
For drivers, the urban expressway rings the cityCounting from National Land Numerical Information, this site finds 42 interchanges and entrances inside the city. Almost all belong to Fukuoka Urban Expressway Routes 1 to 6 and the Imajuku Road.
Route 1 runs from Kashii through Tenjin to Meinohama, Route 2 from Hakata Station to Dazaifu, Routes 4 and 6 towards Island City, and Route 5 forms the outer ring through Jonan and Minami wards. The Kyushu Expressway (Dazaifu IC and Fukuoka IC) lies outside the city and connects to it via the urban expressway. The nearest airports outside the city are Saga Airport at 55.5 kilometres and Kitakyushu Airport at 74.2, but as set out in §1, the airport is inside the city.
JR runs in three directions from Hakata StationServices per day (weekdays, both directions combined) are 142 towards Mojiko and 155 towards Tosu on the Kagoshima Main Line, 74 on the Fukuhoku Yutaka Line and 28 on the Hakata-Minami Line.
The Chikuhi Line runs through onto the subway Kuko Line at Meinohama, so you can reach Tenjin and Hakata from Nishi Ward and Itoshima without changing. The Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line starts at Tenjin (Nishitetsu Fukuoka) and calls at Ohashi and Takamiya stations in Minami Ward. The "southern regional hub" in §2 lies along this line.
Buses cover the city very denselyNishitetsu bus routes fan out from Tenjin and Hakata Station, and in the parts without a subway — some of Higashi Ward, Minami Ward and part of Jonan Ward — the bus is the main way to get about.
Buses running inside the city centre (Tenjin, Hakata Station, Gofukumachi, Watanabe-dori and so on) have long charged ¥150 within that zone.When you go to view a property, stand at its bus stop on a weekday morning. How often they come, and how full they are, is not something a timetable will tell you.
Sources: journey times, fares and transfers are fromYahoo! Transitquerying the fastest weekday daytime route (2026-08-25)／the subway lines and journey times are fromFukuoka City Subway "Fukuoka Airport Station"(the Kuko Line runs 13.1 km from Meinohama to Fukuoka Airport; 5 minutes to Hakata Station and 11 minutes to Tenjin)／the opening and extension of the Nanakuma Line are fromFukuoka City, "About Jonan Ward"("the subway Nanakuma Line opened on 3 February, Heisei 17") andFukuoka City Subway, "Effects of the Nanakuma Line extension"／the later last trains and extra Nanakuma Line services are fromFukuoka City, "City newsletter, 15 April Reiwa 8 issue"("From April we are extending the later last train, which used to run only on Fridays, to Monday through Saturday on all subway lines. We are also introducing new rolling stock and increasing services to ease crowding on the Nanakuma Line")／the daily service counts were counted by this site from each station's timetable (weekdays, both directions combined)／the interchanges and airports were counted within the city boundary by this site from National Land Numerical Information (airports and expressway time series)／checked 2026-08-25
✈ Airports
Fukuoka Airport is inside this area (a hub airport managed by the national government). Fukuoka Airport (Nata district) is also inside this area (a hub airport managed by the national government). The nearest airport outside is Saga Airport (a prefecturally managed airport), about 55.5 km away in a straight line, followed by Kitakyushu Airport (about 74.2 km in a straight line). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are neither road distances nor journey times — check the operators' timetables for how to actually get there.
How long does it take to reach other cities from Fukuoka?
Fukuoka Airport is 5 minutes and ¥260 away by subway, Kokura 15 minutes by Shinkansen, Kumamoto 49 minutes, and Shin-Osaka 2 hours 28 minutes with no transfers. The fastest way to Tokyo is 3 hours 22 minutes by air.
CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now
There are 787 second-hand detached houses on the market in Fukuoka City (every listing across the 7 wards was taken from SUUMO on 25 August 2026). Prices run from ¥7,000,000 to ¥548,000,000, with a median of ¥39,990,000.8 (1%) are at or under ¥10,000,000, 256 (33%) are over ¥50,000,000 and 72 (9%) are over ¥100,000,000. The median plot is 199 square metres (about 60 tsubo) and the median building 115 square metres.The median year built is 2004; 87 (11%) date from 1981 or earlier, under the old seismic code, and 434 (55%) from 2000 onwards. By layout, 4LDK is the commonest at 248, with 146 at 3LDK. The list below runs from cheapest upwards, with the elevation of each address attached.
Sort
"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.
The "cheap houses" are in the hills, on the islands and along the shoreThe 8 listings at or under ¥10,000,000 are 3 in Nishi Ward, 2 in Minami, 2 in Sawara and 1 in Higashi. Oaza Nishinoura (¥7,000,000) and Imazu (¥8,000,000 and ¥9,000,000) in Nishi Ward sit on the coast at the base of the Itoshima peninsula, Uchino in Sawara Ward (¥8,900,000) is up in the Sefuri hills, and Hibaru in Minami Ward (¥8,000,000) is at the foot of Mt. Aburayama.
All of them come with 100 to 235 square metres of land.The three city-centre wards — Chuo, Hakata and Jonan — have not a single listing at or under ¥10,000,000. If you are looking for something in the ¥10–20 million range inside Fukuoka City, it will be somewhere away from a station in Nishi, Minami or Sawara Ward.
87 listings (11%) predate the current seismic code87 houses were built to the code in force before 31 May 1981 (Showa 56). By ward the share runs 17% in Jonan, 14% in Chuo, 14% in Hakata, 13% in Minami, 11% in Sawara, 9% in Higashi and 6% in Nishi.
Fukuoka City offers subsidies for seismic assessment and retrofitting of buildings from that era. From the city newsletter: "The city offers subsidies for seismic assessment and seismic retrofitting of buildings built to the code in force before 31 May, Showa 56 (1981). For seismic assessment, eligibility is being extended to all buildings, whatever their use or size."The subsidy rate and ceiling for removing concrete-block walls over one metre high that front onto a road have also been raised. Read this alongside the Kego fault zone in §5.
Wide plots, ordinary housesAcross the 787 listings the plots run from 55.4 to 2,360 square metres, with a median of 199.2 and a mean of 235.7. 180 fall between 150 and 200 square metres, 169 between 200 and 250, and 153 between 100 and 150, so 65% sit in those three bands.
The buildings have a median of 114.7 square metres. "Even for the same 4LDK layout, the closer to the centre the ward, the smaller the plot" comes through clearly: 219 square metres in Higashi, 202 in Minami, 202 in Nishi and 200 in Sawara, against 170 in Chuo, 132 in Jonan and 129 in Hakata.
Check the elevation before you buyEvery one of the 787 listings has been tagged with the elevation of its own address. Across the city they run from 1.2 to 128.9 metres, with a median of 18.7.222 (28%) are under 10 metres.
Fukuoka City is a low plain opening onto Hakata Bay, crossed by the Naka, Mikasa, Muromi and Hiikawa rivers. As set out in §5, the city is completing its "Rainwater Improvement Do Plan 2026" this fiscal year, but looking up the hazard map for that particular address before you buy is your own job. For any property at a single-digit elevation, check both inland flooding and storm surge.
Sources: the property data is fromSUUMO, second-hand detached houses in Fukuoka Citycovering all 7 wards (Higashi, Hakata, Chuo, Minami, Jonan, Sawara and Nishi), taken in full by this site on 25 August 2026 and combined (787 listings). Prices, land, buildings, year built and layout are as listed there; the aggregates (medians and counts) are calculated by this site／elevations were obtained by querying the coordinates of each property withGeospatial Information Authority of Japan elevation API(all 787 taken from the coordinates of the property itself)／the seismic retrofit subsidy is fromFukuoka City, "City newsletter, 15 April Reiwa 8 issue"／Listings change from day to day. The counts and prices are how things stood on 25 August 2026.／checked 2026-08-25
Akiya bank
There are no registrations of homes for sale. Every property in this chapter is on the private market. (as verified on 17 August 2026)
How much does a second-hand detached house cost?
As of 25 August 2026 there were 787 houses on the market, priced from ¥7,000,000 to ¥548,000,000, with a median of ¥39,990,000. The median plot is 199 square metres and the median building 115 square metres, and the median year built is 2004; 87 (11%) were built before 1981 under the old seismic code.
CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?
Any account of earthquakes in Fukuoka City begins with the Kego fault zone. From 1 October, Heisei 20, the city's ordinance has required that, when a building more than 20 metres high is put up in the areas near the south-eastern segment of the Kego fault zone, an effort be made to multiply the figure used in the structural calculation by 1.25 (Article 6-2 of the Fukuoka City Building Standards Act Enforcement Ordinance). It is an ordinance that names a fault and asks for extra margin in the design of buildings. What prompted it was the Fukuoka Earthquake of 10:53 a.m. on 20 March, Heisei 17 (magnitude 7.0, seismic intensity 6-lower in Higashi and Chuo wards) — 5,220 homes in the city were damaged: 141 destroyed, 8 severely half-destroyed, 315 half-destroyed and 4,756 partly damaged, and 107 of the destroyed homes were on Genkaijima alone. The city also writes: "Given the size of the earthquake, there was no large-scale collapse in the built-up or residential areas, and not a single fire broke out."
Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?
For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.
Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area
Not designated
Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area
Not covered (no part of Fukuoka Prefecture is covered)
Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area
Not covered (no part of Fukuoka Prefecture is covered)
Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years
6.2% (2.6% for intensity 6-upper or above) At the site of Fukuoka City Hall. The surface ground is AVS30 194 m/s, sand dune.
This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in.
The Fukuoka City town hall stands onsand dune(AVS30 194 m/s), and the 6.2% above is the figure for that spot. Even within Fukuoka City it varies a great deal between low ground along the rivers and the terraces.
When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.
The Kego fault zone runs directly beneath the cityFrom the national long-term assessment: "The Kego fault zone runs from the Genkai Sea north-west of Shikanoshima in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City, through Hakata Bay, Chuo Ward and Minami Ward of the same city, and on through Kasuga, Onojo and Dazaifu to Chikushino. The zone is about 55 kilometres long." It is assessed in two parts: the north-western segment, which was the source area of the 2005 Fukuoka Earthquake, and the south-eastern segment, running from Hakata Bay to Chikushino.
The south-eastern segment is estimated to produce an earthquake of about magnitude 7.2, which could shift the ground surface near the fault about 2 metres in a left-lateral direction.The chance of that within 30 years is 0.3–6%, and "taking the upper end of that range, the chance of an earthquake in the next 30 years places it in the higher group among Japan's major active faults". "It has also been pointed out that the 2005 activity on the north-western segment has raised the chance of an earthquake on the south-eastern segment, and this should be borne in mind" — so the national assessment adds.
The damage in 2005 differed completely from ward to wardFrom the damage table in the city's 20th-anniversary record, in the order destroyed／severely half-destroyed／half-destroyed／partly damaged／total: Genkaijima 107／1／45／61／214, Nishi Ward excluding Genkaijima 7／1／78／1,845／1,931, Higashi Ward 6／4／2／1,315／1,377, Chuo Ward 9／1／66／494／570, Sawara Ward 2／0／27／462／491, Hakata Ward 9／1／42／334／386, Jonan Ward 0／0／0／176／176, Minami Ward 1／0／5／69／75.
Of the 141 homes destroyed, 107 were on the single island of Genkaijima. In the built-up areas there was "serious damage to the shared parts of urban apartment blocks": in Tenjin 1-chome more than 400 panes of glass fell from a ten-storey building onto the pavement, and in Daimyo 1-chome a mixed-use building was at risk of collapse and residents took shelter at Daimyo Elementary School. Of the 2,172 buildings on Genkaijima and in the Nishinoura, Miyanoura and Shikanoshima districts, 343 were judged "dangerous" in the emergency risk assessment.
The city has spent a decade working on waterFrom the city newsletter of 15 April, Reiwa 8: "The 'Rainwater Improvement Do Plan 2026', under way since fiscal Reiwa 1 in districts that have suffered severe flooding in the past, will be completed this fiscal year. Storm drains and gutters have been laid, reducing the risk of flood damage.""We will go on to draw up a new rainwater improvement plan that takes account of climate change and other factors."
On the water supply side: "Work under way since fiscal Heisei 29 to replace 323 kilometres of ageing distribution mains at high risk of leakage with earthquake-resistant pipe will be completed this fiscal year. Water can then be supplied reliably even in a disaster."What is described as "completed" here is the plan, not a guarantee that your particular address is now safe.
Three things to look at before you buy(1) The elevation of that address (given in the list in §4; if it is a single digit, be sure to check inland flooding and storm surge), (2) the shaking-intensity map for that ward (the city issues a leaflet for each ward), and (3) the Fukuoka City Comprehensive Hazard Map (which layers earthquake, flood, landslide and storm surge onto one map).
Southern Minami, Jonan and Sawara wards lie at the foot of Mt. Aburayama and the Sefuri range, so check the landslide warning zones; the coastal parts of Higashi, Hakata and Nishi wards sit low, so check storm surge and tsunami. If you buy one of the 87 pre-1981 houses in §4, you can use the seismic assessment subsidy — from fiscal Reiwa 8 the city writes that it will "extend eligibility to all buildings, whatever their use or size".
Sources: the Kego fault ordinance is fromFukuoka City, "Explanation and handling of Article 6-2 of the Fukuoka City Building Standards Act Enforcement Ordinance (seismic measures for buildings near the Kego fault)"(in force since 1 October, Heisei 20／"In the areas listed in Appended Table 1, when structural calculations are carried out for a building more than 20 metres high, an effort shall be made to use, in place of the value specified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under Article 88, paragraph 1 of the Enforcement Order, that value multiplied by 1.25") andthe same, "Seismic measures for buildings near the Kego fault"(PDF)／the shaking-intensity maps by ward are fromthe same, "Shaking-intensity map leaflets for each ward"／the comprehensive hazard map is fromthe same, "Fukuoka City Comprehensive Hazard Map"／the length, segments, magnitude, probability and caveats of the fault zone are fromHeadquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion, "The Kego fault zone"("The Kego fault zone runs from the Genkai Sea north-west of Shikanoshima in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City, through Hakata Bay, Chuo Ward and Minami Ward of the same city, and on through Kasuga, Onojo and Dazaifu to Chikushino. The zone is about 55 km long and runs broadly north-west to south-east"／south-eastern segment: about M7.2, a 0.3–6% chance of an earthquake within 30 years, an elapsed-time ratio of 0.6–1.4, an average recurrence interval of about 3,100–5,500 years, most recent activity between about 4,300 and about 3,400 years ago／"Taking the upper end of that range, the chance of an earthquake in the next 30 years places it in the higher group among Japan's major active faults"／"It has also been pointed out that the 2005 activity on the north-western segment has raised the chance of an earthquake on the south-eastern segment, and this should be borne in mind"／if the whole zone ruptures at once, about M7.7)／the damage in the 2005 Fukuoka Earthquake and its breakdown by ward are fromFukuoka City, "2005 Fukuoka Earthquake 20th anniversary site: outline of the earthquake"(cited from the Record of the 2005 Fukuoka Earthquake [20th-anniversary edition], Part 1, "Chapter 3: Overview of the damage"／city total: 141 destroyed, 8 severely half-destroyed, 315 half-destroyed, 4,756 partly damaged, 5,220 in all／Higashi Ward 6, 4, 2, 1,315, 1,377／Hakata Ward 9, 1, 42, 334, 386／Chuo Ward 9, 1, 66, 494, 570／Minami Ward 1, 0, 5, 69, 75／Jonan Ward 0, 0, 0, 176, 176／Sawara Ward 2, 0, 27, 462, 491／Nishi Ward [excluding Genkaijima] 7, 1, 78, 1,845, 1,931／Genkaijima 107, 1, 45, 61, 214／"At about 10:53 a.m. on 20 March a large earthquake struck with its epicentre in the Genkai Sea about 20 kilometres north-west of Fukuoka City", "The earthquake measured magnitude 7, with a seismic intensity of 6-lower in Higashi and Chuo wards of Fukuoka City and in Maebaru"／"Given the size of the earthquake, there was no large-scale collapse in the built-up or residential areas, and not a single fire broke out"／"In Tenjin 1-chome more than 400 panes of glass fell from a ten-storey building onto the pavement", "In Daimyo 1-chome a mixed-use building was at risk of collapse, so the city issued an evacuation advisory"／"On Genkaijima and in the Nishinoura, Miyanoura and Shikanoshima districts, which suffered the worst damage, 343 of the 2,172 buildings were judged too 'dangerous' to enter under the city's emergency risk assessment of damaged buildings")／the flood measures, the replacement of distribution mains and the seismic retrofit subsidy are fromthe same, "City newsletter, 15 April Reiwa 8 issue"/ Verified 2026-08-25
Is there a risk of earthquakes or flooding?
🔴 The Kego fault zone runs from Hakata Bay through Chuo Ward and Minami Ward. Its south-eastern segment is rated at about magnitude 7.2, with a 0.3–6% chance of rupturing within 30 years, and the national assessment places it "in the higher group among Japan's major active faults". In the 2005 Fukuoka Earthquake, 5,220 homes in the city were damaged, 141 of them destroyed.
CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like
Fukuoka has a Japan Meteorological Agency surface observatory (observatory number 47807). The normals (1991–2020) are 17.3°C mean annual temperature and 1,686.9 mm of rain a year. The August daily high is 32.5°C and the January daily low is 3.9°C. By day count there are 8.1 extremely hot days, 60.4 hot days, 137.7 summer days, 38.7 tropical nights, 2.5 days below freezing and 0.0 days that stay below freezing. In a phrase, the climate here is "hot nights and mild winters" — 38.7 tropical nights is 2.2 times Tokyo's 17.8, while 2.5 days below freezing is one sixth of Tokyo's 15.2, and the whole year brings just 2 centimetres of snow.
Summer here is about the nights, not the days38.7 tropical nights means that for more than five weeks a year the temperature does not drop below 25°C even after dark. The daily low is 24.6°C in July and 25.4°C in August — in August the normal itself is a tropical night.
On the other hand there are only 8.1 extremely hot days, half as many as Kumamoto (15.1). "The daytime high does not climb that far, but the night never cools down" — that is summer in a city on a plain open to the sea. Budget for air conditioning in the bedroom as a necessity (§8).
Winter here brings almost no worry about snow0.0 days that stay below freezing, 2 centimetres of snow across the year, and a deepest snow cover of 2 centimetres. There are only 2.5 days a year when the temperature dips below 0°C — one sixth of Tokyo's 15.2. The January daily low is 3.9°C and the daily high 10.2°C.
You can treat this as a place where most years you will not need winter tyres in the built-up areas. That said, the Sefuri range (southern Sawara Ward) and Mt. Aburayama (southern Minami and Jonan wards) run colder than the city, and once or twice a year snow clouds come in off the Sea of Japan and settle even in town. Look at the elevations of the listings in §4 (1.2 to 128.9 metres) before you decide.
The rain gathers in June and JulyMonthly rainfall is 249.6 mm in June, 299.1 in July, 210.0 in August and 175.1 in September — 548.7 mm across June and July alone, or 32.5% of the annual 1,686.9 mm in those two months. Against the driest month, December's 67.5 mm, July is 4.4 times as wet.
As set out in §5, the Naka, Mikasa, Muromi and Hiikawa rivers run through the city. Treat June and July not as "the rainy season" but as "the season to be ready for flooding", and check the hazard map and your evacuation site in the month you move in.
1,686.9 mm of rain a year, and still a city short of waterThat is about the same as the national average (roughly 1,700 mm), yet as set out in §1 Fukuoka City has lived through two severe droughts. The reason is not how much rain falls, but the absence of a large river and a wide catchment within the city.
Fukuoka's water is therefore made of water piped from the Chikugo River, desalinated seawater, and the saving done by residents."Water Saving Day" on 1 June is placed just before the rainiest part of the year. Once you move in, listen to people talk about water at least once in June. You will see how attentive this city is to it.
The twelve months of temperature, set out as they are
The left end of each bar is the average daily minimum for that month and the right end the average daily maximum (Fukuoka, the 30-year average for 1991–2020).
month 1
3.9〜10.2℃
month 2
4.4〜11.6℃
month 3
7.2〜15.0℃
month 4
11.5〜19.9℃
month 5
16.1〜24.4℃
month 6
20.3〜27.2℃
month 7
24.6〜31.2℃
month 8
25.4〜32.5℃
month 9
21.6〜28.6℃
month 10
16.0〜23.7℃
month 11
10.6〜18.2℃
month 12
5.8〜12.6℃
-2℃11℃24℃37℃
38.7 days / 2.5 days
38.7 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8) and 2.5 days below freezing (Tokyo 15.2). These are the numbers for how summer nights and winter mornings compare with Tokyo.
Days per year
Fukuoka
Tokyo
Tropical nights minimum 25°C or above
38.7 days
17.8 days
Days above 35°C maximum 35°C or above
8.1 days
4.8 days
Days above 30°C maximum 30°C or above
60.4 days
52.1 days
Frost days minimum below 0°C
2.5 days
15.2 days
Days below freezing all day maximum below 0°C
0.0 days
0.0 days
As for snow, the yearly total is 2 cm, and the normal for the deepest snow cover is 2 cm.
Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, normals for Fukuoka (by month) /the same, day counts by class (view=a2)／the same, Tokyo (all 30-year averages for 1991–2020) / verified 2026-08-14Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, "Normals for Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture), by year and month"(statistical period 1991–2020, observatory number 47807／annual mean temperature 17.3°C, annual rainfall 1,686.9 mm, mean annual daily high 21.3°C, mean annual daily low 14.0°C／by month: January, rain 74.4 mm, mean 6.9°C, high 10.2°C, low 3.9°C／February 69.8, 7.8, 11.6, 4.4／March 103.7, 10.8, 15.0, 7.2／April 118.2, 15.4, 19.9, 11.5／May 133.7, 19.9, 24.4, 16.1／June 249.6, 23.3, 27.2, 20.3／July 299.1, 27.4, 31.2, 24.6／August 210.0, 28.4, 32.5, 25.4／September 175.1, 24.7, 28.6, 21.6／October 94.5, 19.6, 23.7, 16.0／November 91.4, 14.2, 18.2, 10.6／December 67.5, 9.1, 12.6, 5.8／day counts: 8.1 extremely hot days, 60.4 hot days, 137.7 summer days, 38.7 tropical nights, 2.5 days below freezing, 0.0 days staying below freezing／2 cm of snow in the year, deepest snow cover 2 cm)／the comparison with Tokyo is fromthe same, "Normals for Tokyo (Tokyo)"(observatory number 47662／annual mean 15.8°C, annual rainfall 1,598.2 mm／4.8 extremely hot days, 17.8 tropical nights, 15.2 days below freezing, 0.0 days staying below freezing／8 cm of snow a year)／the comparison with Kumamoto is fromthe same, "Normals for Kumamoto (Kumamoto Prefecture)"(15.1 extremely hot days)／checked 2026-08-25
How hot are the summers and how cold are the winters?
The normals are 17.3°C mean annual temperature and 1,686.9 mm of rain a year. There are 38.7 tropical nights a year, which is a lot, and 8.1 extremely hot days. In winter there are 0.0 days that stay below freezing, 2.5 days that dip below freezing, and 2 cm of snow in the whole year, so snow is hardly a concern.
CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools
If your child runs a fever in the night, the Emergency Clinic Center (Momochihama 1-6-9, Sawara Ward; 092-847-1099) is open until morning. Paediatrics runs 19:30–06:30 on weekdays, 17:00–07:30 on Saturdays, and 9:00–07:30 on Sundays, public holidays and over the new year — every night, right through. In addition, five wards — Higashi, Hakata, Minami, Jonan and Nishi — have their own emergency clinics covering Sundays and public holidays during the day. There are 151 primary schools, 84 lower secondary schools and 14 universities, plus 40 full-time, 2 part-time and 6 correspondence upper secondary schools. The universities hold 74,711 students — 4.5% of the city's population. The child medical subsidy runs to the end of high school age with no income limit: hospital stays and pharmacy costs are free, and outpatient care from age 3 costs at most ¥500 a month per medical institution.
Where to go
Reception hours
Detail
Emergency Clinic Center (paediatrics)
Weekdays 19:30–06:30 Saturdays 17:00–07:30 Sundays, holidays and new year 9:00–07:30
Momochihama 1-6-9, Sawara Ward; 092-847-1099.Internal medicine runs 19:30–06:30 on weekdays, 19:00–07:30 on Saturdays and 9:00–07:30 on Sundays and holidays.Surgery and obstetrics run 9:00–07:30 on Sundays and holidays, and ophthalmology and ENT run 9:00–23:30 on Sundays and holidays. The city writes: "For infants and toddlers, please use the Emergency Clinic Center, which has fuller diagnostic equipment."You can check how many people are waiting on the Fukuoka City Medical Association website.
Ward emergency clinics
Sundays and public holidays, 9:00–16:30
Higashi (Hakozaki 2-54-27, Higashi Ward) and Minami (Shiobaru 3-25-3, Minami Ward) cover internal medicine and paediatrics; Hakata (Hakataeki-mae 2-8-1, Hakata Ward) and Jonan (Torikai 5-2-25, Jonan Ward) cover internal medicine. Higashi and Minami also open from 9:00 to 23:30 over the new year (31 December to 3 January).Hakata and Jonan close over the new year, and children of lower secondary school age and under are, as a rule, directed to paediatrics. Reception may close early when the clinic is busy.
🔴 Telephone advice (children)
Weekdays 19:00–07:00 Saturdays 12:00–07:00 Sundays and holidays, all day until 07:00
Paediatric emergency phone line #8000 (if it will not connect, 092-731-4119). When you are unsure at night whether to go to hospital, start here.
What to bring
—
"When you come, be sure to bring your My Number health insurance card (or eligibility certificate) and any medical certificates — photocopies are not accepted."The old paper health insurance cards expired on 1 December, Reiwa 7 at the latest.If you present a My Number card, you do not need a "maximum-amount certificate" for the high-cost medical expense benefit.
Child medical subsidy — out-of-pocket cost per medical institution per month (Fukuoka City)
Category
Under 3
From age 3 to the end of high school age
Hospital stay
¥0
¥0
Outpatient
¥0
up to ¥500 a month (per medical institution)
Pharmacy
¥0
¥0
Eligibility runs "until the first 31 March on or after the day before the 18th birthday" (you do not have to be a student). "There is no income limit for the parent or guardian." "From age 3" means from the first day of the month after the third birthday (or from the birthday itself for those born on the 1st).
Schools: numbers and size (fiscal Reiwa 7, School Basic Survey)116 kindergartens with 13,866 children／151 primary schools with 83,701 pupils and 5,520 teachers／84 lower secondary schools with 43,004 pupils (including one evening school)／12 special needs schools with 2,203 pupils／upper secondary: 40 full-time schools with 42,338 pupils, 2 part-time with 1,149, 6 correspondence with 3,111／9 junior colleges with 3,096 students／14 universities with 74,711 students／93 specialised and miscellaneous schools with 35,826 students.
Primary schools by ward: 31 in Higashi, 26 in Minami, 26 in Sawara, 25 in Nishi, 18 in Hakata, 14 in Chuo and 11 in Jonan; lower secondary schools: 16 in Higashi, 14 in Nishi, 13 in Minami, 13 in Sawara, 12 in Hakata, 10 in Chuo and 6 in Jonan. The wards with the most listings also have the most schools — read this alongside §2 and §4.
4.5% of the city's population are university studentsThere are 74,711 students at 14 universities, 3,096 at 9 junior colleges and 35,826 at 93 specialised and miscellaneous schools — 113,633 in all in some form of tertiary education, or 6.8% of the city's 1,672,512 people.
The universities are spread 4 in Higashi Ward, 3 in Minami, 4 in Sawara, 2 in Jonan and 1 in Nishi. As set out in §2, Jonan Ward "has two universities, Fukuoka University and Nakamura Gakuen University" and "many single people, including students, and a lot of movement in and out", and Kyushu University completed its move to the Ito Campus in Nishi Ward in September, Heisei 30. In a city with many students, rents and eating out have a floor set by "student prices". That feeds into the cost of living.
Shopping means Tenjin, Hakata Station, and your ward's own hubIn the city's words, Tenjin is "one of the foremost concentrations of retail in Kyushu and in Fukuoka", where "department stores and a great many specialist shops and commercial facilities are located, and on the back of that concentration retail sales are the largest in the city" (Chuo Ward). Around Hakata Station, "more than half of all the wholesale businesses in the city are concentrated" (Hakata Ward).
The ward hubs are Kashii and Chihaya in Higashi Ward (the eastern regional hub) plus Wajiro and Hakozaki, Ohashi and Takamiya in Minami Ward (the southern regional hub) plus Nagazumi and Hanahata, Nishijin and Fujisaki in Sawara Ward, and Meinohama, Hashimoto and Kyudai-Gakkentoshi in Nishi Ward. "You can get through an ordinary day inside your own ward, without going out to Tenjin" — that is how these 7 wards are built.
For produce straight from the grower, there are 15 farm standsThe city lists 15 farm stands: Hakata Jomon-san Susenji Market (Susenji 1-7-1, Nishi Ward; 10:00–18:00, open year-round)／Fukushige Market (Fukushige 1-16-6, Nishi Ward)／Irube Market (Higashi-irube 6-18-3, Sawara Ward)／Hanahata Market (Kashiwara 1-1-42, Minami Ward; 10:00–20:00)／Osa Market (Matoba 1-23-23, Minami Ward), Wakky Suki-no-Sato (Wakiyama 592-1, Sawara Ward; 8:00–17:00 from April to September and 8:00–16:00 from October to March, closed Mondays) and JA Fukuoka-shi Tobu Aisai Market (Wajiro 3-27-39, Higashi Ward; 9:30–18:00), plus 8 direct-sales corners inside supermarkets.
As set out in §13, the city presents 35 farm, forest and fishery products grown within the city as "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon". "Fukuoka City has a population of more than 1,600,000, and yet a rich sea and natural surroundings are close at hand: it is a compact city where the food is good" — the city's own words.
Sources: emergency clinics are fromFukuoka City "the Emergency Clinic Center, the emergency clinic"(updated 17 August 2026／Emergency Clinic Center, Momochihama 1-6-9, Sawara Ward: internal medicine 19:30–06:30 on weekdays／19:00–07:30 on Saturdays and over Obon／9:00–07:30 on Sundays, holidays and the new year; paediatrics 19:30–06:30 on weekdays／17:00–07:30 on Saturdays／9:00–07:30 on Sundays, holidays and the new year; surgery and obstetrics 9:00–07:30 on Sundays and holidays; ophthalmology and ENT 9:00–23:30 on Sundays and holidays／Higashi Emergency Clinic, Hakozaki 2-54-27, Higashi Ward: internal medicine and paediatrics, Sundays and holidays 9:00–16:30, new year 9:00–23:30／Hakata Emergency Clinic, Hakataeki-mae 2-8-1, Hakata Ward: internal medicine, Sundays and holidays 9:00–16:30, closed over the new year／Minami Emergency Clinic, Shiobaru 3-25-3, Minami Ward: internal medicine and paediatrics, Sundays and holidays 9:00–16:30, new year 9:00–23:30／Jonan Emergency Clinic, Torikai 5-2-25, Jonan Ward: internal medicine, Sundays and holidays 9:00–16:30, closed over the new year／"For infants and toddlers, please use the Emergency Clinic Center, which has fuller diagnostic equipment", "When you come, be sure to bring your My Number health insurance card (or eligibility certificate) and any medical certificates — photocopies are not accepted", "The old paper health insurance cards expired on 1 December, Reiwa 7 at the latest") andthe same, "When your child is ill"(paediatric emergency phone line #8000 / 092-731-4119; weekdays 19:00–07:00, Saturdays 12:00–07:00, Sundays and holidays all day until 07:00)／the child medical subsidy is fromthe same, "Children's medical cost subsidy scheme"("up to high school age (until the first 31 March on or after the day before the 18th birthday; you do not have to be a student)", "There is no income limit for the parent or guardian"／outpatient care: no charge under age 3, up to ¥500 a month per medical institution from age 3 to the end of high school age／hospital stays: no charge up to high school age／pharmacy: no charge up to high school age)／the number of schools and pupils is fromthe same, "Fukuoka City Statistical Yearbook, Reiwa 7 (2025) edition, Chapter 14 Education and Culture, 1 Overview of schools"(PDF, School Basic Survey as of 1 May each year／Reiwa 7: 116 kindergartens with 13,866 children／151 primary schools [1 closed] with 83,701 pupils and 5,520 teachers; by ward Higashi 31, Hakata 18, Chuo 14, Minami 26, Jonan 11, Sawara 26, Nishi 25／84 lower secondary schools with 43,004 pupils; by ward Higashi 16, Hakata 12, Chuo 10, Minami 13, Jonan 6, Sawara 13, Nishi 14／12 special needs schools with 2,203 pupils／upper secondary: 40 full-time schools with 42,338 pupils, 2 part-time with 1,149, 6 correspondence with 3,111／9 junior colleges with 3,096 students／14 universities with 74,711 students; by ward Higashi 4, Minami 3, Jonan 2, Sawara 4, Nishi 1／93 specialised and miscellaneous schools with 35,826 students／"the lower secondary schools include one evening school")／Tenjin, Hakata Station and the ward hubs are fromthe same, "Ward Administration Outline (Reiwa 6)"(PDF)／the farm stands are fromthe same, "Farm Stands"(15 stands)／"Fukuoka City has a population of more than 1,600,000, and yet" is fromthe same, "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon"/ Verified 2026-08-25
Are there enough hospitals and schools?
The Emergency Clinic Center (Momochihama, Sawara Ward) is open every night, with paediatrics running from 19:30 to 06:30 the next morning on weekdays. There are 151 primary schools, 84 lower secondary schools and 14 universities, and 74,711 university students. The child medical subsidy runs to the end of high school age with no income limit, and outpatient care costs at most ¥500 a month per medical institution.
CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy
Property tax in Fukuoka City is 1.4% and city planning tax is 0.3% (the city planning tax applies to land and buildings inside the urbanisation promotion area). Water and sewerage together come to ¥4,202 for 20 cubic metres over two months on a 13 mm meter at the household rate.A large (45-litre) bag for burnable rubbish costs ¥45.And from fiscal Reiwa 8, a "children's portion" has been added to the national health insurance premium — a fourth part alongside the basic, support and long-term care portions. The actual figures are set out below.
What
How much
Detail
Property tax
1.4%
This falls on the owner of land, buildings and depreciable assets in the city. Assessed value × 1.4%.For residential land, the first 200 square metres is assessed at one sixth and anything beyond that at one third (a special rule in the Local Tax Act). The median plot among the listings in §4 is 199 square metres, so most of them sit just inside the "one sixth" bracket.
City planning tax
0.3%
This is an earmarked tax on people who own land or a building inside the urbanisation promotion area, and it pays for city planning projects and land readjustment projects. For residential land, the first 200 m² is assessed at one third and anything beyond that at two thirds.
Water and sewerage
¥4,202 20 m³ over 2 months, 13 mm meter
Per household, for two months, at the household rate on a 13 mm meter — 0 m³ ¥3,542 (water ¥1,870 + sewerage ¥1,672)／10 m³ ¥3,872 (¥2,057 + ¥1,815)／20 m³ ¥4,202 (¥2,244 + ¥1,958)／30 m³ ¥7,579 (¥3,949 + ¥3,630)／40 m³ ¥10,956 (¥5,654 + ¥5,302)／50 m³ ¥15,697 (¥8,327 + ¥7,370). Going from 20 m³ to 30 m³ multiplies the bill by 1.8 — the unit price rises the more you use (the water-saving city of §1).
Rubbish bags
¥45 burnable rubbish, large 45 L, per bag
Burnable rubbish: large (45 litres) ¥45, medium (30 litres) ¥30, small (15 litres) ¥15, extra small (10 litres) ¥10.Non-burnable rubbish: large ¥45, medium ¥30, small ¥15.Empty bottles and PET bottles: large ¥22, medium ¥15.If you use anything other than a designated bag, "a warning sticker is attached and the rubbish is not collected".You may put out at most 10 large bags at a time.
National health insurance
Four parts
Fiscal Reiwa 8 — basic portion: 5.58% of income + ¥19,807 per person + ¥18,664 per household (capped at ¥670,000), support portion: 3.14% + ¥10,441 + ¥9,838 (¥260,000), long-term care portion (ages 40–64): 2.61% + ¥10,160 + ¥7,751 (¥170,000), children's portion (new from fiscal Reiwa 8): 0.28% + ¥1,039 + ¥911 (¥30,000). The base is your total income for calendar Reiwa 7 less the ¥430,000 basic deduction.
Rubbish goes out at nightHousehold rubbish in Fukuoka City is collected at night. "Put out 'burnable rubbish' twice a week on the set days, between sunset (once it is dark) and midnight.""Non-burnable rubbish" and "empty bottles and PET bottles" go out once a month on a set day, in the same hours.A detached house puts it out in front of the house.
Sorting comes down to four categories only: burnable, non-burnable, empty bottles and PET bottles, and bulky waste. The city itself presents this as "Only in Fukuoka? Convenient and efficient night-time household rubbish collection".There is no morning rush, but you do need the habit of stepping outside at night. It is the thing that puzzles new arrivals most in their first weeks.
Working the national health insurance premium out in practiceTake a couple, both in their forties, with a household total income of ¥3,000,000: the base is ¥3,000,000 − ¥430,000 = ¥2,570,000. Basic portion: 143,406 + 19,807 × 2 + 18,664 = ¥201,684／support portion: 80,698 + 10,441 × 2 + 9,838 = ¥111,418／long-term care portion: 67,077 + 10,160 × 2 + 7,751 = ¥95,148／children's portion: 7,196 + 1,039 × 2 + 911 = ¥10,185.
That comes to ¥418,435 a year, or about ¥34,900 a month.This is an estimate calculated by this site from the rates; the actual amount varies with the composition of your income and any reductions applied. The city publishes a "guide to fiscal Reiwa 8 national health insurance premiums", so check there.
Household sewerage charges were waived in full for four monthsThe city announced that "to support residents through the rise in prices, and using the national intensive support grant to local governments, household sewerage charges will be waived in full for four months". It covers those whose water is registered for "household use" and households using well water (businesses are excluded), and applies to the two meter readings taken between February and May, Reiwa 8. "For those eligible, the sewerage charge is waived in full automatically" — no application is needed.
Originally it covered only the single reading taken between February and March, Reiwa 8; the period was then extended to four months. Water charges are not covered.The waiver has already ended (the call centre ran until 31 July, Reiwa 8), but it is worth knowing that this is a city that takes such measures.
One fine point peculiar to designated citiesProperty tax has a "tax-free threshold": if the total assessed value of the land you own within one municipality is under ¥300,000, of buildings under ¥200,000, or of depreciable assets under ¥1,500,000, no tax is charged.
In a designated city, that test is applied "within the area of a single ward" (Article 737 of the Local Tax Act). So if you own one small plot in Higashi Ward and another in Nishi Ward of Fukuoka City, they are not added together; each ward is judged separately. As set out in §2, this is a city of 7 wards, so anyone holding property across more than one of them should keep this in mind.
Sources: the property tax and city planning tax rates are fromFukuoka City, "Property tax (how the amount is calculated)"(rate 1.4%) andthe same, "City planning tax"(rate 0.3%, applies to land and buildings inside the urbanisation promotion area)／the water and sewerage charges are fromthe same, "Water and sewerage charge table (per household, 2 months)"(PDF, in force since 1 October, Reiwa 1; meters of 25 mm or less; ordinary wastewater／household use, 13 mm: 0 m³ ¥1,870, 10 m³ ¥2,057, 20 m³ ¥2,244, 30 m³ ¥3,949, 40 m³ ¥5,654, 50 m³ ¥8,327; sewerage charge: 0 m³ ¥1,672, 10 m³ ¥1,815, 20 m³ ¥1,958, 30 m³ ¥3,630, 40 m³ ¥5,302, 50 m³ ¥7,370)／the sewerage charge waiver is fromthe same, "Household sewerage charges waived in full for 4 months"("To support residents through the rise in prices, and using the national intensive support grant to local governments, household sewerage charges will be waived in full for four months", "Those whose water is registered for 'household use', and households using well water (businesses are excluded)", "Water charges are not waived", "Covered meter-reading period: the two readings taken between February and May, Reiwa 8", "Originally only the single reading taken between February and March, Reiwa 8 was covered, but the period has been extended", "For those eligible, the sewerage charge is waived in full automatically", "The call centre runs until 31 July, Reiwa 8")／the price, sorting and putting out of rubbish bags are fromthe same, "How to put out household rubbish (rubbish rules)"(burnable rubbish: large 45 L ¥45, medium 30 L ¥30, small 15 L ¥15, extra small 10 L ¥10／non-burnable: large ¥45, medium ¥30, small ¥15／empty bottles and PET bottles: large ¥22, medium ¥15／"Please note that if rubbish is put out in anything other than a designated bag, a warning sticker is attached and it is not collected", "You may put out at most 10 large (45-litre) designated bags at a time", "Put out 'burnable rubbish' twice a week on the set days, between sunset (once it is dark) and midnight") andthe same, "Fukuoka Facts: only in Fukuoka? Convenient and efficient night-time household rubbish collection"／the national health insurance rates are fromthe same, "How national health insurance is calculated"(fiscal Reiwa 8／basic portion: 5.58% of income, ¥19,807 per person, ¥18,664 per household, capped at ¥670,000／support portion: 3.14%, ¥10,441, ¥9,838, ¥260,000／long-term care portion: 2.61%, ¥10,160, ¥7,751, ¥170,000／children's portion: 0.28%, ¥1,039, ¥911, ¥30,000／"The income used as the base is your total income for calendar Reiwa 7 (January to December) less the basic deduction of ¥430,000"). The household example is an estimate calculated by this site from the rates above／the tax-free threshold for property tax, and the per-ward assessment in designated cities, come from Articles 351 and 737 of the Local Tax Act／checked 2026-08-25
What does it cost every year once you have bought?
Property tax 1.4% and city planning tax 0.3%. Water and sewerage come to ¥4,202 for 20 cubic metres over two months (13 mm meter, household use), and a large 45-litre bag for burnable rubbish costs ¥45. For national health insurance in fiscal Reiwa 8, the income-based rate for the basic portion is 5.58%.
CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell
Residential land in Fukuoka City has risen for 14 years running. In the Reiwa 8 land price survey, residential land in Fukuoka City rose an average of 7.0% (9.0% the year before), commercial land 9.0% (11.3%), industrial land 11.3% (14.8%) and all uses together 7.8% (9.9%). The prefecture's residential land rose 3.7%, so Fukuoka City is moving at about 1.9 times the prefectural pace. All three categories, though, rose less than the year before. The prefecture gives the reason as "rising construction costs, rising land prices and rising mortgage rates are making buyers more selective about which properties they will take". The average price of residential land in Fukuoka City is ¥258,100 per square metre, 2.1 times the prefectural average of ¥121,800.
Ward
Average residential land price
Change, residential land
Average price, commercial land
Chuo Ward
¥593,100/m² 22 survey points
+6.7% previous year +8.9%
¥2,515,300/m² (27 survey points). The highest-priced residential site in the prefecture is "Ohori 1-chome, block 13, lot 133 (Ohori 1-13-26)" at ¥1,490,000/m², up 13.7% — first in the prefecture for 44 years running since Showa 58.
Hakata Ward
¥273,300/m² 16 survey points
+7.6% previous year +12.1%
¥2,197,000/m² (24 survey points). The highest-priced commercial site in the prefecture is also in Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City (¥12,400,000/m², first for 28 years running since Heisei 11), with Hakata Ward next.
Sawara Ward
¥271,100/m² 44 survey points
+7.7% previous year +9.6%
¥730,000/m² (9 survey points). Its 44 residential survey points are the most of the 7 wards, and the range of prices is wide.
Minami Ward
¥238,000/m² 32 survey points
+6.8% previous year +8.4%
¥576,900/m² (11 survey points)
Jonan Ward
¥197,800/m² 17 survey points
+6.7% previous year +7.7%
¥489,000/m² (2 survey points)
Nishi Ward
¥162,400/m² 24 survey points
+7.9% previous year +8.2%
¥387,800/m² (5 survey points). This ward has the highest rise in residential land prices of the 7 wards, and the smallest fall from the previous year (8.2 → 7.9%).
Higashi Ward
¥152,700/m² 40 survey points
+5.9% previous year +8.8%
¥514,800/m² (8 survey points). The average residential price is the lowest of the 7 wards, one 3.9th of Chuo Ward.
It is true that prices keep rising, and equally true that the rise has slowedFrom the prefecture's analysis of residential land: "Rising construction costs, rising land prices and rising mortgage rates are making buyers more selective about which properties they will take." On commercial land: "Even as the rate of increase narrows, strong price growth continues, above all on commercial sites close to stations, where demand for apartment development competes."
Fukuoka City's rates moved from 9.0 to 7.0% for residential land, 11.3 to 9.0% for commercial land and 14.8 to 11.3% for industrial land — all three narrower than the year before. "Close to a station holds firm; further out, buyers now choose." That is Fukuoka City in Reiwa 8.
Your buyer will most likely already live in the cityAs set out in §10, 6,264 people moved into the city from outside during July, Reiwa 8, and 5,257 moved out, but 3,321 moved from one ward to another in the same month. Moving within the city happens on a scale comparable to moving in and out of it.
That is why the city has set up the "In-City Moving Support Program for Households with Children" (covering moves within the city on or after 1 April, Reiwa 8). When you sell, your buyer is more likely to be someone moving house within Fukuoka City than someone arriving from Tokyo — an important thing to keep in mind when you set a price.
The 787 listings on the market now are your competitionAs set out in §4, 787 second-hand detached houses are on the market in the city at the same time. By ward that is 212 in Higashi, 190 in Minami, 131 in Sawara, 125 in Nishi, 66 in Jonan, 35 in Chuo and 28 in Hakata.
If you sell in Higashi Ward, you will be compared against the other 211 in the same ward.Hakata Ward, by contrast, has only 28, so with fewer around, a buyer whose conditions match may find you more easily. A ward with plenty of choice when you buy is a ward with plenty of competition when you sell. Look at it from both sides.
72 listings (9%) are over ¥100,000,000Of the 787, 256 (33%) are over ¥50,000,000 and 72 (9%) are over ¥100,000,000. The highest is ¥548,000,000. Only 46 (6%) are ¥20,000,000 or less.
Second-hand detached houses in Fukuoka City are not a market for finding a cheap house; they are a market where you buy at the going rate and sell at the going rate.The median of ¥39,990,000 sits at the centre of it. As set out in §4, the median year built is 2004 — houses of around 20 years old are the mainstay, and 434 (55%) were built in 2000 or later.
Source:Fukuoka Prefecture, "Reiwa 8 Land Price Survey"ofSummary (PDF)(average change on the previous year, R7 → R8: Fukuoka City all uses 9.9 → 7.8%, residential 9.0 → 7.0%, commercial 11.3 → 9.0%, industrial 14.8 → 11.3%／Higashi Ward 10.3 → 7.2, 8.8 → 5.9, 12.5 → 9.0, 16.2 → 13.0／Hakata Ward 11.6 → 8.4, 12.1 → 7.6, 11.2 → 9.1, 11.3 → 8.1／Chuo Ward 10.3 → 7.7, 8.9 → 6.7, 11.4 → 8.4／Minami Ward 8.7 → 7.2, 8.4 → 6.8, 9.6 → 8.3／Nishi Ward 8.7 → 8.6, 8.2 → 7.9, 11.2 → 12.4／Jonan Ward 8.1 → 7.0, 7.7 → 6.7, 11.7 → 9.4／Sawara Ward 10.1 → 8.1, 9.6 → 7.7, 12.7 → 10.2／average prices R8: Fukuoka City all uses 291 survey points at ¥663,000/m², residential 195 points at ¥258,100/m², commercial 86 points at ¥1,634,800/m², industrial 10 points at ¥199,400/m²／Higashi Ward 55 points ¥209,800, residential 40 points ¥152,700, commercial 8 points ¥514,800, industrial 7 points ¥187,300／Hakata Ward 43 points ¥1,343,800, residential 16 points ¥273,300, commercial 24 points ¥2,197,000, industrial 3 points ¥227,700／Chuo Ward 49 points ¥1,652,300, residential 22 points ¥593,100, commercial 27 points ¥2,515,300／Minami Ward 43 points ¥324,700, residential 32 points ¥238,000, commercial 11 points ¥576,900／Nishi Ward 29 points ¥201,300, residential 24 points ¥162,400, commercial 5 points ¥387,800／Jonan Ward 19 points ¥228,500, residential 17 points ¥197,800, commercial 2 points ¥489,000／Sawara Ward 53 points ¥349,100, residential 44 points ¥271,100, commercial 9 points ¥730,000／Fukuoka Prefecture averages: all uses ¥263,600, residential ¥121,800, commercial ¥644,800, industrial ¥83,000／prefectural average change R8: all uses 4.3%, residential 3.7%, commercial 5.2%, industrial 7.3%／rises in residential land "14 years running: Fukuoka City, Shingu, Kasuya"; commercial "14 years running: Fukuoka City"; industrial "13 years running: Fukuoka City"／highest-priced sites: residential "Fukuoka Chuo−2", Ohori 1-chome block 13 lot 133 "Ohori 1-13-26", ¥1,490,000/m², +13.7% [first in the prefecture for 44 years running since Showa 58]; commercial "Fukuoka Chuo 5−9", ¥12,400,000/m² [28 years running since Heisei 11]／"Rising construction costs, rising land prices and rising mortgage rates are making buyers more selective about which properties they will take", "Even as the rate of increase narrows, strong price growth continues, above all on commercial sites close to stations, where demand for apartment development competes")／the arrivals, departures and moves from other wards are fromFukuoka City, "Fukuoka City estimated population (as of 1 August, Reiwa 8)"(PDF; population movement is for July, Reiwa 8)／the In-City Moving Support Program for Households with Children is fromthe same, "In-City Moving Support Program for Households with Children"／the number of listings and their prices are the same SUUMO data as in §4／checked 2026-08-25
If I sell later, what is likely to happen to the price?
In the Reiwa 8 land price survey, residential land in Fukuoka City rose 7.0%, the 14th year of increases in a row (the prefecture rose 3.7%). The average price is ¥258,100 per square metre, 2.1 times the prefectural average of ¥121,800. 🔴 The rate of increase has narrowed, though, from 9.0% the year before.
CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many
The preliminary Reiwa 7 census puts Fukuoka City at 1,663,892 people, 51,500 (3.2%) more than five years ago. The city writes that "the rate of population growth is, as last time, first among the designated cities". Households rose by 52,250 (6.3%) to 883,374 — about twice the rate of population growth. As a result the average household has fallen to 1.88 people (1.94 last time), and the city writes that "households continue to grow smaller". All 7 wards gained population.Density is 4,844 people per square kilometre (4,695 last time).
Ward
Population (Reiwa 7 (2025))
Change over 5 years
Household size and population density
Higashi Ward
339,735 people 20.4% of the city
+17,232 people +5.3%
2.01 people per household.It is first of the 7 wards in population, in the number of people added and in the rate of growth. As noted in §2, redevelopment is under way at the same time at Island City and the former Hakozaki Campus of Kyushu University.
Minami Ward
270,741 people 16.3% of the city
+5,158 people
2.01 people per household; 8,739 people/km² (2nd highest of the 7 wards)
Hakata Ward
264,220 people 15.9% of the city
+12,186 people +4.8%
1.57 people per household is the lowest of the 7 wards — the ward with the most people living alone
Sawara Ward
225,111 people 13.5% of the city
+3,783 people
2.14 people per household is the highest of the 7 wards, and 2,348 people/km² is the lowest density.That is one 6.0th of Chuo Ward.
Chuo Ward
216,368 people 13.0% of the city
+10,867 people +5.3%
1.59 people per household; 14,059 people/km². The city writes that "Chuo Ward is the highest at 14,059 people, about 2.9 times the city average" and that "Chuo Ward has about 6.0 times the population density of Sawara Ward".
Nishi Ward
213,621 people 12.8% of the city
+1,042 people
2.12 people per household (2nd highest of the 7 wards). A ward with a high share of people living as families.
Jonan Ward
134,096 people 8.1% of the city
+1,232 people
1.94 people per household; 8,386 people/km² (3rd highest of the 7 wards)
Today, more people die here than are bornPopulation movement for July, Reiwa 8: 1,061 births, 1,305 deaths, a natural change of −244. Against that, 6,264 people moved in from outside the city and 5,257 moved out, for net migration of +1,007. The balance, +619, means the population is still rising.
Year by year, natural change was +696 in Reiwa 2 but −681 in Reiwa 3, and since then the gap has widened: −2,080 in Reiwa 4, −2,775 in Reiwa 5 and −3,308 in Reiwa 6. Even so, net migration in Reiwa 6 was +18,629. Fukuoka City grows not by being born into but by being moved to — keep that structure in mind.
There are 61,656 foreign residentsIn the registered population at the end of July, Reiwa 8, Fukuoka City had 1,628,052 people in 899,658 households, of whom 1,566,396 in 853,832 households were Japanese nationals and 61,656 in 45,826 households were foreign residents (31,913 men, 29,743 women). Foreign residents are 3.79% of the registered population, and their number rose by 511 on the previous month.
By ward: 17,181 in Higashi, 15,318 in Hakata, 9,639 in Minami, 7,674 in Chuo, 5,044 in Nishi, 4,514 in Sawara and 2,286 in Jonan. The city website has a "multilingual portal" with information in English, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali and Easy Japanese.This site has an English edition too (open it from the language button at the top of the page).
Six point nine times larger in a centuryFrom the city's own account: "At the first census (Taisho 9) the city had about 240,000 people. It passed 500,000 in Showa 30, 1,000,000 in Showa 50 and 1,500,000 in Heisei 27, and now stands at 1,660,000.""Since that first survey in Taisho 9 the city's population has risen without interruption, for men and women alike, growing by about 1,420,000 people, or about 6.9 times.""Looking at the rate of growth, from Showa 25 to Showa 50 it ran above 10%, peaking at 21.3% in Showa 30, and it has been slowing since."In 105 years the city has never once shrunk.
Smaller households mean houses do not go spareHouseholds grew 6.3%, exactly twice the 3.2% growth in population.1.88 people per household means fewer than two. By ward, Hakata is at 1.57 and Chuo at 1.59, so the two city-centre wards are made almost entirely of one- and two-person households.
This feeds straight into house-hunting. Among the 787 second-hand detached houses in §4, 4LDK is the commonest layout at 248, on a median plot of 199 square metres. The closer to the centre the ward, the smaller the stock of "houses for a family" (35 listings in Chuo, 28 in Hakata). If you are looking for a detached family house, Higashi, Minami, Sawara and Nishi wards are where the choice is.
Sources: the Reiwa 7 census preliminary figures are fromFukuoka City, "Reiwa 7 (2025) census preliminary results"ofSummary (PDF, May Reiwa 8)(as of 1 October, Reiwa 7／population 1,663,892 [up 51,500, or 3.2%, on Reiwa 2], households 883,374 [up 52,250, or 6.3%]／"The rate of population growth is, as last time, first among the designated cities", "By ward, Higashi is the largest at 339,000, and its 5.3% growth is also the highest", "The average household is 1.88 people, 0.06 fewer than last time. Households continue to grow smaller", "Population density is 4,844 per km², 149 more than last time"／population by ward: Higashi 339,735 [20.4%], Minami 270,741 [16.3%], Hakata 264,220 [15.9%], Sawara 225,111 [13.5%], Chuo 216,368 [13.0%], Nishi 213,621 [12.8%], Jonan 134,096 [8.1%]／increase since last time: Higashi 17,232, Hakata 12,186, Chuo 10,867, Minami 5,158, Sawara 3,783, Jonan 1,232, Nishi 1,042, "every ward gained population"／growth rates: Higashi 5.3%, Chuo 5.3%, Hakata 4.8%／people per household: Sawara 2.14, Nishi 2.12, Higashi 2.01, Minami 2.01, Jonan 1.94, Chuo 1.59, Hakata 1.57／population density: city 4,844 [4,695 last time], Chuo 14,059 "about 2.9 times the city average", Minami 8,739, Jonan 8,386, Sawara 2,348, "Chuo Ward has about 6.0 times the density of Sawara Ward"／"At the first census (Taisho 9) the city had about 240,000 people. It passed 500,000 in Showa 30, 1,000,000 in Showa 50 and 1,500,000 in Heisei 27, and now stands at 1,660,000", "growing by about 1,420,000 people, or about 6.9 times", "From Showa 25 to Showa 50 the rate of growth ran above 10%, peaking at 21.3% in Showa 30, and it has been slowing since")／the population movement and the registered population (Japanese nationals and foreign residents separately) are fromthe same, "Fukuoka City estimated population (as of 1 August, Reiwa 8)"(PDF／population movement is for July, Reiwa 8: natural change −244 [1,061 births, 1,305 deaths], migration +1,007 [6,264 moved in from outside the city, 3,321 from another ward; 5,257 moved out of the city, 3,321 to another ward], other changes −144／the registered population is as of the last day of July, Reiwa 8: Fukuoka City 899,658 households and 1,628,052 people [771,179 men, 856,873 women], Japanese nationals 853,832 households and 1,566,396 people, foreign residents 45,826 households and 61,656 people [31,913 men, 29,743 women], up 448 households and 511 people on the previous month／foreign residents by ward: Higashi 17,181, Hakata 15,318, Chuo 7,674, Minami 9,639, Jonan 2,286, Sawara 4,514, Nishi 5,044)／the yearly natural change and migration figures are fromthe same, "Fukuoka City Statistical Yearbook, Reiwa 7 edition, Chapter 1 Key Indicators"(PDF)／the multilingual portal is fromthe same, "Multilingual pages"/ Verified 2026-08-25
Share of foreign residents
3.58%national average 3.26%
Of the 1,620,853 people living in Fukuoka City, 58,094 are foreign residents. That is above the national average (3.26%).
Nationally, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642).
There are 34 municipalities in Japan where the share is above 10%.
Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17
Is the population rising or falling?
It is rising. The preliminary Reiwa 7 census puts the city at 1,663,892 people, up 3.2% in five years — the city writes that "the rate of population growth is, as last time, first among the designated cities". 🔴 The growth comes from people moving in, though, and the average household has shrunk to 1.88 people. There are 61,656 foreign residents.
CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events
The unit of community life in Fukuoka City is the school district. The city has 146 school districts and 149 community centres (as of 1 May, Reiwa 6) — roughly one community centre per primary school district, each with its own district council. By ward: Higashi 31 districts (29 centres), Nishi 25 (24), Minami 25 (25), Sawara 24 (24), Hakata 18 (22), Chuo 12 (14) and Jonan 11 (11). And the year turns on three festivals: the Hakata Dontaku Port Festival in May, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa in July and the Hojoya in September. These are the "three great festivals of Hakata"; the Yamakasa is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, and the Hakata Matsubayashi, from which Dontaku descends, is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property too.
When
What
Detail
month 1
Toka Ebisu
Toka Ebisu Shrine in Hakata Ward is described by the city as a shrine "with many visitors praying for business prosperity". The new year in Fukuoka is a month of shrine visits.
3 May, 4 days
Hakata Dontaku Port Festival
"Some 200 groups and about 18,000 dontaku performers gathered from Japan and abroad put on a wide range of performances in the parade along Meiji-dori and on stages across the city."The festival ends with the "So-odori" grand dance from 17:50 on the 4th — "anyone can simply join in". Its origin is "the folk ritual 'Hakata Matsubayashi', which began in Jisho 3 (1179) as a way of thanking Lord Taira no Shigemori for his work on trade with Song China". Reiwa 8 marks "80 years since Dontaku was revived", and the theme is "80 years since Dontaku's revival — again this year, with celebration, to be the best in Japan!!"
1 June
Water Saving Day
A day the city set for itself."1 June is the first day of the period when water restrictions were at their tightest during the drought of Showa 53." (§1)
1 July–15 days
the Hakata Gion Yamakasa
1 July = decorated floats go on show all at once (from the morning of the 1st until before dawn on the 15th, at 13 places across the city) and the duty district's oshioi-tori (evening, Hakozaki beach)／9th = oshioi-tori for all districts／10th = nagare-kaki (16:00–18:00)／11th = asa-yamakasa (05:00–06:00) and taryu-kaki (15:00–17:30)／12th = oiyama-narashi (15:59, Kushida Shrine to Naraya-machi, 4 km)／13th = shudan-yamakasa-mise (15:30, Gofukumachi crossing to City Hall, 2.1 km)／14th = nagare-kaki (16:00–17:00)／15th = oiyama-kasa (4:59 a.m., Kushida Shrine to Susaki-machi, 5 km)
12 September–18 days
Hojoya hojoya
Seven days at Hakozaki-gu Shrine in Hakozaki, Higashi Ward. About 500 stalls line the one-kilometre approach, and the festival is said to draw about a million visitors in total. It is a festival "to cherish all living things, to abstain from taking life, and to give thanks for the autumn harvest". New ginger and "Hojoya ohajiki" marbles are the specialities, and the city covers them in its "Hakata trivia" series.
Yamakasa is not a festival you watch; it is one you carryThe city newsletter carries the words of Masanori Tateiwa (75), general manager of the Nakasu-nagare, which holds the number-one float in Reiwa 8: "We have the number-one float, which comes round once every seven years, and we are ready for it. We chose 'Shomon Fuku-no-Kami' as the theme of the Nakasu-nagare float, wanting everyone — those carrying it and those watching — to smile.""The moment the starting drum sounds, I catch my breath every time. We have all prepared for this one day. We will pray for safety and offer up a beautiful float."The floats are carried by "nagare", groupings of neighbourhoods.Live in the Hakata quarter (part of Hakata Ward) and July becomes Yamakasa for the whole neighbourhood.What it means to "move to a town with a Yamakasa" is something you understand once you live there.
The city lists where to watch the oiyama runStraight from the city newsletter: "Around Gofukumachi Station: near the Gofukumachi crossing where Daihaku-dori meets Meiji-dori, the road is wide and the view is clear. Close to the station and convenient.""The crossing of Meiji-dori and the old Higashi-machi-suji: near where Meiji-dori meets the atmospheric old Higashi-machi-suji, lined with temples and shrines. The downhill slope makes the floats pick up speed.""The crossing of Meiji-dori and the old Nishi-machi-suji: the road is narrow, and in places you may take a soaking from the kioi-mizu water thrown over the runners.""Along Daihaku-dori: the pavement is wide, so it is safe for first-timers and for those with children."The city's requests come with them: "So that everyone can watch safely, please refrain from sitting down on the pavement or using umbrellas in crowded places", "The area around Kushida Shrine, where the run starts, is especially crowded for the oiyama-kasa on the 15th."
Putting out the rubbish is your very first piece of community lifeAs set out in §8, household rubbish in Fukuoka City is collected at night — burnable rubbish twice a week, between sunset and midnight, and non-burnable rubbish and empty bottles and PET bottles once a month, in the same hours. Detached houses put it out in front of the house, flats at the designated collection point, and where the collection vehicle cannot get through, at a spot designated by the neighbourhood association.
"Where a detached house or block of flats cannot be reached by the collection vehicle, please put rubbish out at a spot designated by the neighbourhood association or similar body" — and there is the neighbourhood association. If you are buying a house on a narrow lane, be sure to ask at the viewing where the rubbish goes.
There is one community centre per school districtThe city has 149 community centres. To "raise the role of community centres as bases for local community activity", the city brought the citizens' centres that oversee them into the ward offices in fiscal Heisei 13 and has tightened the link with the ward offices since.
A community centre serves at once as the place where events are announced, as somewhere for children to be, as an evacuation site, and as a home for clubs and classes.When you move in, the first thing to find is where your own school district's community centre is. Each ward's section of the city website has pages for "School districts (district councils) and local activities and information" and "Community centre information". The city also runs a town-building campaign through flowers in every ward, called "Hitori Hitohana" (one person, one flower).
Sources: the number of school districts and community centres, and the role of community centres, are fromFukuoka City "the Ward Administration Outline (FYReiwa 6 (2024))"(PDF, 2-5-8 Primary school districts and community centres／as of 1 May, Reiwa 6／city total: 146 school districts, 149 community centres／Higashi Ward 31 and 29／Hakata Ward 18 and 22／Chuo Ward 12 and 14／Minami Ward 25 and 25／Jonan Ward 11 and 11／Sawara Ward 24 and 24／Nishi Ward 25 and 24／"To strengthen the role of community centres as bases for local community activity, and to support local communities in ways that fit local circumstances and residents' needs, in fiscal Heisei 13 the citizens' centres that oversee the community centres were brought into the ward offices, tightening the link between the community centres, the citizens' centres and the ward offices")／the Hakata Gion Yamakasa schedule, viewing spots and participants' words are fromthe same, "City newsletter, 1 July Reiwa 8 issue: the Hakata Gion Yamakasa"(schedule／1 July: decorated floats go on show all at once [from the morning of the 1st until before dawn on the 15th, at 13 places across the city] and the duty district's oshioi-tori [evening, Hakozaki beach]／9th: oshioi-tori for all districts／10th: nagare-kaki [16:00–18:00, each district]／11th: asa-yamakasa [05:00–06:00, each district] and taryu-kaki [15:00–17:30, 4 districts]／12th: oiyama-narashi [15:59, Kushida Shrine to Naraya-machi, 4 km]／13th: shudan-yamakasa-mise [15:30, Gofukumachi crossing to City Hall, 2.1 km]／14th: nagare-kaki [16:00–17:00, 5 districts]／15th: oiyama-kasa [04:59, Kushida Shrine to Susaki-machi, 5 km])／the Hakata Dontaku is fromthe same, "City newsletter, 1 May Reiwa 8 issue: the citizens' festival, Hakata Dontaku Port Festival"("The Hakata Dontaku Port Festival takes place on Sunday 3 May (a public holiday) and Monday 4 May (a public holiday). Some 200 groups and about 18,000 dontaku performers gathered from Japan and abroad put on a wide range of performances in the parade along Meiji-dori and on stages across the city", "The festival reaches its finale with the 'So-odori' grand dance from 17:50 on the 4th", "Anyone can simply join in", "The Hakata Dontaku has its origin in the folk ritual 'Hakata Matsubayashi', which began in Jisho 3 (1179) as a way of thanking Lord Taira no Shigemori for his work on trade with Song China", "Dontaku was revived the year after the war ended. This year's theme is '80 years since Dontaku's revival — again this year, with celebration, to be the best in Japan!!'")／the Hakata Matsubayashi, Kushida Shrine and Toka Ebisu Shrine are fromthe same, "Ward Administration Outline (Reiwa 6)", Hakata Ward profile("as shown by the Hakata Matsubayashi, an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan and the origin of the Hakata Dontaku, and by the Hakata Gion Yamakasa, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage", "Kushida Shrine, the guardian shrine of Hakata, and Toka Ebisu Shrine, with many visitors praying for business prosperity")／the Hojoya is fromHakozaki-gu Shrine "the Hojoya"(12–18 September; about 500 stalls along a 1 km approach; about 1 million visitors in total) andFukuoka City, "Hakata trivia vol.44: new ginger, Hakata champon, and Hojoya ohajiki marbles"／how to put out rubbish is fromthe same, "How to put out household rubbish (rubbish rules)"／Water Saving Day is fromthe same, "Water saving among residents"/ Verified 2026-08-25
What is community life like?
The unit of community life is the school district, and the city has 146 school districts and 149 community centres. The year turns around the Hakata Dontaku Port Festival on 3 and 4 May, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa from 1 to 15 July (the oiyama-kasa run starts at 4:59 a.m. on the 15th) and the Hojoya from 12 to 18 September.
CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices
In central Fukuoka the limits on height and on floor area ratio are currently being eased.The Tenjin Big Bang covers a radius of about 500 metres from the Tenjin crossing (about 80 hectares), and Hakata Connected covers a radius of about 500 metres from Hakata Station (about 80 hectares). And both begin with the Kego fault — in the city's own words: "The Tenjin Big Bang is a project in which, against the background of the Kego fault risk, the easing of aviation height limits and the city's own floor-area-ratio relaxation scheme allow ageing buildings to be replaced with advanced, highly earthquake-resistant ones, making the city safer for residents, workers and visitors alike."This is where the fault in §5 and the land prices in §9 meet.
The airport is close, so the buildings were low. That limit has been lifted through a National Strategic Special Zone.As set out in §1, Fukuoka Airport is inside the city. That put an aviation height limit over the city centre. As a National Strategic Special Zone the city obtained "area-wide special approval for aviation height limits" and is easing them district by district.
In the Tenjin Meiji-dori district (eased H29.9.26), the east side went from about 76 metres to about 76–100 metres, and the west side from about 76 metres to about 115.On 29 March, Reiwa 3, the "Tenjin 1-chome district" was added. In the city's words, this gives "greater freedom in planning — landmark buildings, generous space at the base of buildings such as plazas and walkways, and attractive streetscapes". The Tenjin skyline is being remade as we speak.
Around Hakata Station, 30 buildings have already been replacedThe city's own figures for Hakata Connected: "Building permit applications: 35 (from January 2019, when Hakata Connected began, to the end of March 2026)", "Buildings completed: 30 (as of the end of March 2026)", "About 35 buildings are due to be rebuilt by the end of 2028."
The aim is "alongside the extension of the subway Nanakuma Line and the redevelopment of Hakata Ekimae-dori, to ease regulations such as the floor area ratio so that ageing buildings are replaced with advanced, highly earthquake-resistant ones, to widen the pedestrian network, and to improve the flow between the station and the historic old Hakata town". As set out in §9, commercial land in Hakata Ward averages ¥2,197,000 per square metre, and residential land ¥273,300, the second highest of the 7 wards.
Redevelopment is not confined to the city centreHigashi Ward — large housing and commercial developments are going ahead at Island City, and Teriha Habataki Elementary School opened in April, Reiwa 6. "Fukuoka Smart East" is under way on the former Hakozaki Campus of Kyushu University, and a preferred bidder was chosen in April, Reiwa 6.
Nishi Ward — Kyushu University completed its move to the Ito Campus in September, Heisei 30, and "a new urban area has formed around JR Kyudai-Gakkentoshi Station, and the population has kept rising". Saito-kita Elementary School opened in April, Reiwa 5.Jonan and Nishi wards — the Nanakuma Line reached Hakata Station on 27 March, Reiwa 5, and fiscal Reiwa 8 brings new rolling stock and more services. As set out in §9, residential land in Nishi Ward rose fastest of the 7 wards (+7.9%), which reflects all of this.
The city's debt keeps fallingFrom the city newsletter of 15 April, Reiwa 8: "Across all accounts, and excluding the sinking fund for lump-sum redemption, outstanding municipal debt at the end of fiscal Reiwa 8 stands at ¥1,716,400,000,000, ¥44,200,000,000 less than the previous year.""Excluding the expected balance of extraordinary financial countermeasure bonds, outstanding debt has fallen by ¥1,121,700,000,000 from its peak at the end of fiscal Heisei 16 to ¥1,389,800,000,000.""Outstanding municipal debt per resident is therefore expected to be about ¥860,000, lower again than last year and less than half the level at the end of fiscal Heisei 16."The city expects to issue ¥53,100,000,000 in bonds in fiscal Reiwa 8 (general account), ¥1.4 billion less than in the previous year's initial budget. The city writes that it is "building the town by drawing on private-sector energy and deregulation rather than relying on tax revenue alone" — the Tenjin Big Bang and Hakata Connected are what those words mean in practice.
Sources: the Tenjin Big Bang is fromFukuoka City, "The Tenjin Big Bang is steadily under way!!"("The Tenjin Big Bang is a project in which, against the background of the Kego fault risk, the easing of aviation height limits and the city's own floor-area-ratio relaxation scheme allow ageing buildings to be replaced with advanced, highly earthquake-resistant ones. This makes the city safer for residents, workers and visitors alike, raises the capability of the city centre, and generates new space, jobs and tax revenue", "The Tenjin Big Bang covers the area within a radius of about 500 metres from the Tenjin crossing at the heart of Tenjin, about 80 hectares")／the easing of the aviation height limit is fromthe same, "Fukuoka Special Zone Project T314: the aviation height limit over the Tenjin 1-chome district has been eased!"(PDF, 29 March, Reiwa 3／Tenjin Meiji-dori district, eased H29.9.26: east side about 76 m ⇒ about 76 m to about 100 m; west side about 76 m ⇒ about 115 m／"The 'Tenjin 1-chome district', for which a district plan has been decided, has been added to the 'area-wide special approval for aviation height limits' granted to Fukuoka City as a National Strategic Special Zone", "This gives greater freedom in planning — landmark buildings, generous space at the base of buildings such as plazas and walkways, and attractive streetscapes — and allows town-building that makes the fullest use of private-sector energy")／Hakata Connected is fromthe same, "Hakata Connected"("Coverage: a radius of about 500 m from Hakata Station, about 80 ha", "Building permit applications: 35 (from January 2019, when Hakata Connected began, to the end of March 2026)", "Buildings completed: 30 (as of the end of March 2026)", "About 35 buildings are due to be rebuilt by the end of 2028", "Alongside the extension of the subway Nanakuma Line and the redevelopment of Hakata Ekimae-dori, we are easing regulations such as the floor area ratio so that ageing buildings are replaced with advanced, highly earthquake-resistant ones and the pedestrian network is widened. Improving the flow between the station and the historic old Hakata town raises the capability of the city as a whole")／Island City, Fukuoka Smart East and the Ito Campus of Kyushu University are fromthe same, "Ward Administration Outline (Reiwa 6)"(PDF, Higashi Ward and Nishi Ward profiles) andthe same, "Outline of Nishi Ward"("In September, Heisei 30, Kyushu University completed its move to the Ito Campus in the Motooka and Kuwabara districts; a new urban area has formed around JR Kyudai-Gakkentoshi Station, and the population has kept rising")／the municipal debt, bond issuance and extra Nanakuma Line services are fromthe same, "City newsletter, 15 April Reiwa 8 issue"("The city expects to issue ¥53,100,000,000 in bonds in fiscal Reiwa 8 (general account), ¥1.4 billion less than in the initial budget for fiscal Reiwa 7", "Across all accounts, and excluding the sinking fund for lump-sum redemption, outstanding municipal debt at the end of fiscal Reiwa 8 stands at ¥1,716,400,000,000, ¥44,200,000,000 less than the previous year", "Excluding the expected balance of extraordinary financial countermeasure bonds, outstanding debt has fallen by ¥1,121,700,000,000 from its peak at the end of fiscal Heisei 16 to ¥1,389,800,000,000", "Outstanding municipal debt per resident is therefore expected to be about ¥860,000, lower again than last year and less than half the level at the end of fiscal Heisei 16", "The city is building the town by drawing on private-sector energy and deregulation rather than relying on tax revenue alone")／checked 2026-08-25
How will the city change from here?
Buildings in the city centre are being rebuilt under the Tenjin Big Bang (a radius of about 500 metres from the Tenjin crossing, about 80 hectares) and Hakata Connected (a radius of about 500 metres from Hakata Station, about 80 hectares). On the Hakata side, 35 building permit applications and 30 completions had been recorded by the end of March 2026.
CHAPTER 13What this place makes
What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.
¥4,157,400,000
Hometown tax donations received in fiscal Reiwa 7 (147,894 donations). 54th of 1,788 municipalities nationwide, and 2nd within Fukuoka Prefecture.
What this town names as its own products
Fukuoka City names 35 farm, forest and fishery products grown within the city as "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon". In the city's words: "Fukuoka City has a population of more than 1,600,000, and yet a rich sea and natural surroundings are close at hand: it is a compact city where the food is good. This site brings you the appeal of 'Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon', the farm, forest and fishery products grown in Fukuoka City and the foods processed from them."The 35 break down into 20 farm and livestock products and 15 from the sea.And, as set out in §2, which ward grows what is fairly settled — Nishi Ward "has the most farmland in the city and active farming and fishing", and southern Sawara Ward "has a long history as one of the city's foremost farming areas, with rice fields stretching out". As set out in §7, you can buy them at 15 farm stands across the city.Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon (35 products) — 20 farm and livestock products: amanatsu citrus, Hakata Wagyu beef, rice, katsuona, shungiku, daikon, Hakata Amaou strawberries, turnips, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, komatsuna, asparagus, tomatoes, white spring onions, green spring onions, grapes, European vegetables, tea leaves and Hakata Jidori chicken／15 from the sea: Karatomari Ebisu oysters, gizzard shad, sea bass, sea bream, yellowtail, filefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, spear squid, prawns, crab, abalone, turban shell, nori and wakame. Not many designated cities can name 15 products from the sea. • Karatomari Ebisu oysters (Nishi Ward) — oysters farmed by the Karatomari Branch of the Fukuoka City Fisheries Cooperative. The city describes them as "known for rich, plump flesh and a large, firm adductor muscle". They are farmed in winter, when the fishing season is quiet, and "wanting people to eat fresh oysters on the spot, the cooperative has run the oyster huts since 2003, with the cooperative and the fishermen handling everything from production to sale". The Karatomari Ebisu Oyster Hut usually opens on 1 November, from 11:00 to 17:00 (until 18:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), closed Tuesdays and over the new year (open on Tuesdays that fall on a public holiday) • Katsuona (a Hakata vegetable) — the city's Biodiversity Web Center places "Hakata vegetables with Kyoto vegetables and Kaga vegetables as one of the three great regional vegetable traditions", noting that "branded vegetables carrying the Hakata name, such as 'Hakata eggplant', 'Hakata tomatoes' and 'Hakata asparagus', are shipped all over Japan". Katsuona is one of the heirloom vegetables: "People outside the prefecture hardly know it, but in Fukuoka it is an essential ingredient in the new year zoni soup.""Katsuona is rich in amino acids, the compounds behind savoury flavour, so in simmered dishes and soups it" gives a broth-like depth — which is where its name comes from • Hakata Amaou strawberries — the strawberry that represents Fukuoka Prefecture, and it is grown inside the city too. On Shikanoshima in Higashi Ward, growers certified by the city hold an "Amaou Festival" (12 April in Reiwa 8) • Hakata Wagyu beef and Hakata Jidori chicken — two of the 20 farm and livestock "Umakamon". Only animals raised within the city qualify • Nori and wakame (Hakata Bay) — Nishi Ward's "waters cover most of Hakata Bay outside the port zone, making it an important fishing base for Fukuoka City" (Fukuoka City, "Outline of Nishi Ward"). On Shikanoshima in Higashi Ward there is a direct-sales base called "Shikanoshima Center Shima-no-Sachi" • The city lists 15 places to buy them — Hakata Jomon-san Susenji Market (Susenji 1-7-1, Nishi Ward), Fukushige Market (Fukushige 1-16-6, Nishi Ward), Irube Market (Higashi-irube 6-18-3, Sawara Ward), Hanahata Market (Kashiwara 1-1-42, Minami Ward) and Osa Market (Matoba 1-23-23, Minami Ward), Wakky Suki-no-Sato (Wakiyama 592-1, Sawara Ward) and JA Fukuoka-shi Tobu Aisai Market (Wajiro 3-27-39, Higashi Ward), plus 8 direct-sales corners inside supermarkets. The Fukuoka City Fisheries Cooperative also sells direct • The city supports "sixth-industrialisation and branding" — it provides "support for product development and market expansion through the sixth-industrialisation and branding of farm and livestock products grown in the city", widening the market under the label "Fukuoka-san-chi no Okiniiri". There is also an "Umakamon certified restaurant" scheme, and certified restaurants serve dishes made with ingredients from the city.
Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.
The city names 35 products as "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon" (20 farm and livestock products, 15 seafood). They include Karatomari Ebisu oysters from Nishi Ward, katsuona greens, which no Hakata zoni soup can do without, Hakata Amaou strawberries and Hakata Wagyu beef. Hometown tax donations received came to ¥4,157,400,000 from 147,894 donations, 54th nationwide and 2nd within Fukuoka Prefecture.
CHAPTER 14A message from Fukuoka City
What Fukuoka City offers people moving in is help with the move itself. The largest is the "Three-Generation Co-residence and Near-residence Relocation Support Program" — open to households with children, and to parent households, moving into Fukuoka City on or after 1 April, Reiwa 8, and offering (1) home purchase support of ¥200,000 a year for up to 5 years, (2) private rent relief of ¥100,000 a year for up to 5 years, and (3) moving cost support up to ¥200,000 (raised by ¥50,000 for households with several children). (1) with (3), and (2) with (3), can be combined if the conditions are met. In the city's words: "To support three generations living together or close by, we help households with children and parent households who move into Fukuoka City in order to do so, with the cost of buying a home, private rent and moving."There is one condition, though: "One of the two households must have lived in Fukuoka City for at least a year before the move; if both the household with children and the parent household are moving in from outside Fukuoka City, they are not eligible."
What counts as "three generations" is set out preciselyIt covers a household with children (one with a dependent child up to the first 31 March on or after the child's 18th birthday, or one including someone who had received a maternal and child health handbook by the date of the move) and that household's parents or grandparents. The rule is "the household must live together, or close by, across three generations within the city", and "close by" means within 1.2 kilometres in a straight line.
Other conditions include "no rent arrears on the previous home, and the previous home must not, as a rule, be owned by the applicant or someone living with them", "the household must not be receiving public assistance or similar", "the household must have no arrears of Fukuoka City municipal taxes", and "no arrears of municipal tax where you lived before (if that was outside Fukuoka City)". "A home taken as company housing (a corporate contract) after the move is not eligible", and "a home acquired from a relative (by inheritance, gift or sale between relatives), or rented from a relative, is not eligible." The detail runs deep, so check every condition on the city's page before you apply.
There is a separate scheme for people moving within the cityThe "In-City Moving Support Program for Households with Children" covers households with children moving within Fukuoka City on or after 1 April, Reiwa 8. (1) home purchase support: a base amount of ¥200,000 a year for up to 5 years; (2) private rent relief: a base amount of ¥100,000 a year for up to 5 years; (3) moving cost support: a base ceiling of ¥150,000 (raised by ¥50,000 for households with several children).
In the city's words, "this programme supports households with children who wish to go on living in the city by helping with the cost of buying a home, rent and moving when they move within the city". As set out in §9, moving house within Fukuoka City happens on a scale comparable to moving in and out of it. This scheme exists to support that. Counter consultations and applications need an appointment, and you can also apply online or by post.
Check which municipalities the prefecture's relocation grant coversFukuoka Prefecture pays ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, and up to ¥1,000,000 more per child to people who move into the prefecture from the 23 wards of Tokyo (as residents or commuters) and either take a job listed as eligible or start a business in a socially oriented field.
As of 1 April, Reiwa 8 the eligible destinations are 31 municipalities: Kitakyushu, Omuta, Kurume, Iizuka, Tagawa, Yanagawa, Yame, Chikugo, Okawa, Buzen, Munakata, Koga, Ukiha, Kama and Miyama cities; Kasuya, Ashiya, Okagaki, Kotake and Keisen towns; Toho village; and Tachiarai, Hirokawa, Kawara, Kawasaki, Oto, Fukuchi, Kanda, Miyako, Koge and Chikujo towns.The prefecture adds that "the eligible destinations can differ from year to year, so please check with the municipality you are moving to".Living in Fukuoka City and commuting to one of the eligible municipalities does not work (the requirement is that you move into an eligible municipality).
How the city describes itselfThe city runs its own statistics site, "Fukuoka Facts: the good parts of Fukuoka, seen through data". Its categories are "Fukuoka is NO.1", "Lifestyle", "Food culture", "Economy and industry", "Tourism and history", "Fukuoka in the world" and "Basic facts about Fukuoka City" — "We have gathered the statistics on which Fukuoka City is NO.1."
On its farm and fishery site the city writes: "Fukuoka City has a population of more than 1,600,000, and yet a rich sea and natural surroundings are close at hand: it is a compact city where the food is good.""Compact" is the word Fukuoka City reaches for most often when describing itself. As set out in §1, the airport is five subway minutes away, and as set out in §3, you can reach Tenjin and Hakata Station from any of the seven wards. That is what this city is selling.
Sources: the Three-Generation Co-residence and Near-residence Relocation Support Program is fromFukuoka City "the Three-Generation Co-residence and Near-residence Relocation Support Program"(updated 16 July 2026／fiscal Reiwa 8; covers moves made on or after 1 April, Reiwa 8／"To support three generations living together or close by, this programme helps households with children and parent households (parents or grandparents) who move into Fukuoka City in order to do so, with the cost of buying a home, private rent and moving", "(1) home purchase support: a base amount of ¥200,000 a year for up to 5 years; (2) private rent relief: a base amount of ¥100,000 a year for up to 5 years; (3) moving cost support: a base ceiling of ¥200,000 (raised by ¥50,000 for households with several children)", "(1) with (3), and (2) with (3), can be combined where the conditions are met", "Household with children: a household with a dependent child up to the first 31 March on or after the child's 18th birthday, or a household including a pregnant person who had received a maternal and child health handbook by the date of the move", "One of the two households must have lived in Fukuoka City for at least a year before the move; if both the household with children and the parent household are moving in from outside Fukuoka City, they are not eligible", "A home taken as company housing (a corporate contract) after the move is not eligible", "A home acquired from a relative (by inheritance, gift or sale between relatives), or rented from a relative, is not eligible"／"close by" means within 1.2 km in a straight line／"Counter consultations and applications require an appointment", "You can also apply online or by post")the same, "In-City Moving Support Program for Households with Children"("This programme supports households with children who wish to go on living in the city by helping with the cost of buying a home, rent and moving when they move within the city", "It covers households with children moving within Fukuoka City on or after 1 April, Reiwa 8", "(1) home purchase support: a base amount of ¥200,000 a year for up to 5 years; (2) private rent relief: a base amount of ¥100,000 a year for up to 5 years; (3) moving cost support: a base ceiling of ¥150,000 (raised by ¥50,000 for households with several children)")／the Fukuoka Prefecture Relocation Support Grant is fromFukuoka Prefecture "the Fukuoka Prefecture Relocation Support Grant"(eligible destinations: Kitakyushu, Omuta, Kurume, Iizuka, Tagawa, Yanagawa, Yame, Chikugo, Okawa, Buzen, Munakata, Koga, Ukiha, Kama and Miyama cities; Kasuya, Ashiya, Okagaki, Kotake and Keisen towns; Toho village; Tachiarai, Hirokawa, Kawara, Kawasaki, Oto, Fukuchi, Kanda, Miyako, Koge and Chikujo towns [as of 1 April, Reiwa 8]／¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, and up to ¥1,000,000 more per child／"The eligible destinations can differ from year to year, so please check with the municipality you are moving to")／"Fukuoka Facts" is fromFukuoka City, "Fukuoka Facts: the good parts of Fukuoka, seen through data"("We have gathered the statistics on which Fukuoka City is NO.1")／"Fukuoka City has a population of more than 1,600,000, and yet" is fromthe same, "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon"/ Verified 2026-08-25
Is there any relocation support?
There is the Three-Generation Co-residence and Near-residence Relocation Support Program — ¥200,000 a year towards buying a home for up to 5 years, ¥100,000 a year towards private rent for up to 5 years, and up to ¥200,000 towards moving costs. "Near-residence" means within 1.2 kilometres in a straight line, and 🔴 one of the two households must already have lived in Fukuoka City for at least a year before the move.
CHAPTER 15A year in Fukuoka
The year in Fukuoka turns on its festivals and the sea. The normals at the Japan Meteorological Agency's Fukuoka observatory are 249.6 mm in June and 299.1 mm in July — 32.5% of the year's rain in those two months. Summer brings 8.1 extremely hot days and 38.7 tropical nights; winter brings 0.0 days that stay below freezing, 2.5 days that dip below it, and 2 centimetres of snow in the year, so snow is hardly a concern at any point. The festivals at the centre of the year are the Hakata Dontaku in May, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa in July and the Hojoya in September. On the table, Karatomari Ebisu oysters in winter, Hakata Amaou strawberries in spring, sea bass and spear squid in summer, Spanish mackerel in autumn — the 35 products the city presents as "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon" turn over with the seasons.
Month
Climate
The town at that time of year
1–month 2
3.9–4.4°C normal daily low／rain 70–74 mm
The driest part of the year (67.5 mm in December, 69.8 mm in February). There are only 2.5 days below freezing a year, so mornings dip below zero only a few days a year. This is the month when worshippers gather at Toka Ebisu Shrine in Hakata Ward. It is also the busiest season for the Karatomari Ebisu oyster huts in Nishi Ward, and katsuona is the heirloom green that no Hakata zoni soup can do without.
3–month 5
7.2–16.1°C rain 104–134 mm
3 and 4 May bring the Hakata Dontaku Port Festival — about 200 groups and about 18,000 people parade along Meiji-dori, and the festival ends with the "So-odori" grand dance at 17:50 on the 4th. Ohori Park, Maizuru Park and Nishi Park in Chuo Ward — where, in the city's words, "green and water run in an unbroken line from Nishi Park through Ohori Park and Maizuru Park to Minami Park with its zoo and botanical garden, and on to Mt. Konosuyama" — come into cherry blossom. This is the season for Hakata Amaou strawberries and asparagus.
6–month 7
20.3–24.6°C rain 250–299 mm
32.5% of the year's rain falls in these two months. It is the season to go back over the hazard map (§5). 1 June is the city's own "Water Saving Day". Then from 1 to 15 July comes the Hakata Gion Yamakasa — decorated floats stand at 13 places across the city, and summer arrives with the "oiyama-kasa" run at 4:59 a.m. on the 15th. This is the season for spear squid and sea bass.
8–month 9
21.6–25.4°C rain 175–210 mm
The normal daily low for August is 25.4°C — the normal itself is a tropical night. There are 38.7 tropical nights a year.From 12 to 18 September comes the Hojoya at Hakozaki-gu Shrine, with about 500 stalls along a one-kilometre approach. New ginger is the speciality. These are also the months when typhoons pass through.
10–month 12
5.8–16.0°C rain 68–95 mm
A season of little rain and mild temperatures.94.5 mm in October, 91.4 mm in November, 67.5 mm in December.The Karatomari Ebisu oyster huts open in November (usually from 1 November; 11:00–17:00, and until 18:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays; closed Tuesdays). Spanish mackerel, yellowtail and filefish come into season, and amanatsu citrus ripens. This is when the 15 farm stands in §7 are at their fullest.
Sources: the climate fromJapan Meteorological Agency, "Normals for Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture)"(statistical period 1991–2020, observatory number 47807)／the festivals are fromFukuoka City, "City newsletter, 1 May Reiwa 8 issue"(the Hakata Dontaku),the same, "1 July, Reiwa 8 issue"(the Hakata Gion Yamakasa),Hakozaki-gu Shrine "the Hojoya"／the produce and its seasons are fromFukuoka City, "Fukuoka-san-chi no Umakamon" list(farm and livestock products: amanatsu citrus, Hakata Wagyu beef, rice, katsuona, shungiku, daikon, Hakata Amaou strawberries, turnips, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, komatsuna, asparagus, tomatoes, white spring onions, green spring onions, grapes, European vegetables, tea leaves and Hakata Jidori chicken／seafood: Karatomari Ebisu oysters, gizzard shad, sea bass, sea bream, yellowtail, filefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, spear squid, prawns, crab, abalone, turban shell, nori and wakame／35 products in all)／the opening hours of the Karatomari Ebisu Oyster Hut are fromthe same, "Karatomari Ebisu Oyster Hut"(open 11:00–17:00, and 11:00–18:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays／closed Tuesdays and over the new year [open on Tuesdays that fall on a public holiday]／enquiries to the Karatomari Branch of the Fukuoka City Fisheries Cooperative)／katsuona and Hakata vegetables are fromthe same, "Fukuoka Biodiversity Web Center: the Hakata vegetable katsuona"("Hakata vegetables rank with Kyoto vegetables and Kaga vegetables as one of the three great regional vegetable traditions", "One of those heirloom vegetables is katsuona. People outside the prefecture hardly know it, but in Fukuoka it is an essential ingredient in the new year zoni soup")／the parks in Chuo Ward are fromthe same, "Ward Administration Outline (Reiwa 6)", Chuo Ward profile(PDF) / Verified 2026-08-25
The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.
Which season needs the most care?
June and July.June brings 249.6 mm and July 299.1 mm, so 32.5% of the year's rain falls in these two months. Once you move in, check the hazard map and your evacuation site before this season arrives.
CHAPTER 16The people who run this city
When you are weighing up a move, who is running the city now, and where they are trying to take it, is probably of more interest to you than to the people already living there. This chapter sets out only what Fukuoka City publishes itself, with sources. 🔴 As of 25 August 2026, following the official website, I (the AI) could find four of the six items below. The mayor of Fukuoka City is Soichiro Takashima (confirmed on the city's profile page).
The mayor of Fukuoka CitySoichiro Takashima. The page carrying that name was last updated2025-05-29. 🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Fukuoka City introduction page →
How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there. 🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them. Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
How many years ahead has been decidedIn Fukuoka City,Fukuoka City Master Plan Kids Page. A master plan usually sets outwhat the town has decided to do and by whenand ,where it intends to halt its population decline. 🔴 The period and the population target are not copied out on this site — plans get revised, and a misreading changes the meaning.Please check the official text from the link below.Fukuoka City Master Plan Kids Page →
🔴 What I do not do in this chapter① I do not try to guess sex or age from a name. Only what is published is shown. ② I do not write judgements of good or bad. Only "what they set out" and "the source for it". ③ I do not compare election candidates. 🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date checked (25 August 2026), and reopens the original page each time to verify by machine that the name is still there. If you notice that it has nevertheless gone out of date, please let us know.
Source: allofficial site (Fukuoka City), followed on 25 August 2026 to find these pages. What this site counted isonly whether something is published or not, and no judgement is made about the content / checked 2026-08-25
Who runs Fukuoka City now?
The mayor of Fukuoka City is Soichiro Takashima (confirmed on the city's profile page on 25 August 2026). This site looks at six things: a profile of the head of the municipality, a policy statement, a list of council members, live or recorded council broadcasts, a searchable record of proceedings, and a master plan. 🔴 No judgement is made about good or bad. Only whether each is published or not.
CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off
What never shows up in the numbers you use to find a house, yet bears directly on how satisfied you are once you live there, is the weekend. This chapter counts, on the same yardstick used for every area, the places you can go on a day off in Fukuoka and the places family and friends can stay when they visit. At present this area has 18 hot springs and day bathhouses, 7 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums and 3 RV parks. 🔴 Every count is the number registered in map data (OpenStreetMap) — the real figures may be higher.
What
Number counted, and names
♨ Hot springs and day baths
Ashiyu, Nishikoen Bath, Daitokuyu, Shikanoshima Kyukamura Kin-in-no-Yu, Fuku-no-Yu, Teriha Spa Resort, Umenoyu, Tokiwayu, 18 in total
🏯 Castles and castle sites
Arahira Castle and Maizuru Park (2 sites)
🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums
Fukuoka City Botanical Garden, SAMOYEDO PARK Fukuoka Tenjin, Fukuoka City Zoological and Botanical Garden, Dobutsu-no-Mori, Uminonakamichi Marine Ecology Science Museum (Marine World Uminonakamichi), Uminonakamichi Aquarium, Hyotan-ike (7 sites)
🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls
Shikanoshima Museum, Kyushu Sangyo University Museum of Art, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka City Archaeology Center, Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, Fukuoka City Science Museum, Kyushu University Museum, 26 in total
⛩ Shrines and temples
203 shrines and 93 temples. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Mangyo-ji, Nyuho Zen Temple, Fukuoka Japan Temple, Fukuoka Mosque, Shoryu-ji, Ryugu-ji, Ana Kannon (Kosho-ji) and Iimori Shrine main hall (lower shrine).
🚗 Roadside stations
Not found in the map data
🐕 Dog runs
Hakomatsu Wanwan Dendojo and a dog run, 3 in total
Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels
What
Number counted
🏨 Hotels and ryokan
177
🏠 Guesthouses and hostels
31
⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites
Aburayama Shimin-no-Mori Campsite and Nokonoshima Campsite, 3 in total
🏕 Glamping
Not found among the campsite or hotel names
🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle)
RV Park Steak, BBQ NIJI; RV Park smart Hakata; RV Park ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA
This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.
Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?
Counting from map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists kept by the Japan RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are 18 hot springs and day bathhouses, 7 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, 177 hotels and inns and 3 RV parks. Places not on the map are not counted, so the real numbers may be higher (see §17).
What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site
This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100,
measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need.
What was measured is the official website of Fukuoka City, and the total was 54.3 points (measured 25 August 2026).
"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.
Area
Score
What was found
Getting started with a move
10 / 20
Has a relocation and settlement page, has a dedicated relocation site, has an enquiry desk (department, telephone, opening hours), and 1 more
Housing
0 / 15
Not found
The money side of living here
9 / 15
Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Disaster information
18.3 / 20
Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more
Industry and local produce
3 / 10
Hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport
10 / 10
There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated; the date of the last revision is given
Can an AI read it?
4 / 10
Every page carries an updated date; statistics are published as Excel or CSV
See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them3 / 3 There is a relocation and settlement page I-turn and U-turn Go and see →3 / 3 There is a dedicated relocation site Lifestyle – list – | Fukuoka Facts Go and see →3 / 3 A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours) 3 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated Go and see →1 / 5 Support schemes state amounts and conditions A guide to the scheme only Go and see →0 / 3 There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme Not found0 / 3 Vacancies in trial housing are published Not found0 / 4 There is an akiya bank Not found0 / 4 Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area There is no property data this site can take in0 / 4 Completed deals are organised As above0 / 3 The conditions of use are stated Not found1 / 5 Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table There is a water and sewerage page Go and see →5 / 5 Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope The scope of free and subsidised care is stated down to the age Go and see →3 / 3 There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax Both the rates and the amounts are stated Go and see →0 / 2 Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like Not found5 / 5 Hazard maps are published by district 78 documents by district Go and see →3.3 / 5 Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered Flood / landslide Go and see →3 / 3 The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated added March, Reiwa 7 Go and see →4 / 4 Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)? Viewable in a map system Go and see →3 / 3 Disasters are announced through more than one channel Disaster email / disaster app / social media Go and see →0 / 5 A list of local speciality products is on the official site Not found1 / 3 Hometown tax results are published year by year 1 fiscal year is recorded Go and see →2 / 2 There are support schemes for businesses and industry Business location Go and see →4 / 4 There is a community bus timetable Go and see →3 / 3 Fares are stated Go and see →3 / 3 The date of the last revision is given running since Thursday 24 November, Reiwa 4 Go and see →3 / 3 Every page carries an updated date 20 of the 20 pages read Go and see →0 / 2 There is a sitemap.xml Not found0 / 2 Site search runs on the server side We could not find a search form Go and see →1 / 2 Statistics are published as Excel or CSV There is a statistics page Go and see →0 / 1 Open data is published Not found
Measurement by this site. The URL of the official website was taken from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice.
The score is a score for information publishing, not a score for how easy the place is to live in / checked 2026-08-25
Compare with other areas
Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.
This page is made by an AI. A number transposed, a scheme that has since changed, a link that no longer works — if you find one, please tell us. No name and no email address are needed. Just what is wrong, and how.
Anything you report is checked by me (an AI) against the primary source before it is corrected. When it is corrected, the "Last verified" date on this page changes.
Nishi Ward Nishinoura 1055-4¥7,000,000Nishi Ward (Meinohama, Imajuku and Nokonoshima)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 105 m² (32 tsubo) / Building 108 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1927 / Kyudai-Gakkentoshi Station bus 30 min+3 min walk9 photos →
Minami Ward Tsuruta 2¥8,000,000Minami Ward (Ohashi, Takamiya and the foot of Mt. Aburayama)Elev. approx. 40 m / Land 235 m² (71 tsubo) / Building 108 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1979 / Takamiya Station bus 26 min+3 min walk4 photos →
Minami Ward Hibaru 4¥8,000,000Minami Ward (Ohashi, Takamiya and the foot of Mt. Aburayama)Elev. approx. 40 m / Land 175 m² (53 tsubo) / Building 95 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1969 / 福大前 bus stop 53 min walk5 photos →
Nishi Ward Imazu 1825¥8,000,000Nishi Ward (Meinohama, Imajuku and Nokonoshima)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 152 m² (46 tsubo) / Building 110 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1974 / Imajuku Station 48 min walk4 photos →
Sawara Ward Uchino 6¥8,900,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 117 m² (35 tsubo) / Building 60 m² (18 tsubo) / built 1982 / 仙道 bus stop 12 min walk9 photos →
Nishi Ward Imazu¥9,000,000Nishi Ward (Meinohama, Imajuku and Nokonoshima)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 152 m² (46 tsubo) / Building 144 m² (44 tsubo) / built 1982 / Imajuku Station 34 min walk7 photos →
Sawara Ward Sawara 6¥9,800,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 331 m² (100 tsubo) / Building 171 m² (52 tsubo) / built 1975 / Noke bus stop 70 min walk10 photos →
Higashi Ward Tonoharu 6-8-45¥9,900,000Higashi Ward (Kashii, Chihaya and Shikanoshima)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 241 m² (73 tsubo) / Building 80 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1974 / Kyusandai-mae Station 12 min walk10 photos →
Sawara Ward Uchino 2¥10,980,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1991 / Noke bus stop 63 min walk9 photos →
Sawara Ward Uchino 2¥10,980,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1991 / Noke bus stop 75 min walk10 photos →
Sawara Ward Uchino 2¥10,980,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1991 / Noke bus stop bus 17 min+5 min walk10 photos →
Sawara Ward Uchino 2¥10,980,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1991 / 宮前 bus stop 5 min walk5 photos →
Nishi Ward Imajuku-machi¥11,900,000Nishi Ward (Meinohama, Imajuku and Nokonoshima)Elev. approx. 30 m / Land 225 m² (68 tsubo) / Building 90 m² (27 tsubo) / built 1976 / Imajuku Station 14 min walk4 photos →
Sawara Ward Ishigama¥12,000,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 130 m / Land 488 m² (148 tsubo) / Building 120 m² (36 tsubo) / built 1982 / 陽光台 bus stop 34 min walk10 photos →
Minami Ward Hibaru 4¥12,980,000Minami Ward (Ohashi, Takamiya and the foot of Mt. Aburayama)Elev. approx. 40 m / Land 128 m² (39 tsubo) / Building 48 m² (15 tsubo) / built 1969 / 福大前 bus stop 54 min walk2 photos →
Higashi Ward Shimobaru 1¥14,500,000Higashi Ward (Kashii, Chihaya and Shikanoshima)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 192 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 89 m² (27 tsubo) / built 1975 / Kyusandai-mae Station 15 min walk3 photos →
Higashi Ward Kashiieki-higashi 1¥14,500,000Higashi Ward (Kashii, Chihaya and Shikanoshima)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 282 m² (85 tsubo) / Building 102 m² (31 tsubo) / built 1968 / Kashii Station 6 min walk9 photos →
Sawara Ward Kamo 2¥14,900,000Sawara Ward (Nishijin, Momochihama and the Sefuri mountains)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 78 m² (24 tsubo) / Building 59 m² (18 tsubo) / built 1983 / Noke bus stop 7 min walk9 photos →
Higashi Ward Saitozaki 3¥14,980,000Higashi Ward (Kashii, Chihaya and Shikanoshima)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 168 m² (51 tsubo) / Building 126 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1950 / Saitozaki Station 8 min walk10 photos →
Higashi Ward Saitozaki 3-2-16¥14,980,000Higashi Ward (Kashii, Chihaya and Shikanoshima)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 168 m² (51 tsubo) / Building 126 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1950 / Saitozaki Station 8 min walk6 photos →
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