Since I happened to be in Fukuoka during cherry blossom season, I figured I should probably take advantage. So I headed to Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, which is about a half hour’s train ride outside of the city (it also costs 450 yen to get in, so it’s not kidding around).
It is a huge, huge park. There’s a place where you can rent a bike right at the entrance; pretty much everyone was doing this. I elected to go bike-free, mostly because I had just paid 450 yen to get into a park, so I was feeling a bit cheap.
The bike might have been a good idea. The park is so massive that there are very long stretches in which there’s basically nothing to see. I didn’t mind too much, because I like walking, but if you’re in a hurry or don’t feel like walking several kilometres, renting a bike is advisable.
It’s a really amazing park. Aside from the cherry blossoms, which are plentiful and quite impressive, there’s so much to see.
I spent almost two hours and felt like I had just barely scratched the surface. You could easily spend a whole day here and not run out of things to see.
In particular, there are some seriously vibrant flowers that are quite a sight to behold.
Normally I’d scoff at paying so much for a park, but this place is clearly worth the money.
Location: 〒811-0321 Fukuoka, Higashi-ku, Saitozaki, 福岡市東区西戸崎１８−２５
How to find it: Just head to Uminonakamichi Station. The park entrance is right there as soon as you get off the train.