Where to Stay in Fukuoka

Everything converges at Hakata Station: the five-minute airport subway, the shinkansen to Osaka and Tokyo, buses across Kyushu, and a huge complex of department stores and restaurant floors inside the station itself. The widest range of hotels in the city sits within a few blocks.

Good to know: Efficient rather than atmospheric, and the streets empty out once the station complex closes. It is the obvious base if you are day-tripping around Kyushu or catching an early flight, and Tenjin's nightlife is two subway stops away.

Fukuoka's commercial heart, with department stores, the vast Tenjin Chikagai underground shopping arcade, and the densest concentration of restaurants and bars in the city. Two subway stops from Hakata and walking distance to the Nakasu yatai.

Good to know: Busier and pricier than Hakata for the same standard of room, but you step out of the hotel into dinner rather than a station concourse. The underground arcade is a genuine asset in rain or summer heat.

A narrow island between two rivers, holding the famous riverside yatai food stalls and Kyushu's largest entertainment district. Sitting at an eight-seat stall over ramen and beer at midnight is the definitive Fukuoka experience, and it happens on your doorstep.

Good to know: It is a full nightlife district, hostess bars and touts included, which is more wearing than unsafe. Lower floors facing the street get noise until very late. Brilliant if that is why you came, poor if you want early nights.

The grid of narrow backstreets just west of Tenjin, full of independent boutiques, vintage shops, third-wave coffee and tiny bars. It is where Fukuoka's style lives, and it has the best small restaurants in the city.

Good to know: Fewer big hotels and more boutique properties and apartments, so book earlier. You are a five-minute walk from Tenjin and about twenty from Hakata, which is the right trade for anyone who cares more about eating well than about station access.

A modern planned district on the bay, with Fukuoka Tower, a man-made beach, the city museum and wide open promenades. Rooms here are larger than downtown and several have sea views.

Good to know: It is a bus ride or subway-plus-walk from the centre, so you commute in for the food and nightlife. Best for families wanting space, or a quiet couple of nights at the end of a trip.

The old temple quarter between Hakata Station and the river, home to Tochoji with its giant wooden Buddha and Kushida Shrine. Quiet, central and considerably cheaper than Tenjin for a similar room.

Good to know: Little happens here after dark, but you are a ten-minute walk from Hakata Station and a similar distance from the Nakasu stalls. The best value-for-location compromise in the city.

A lived-in neighbourhood just south of Tenjin on the subway, with excellent unpretentious restaurants, izakaya that locals rather than visitors fill, and lower prices across the board.

Good to know: Nothing to sightsee here, and hotel stock is thin compared with the centre. Worth it for a longer stay where eating like a resident matters more than being on top of the sights.