Fukuoka (福岡市 Fukuoka-shi, Japanese: [ɸɯ̥kɯꜜoka]) is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, situated on the northern shore of Japanese island Kyushu. It is the most populous city on the island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1, 1972, by government ordinance. Greater Fukuoka, with a population of 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyushu zone.

As of 2015, Fukuoka is Japan's sixth largest city, having passed the population of Kobe. In July 2011, Fukuoka surpassed the population of Kyoto. Since the founding of Kyoto in 794, this marks the first time that a city west of the Kinki region has a larger population than Kyoto. In ancient times, however, the area near Fukuoka, the Chikushi region, was thought by some historians to have possibly been even more influential than the Yamato region.

In 923, the Hakozaki-gū in Fukuoka was transferred from Daibu-gū in Daibu (大分), 16 km (10 mi) northeast from Dazaifu, the origin of Usa Shrine and established as a branch of the Usa Shrine at Fukuoka.In Ooho (大保), 15 km (9 mi) south from Dazaifu, there are remains of a big ward office with a temple, because in ancient East Asia, an emperor must have three great ministries (大宰, 大傳 and 大保). In fact, there is a record in Chinese literature that a king of Japan sent a letter in 478 to ask the Chinese emperor's approval for employing three ministries. In addition, remains of the Korokan (鴻臚館, Government Guest House) were found in Fukuoka underneath a part of the ruins of Fukuoka Castle.

Mongol invasions (1274–1281): Main article: Mongol invasions of Japan: Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire turned his attention towards Japan starting in 1268, exerting a new external pressure on Japan with which it had no experience. Kublai Khan first sent an envoy to Japan to make the Shogunate acknowledge Khan's suzerainty. The Kamakura shogunate refused. Mongolia repeatedly sent envoys thereafter, each time urging the Shogunate to accept their proposal, but to no avail.

In 1274, Kublai Khan mounted an invasion of the northern part of Kyushu with a fleet of 900 ships and 33,000 troops, including troops from Goryeo on the Korean Peninsula.This initial invasion was compromised by a combination of incompetence and severe storms. After the invasion attempt of 1274, Japanese samurai built a stone barrier 20 km (12 mi) in length bordering the coast of Hakata Bay in what is now the city of Fukuoka. The wall, 2–3 metres in height and having a base width of 3 metres, was constructed between 1276 and 1277, and was excavated in the 1930s.

Kublai sent another envoy to Japan in 1279. At that time, Hōjō Tokimune of the Hōjō clan (1251–1284) was the Eighth Regent. Not only did he decline the offer, but he beheaded the five Mongolian emissaries after summoning them to Kamakura. Infuriated, Kublai organized another attack on Fukuoka Prefecture in 1281, mobilizing 140,000 soldiers and 4,000 ships. The Japanese defenders, numbering around 40,000, were no match for the Mongols and the invasion force made it as far as Dazaifu, 15 km (9 mi) south of the city of Fukuoka. However, the Japanese were again aided by severe weather, this time by a typhoon that struck a crushing blow to the Mongolian troops, thwarting the invasion.

It was this typhoon that came to be called the Kamikaze (Divine Wind), and was the origin of the term Kamikaze used to indicate suicide attacks by military aviators of the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels during World War II.

Formation of the modern city (1889): Fukuoka was formerly the residence of the powerful daimyō of Chikuzen Province, and played an important part in the medieval history of Japan. The renowned temple of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the district was destroyed by fire during the Boshin War of 1868.

The modern city was formed on April 1, 1889, with the merger of the former cities of Hakata and Fukuoka. Historically, Hakata was the port and merchant district, and was more associated with the area's culture and remains the main commercial area today. On the other hand, the Fukuoka area was home to many samurai, and its name has been used since Kuroda Nagamasa, the first daimyō of Chikuzen Province, named it after his birthplace in Okayama Prefecture and the "old Fukuoka" is the main shopping area, now called Tenjin.

When Hakata and Fukuoka decided to merge, a meeting was held to decide the name for the new city. Hakata was initially chosen, but a group of samurai crashed the meeting and forced those present to choose Fukuoka as the name for the merged city. However, Hakata is still used to refer to the Hakata area of the city and, most famously, to refer to the city's train station, Hakata Station, and dialect, Hakata-ben.

20th century:

• 1903: Fukuoka Medical College, a campus associated with Kyoto Imperial University, is founded. In 1911, the college is renamed Kyushu Imperial University and established as a separate entity.
• 1910: Fukuoka streetcar service begins. (The service ran until 1979.)
• 1929: Flights commence along the Fukuoka-Osaka-Tokyo route.+
• 1945: Fukuoka was firebombed on 19 June, with the attack destroying 21.5 percent of the city's urban area.
• 1947: First Fukuoka Marathon.
• 1951: Fukuoka airport opens.
• 1953: Fukuoka Zoo opens.
• 1975: The city absorbed the town of Sawara.
• 1981: Subway commences service.
• 1988: Osaka's pro baseball team, the Nankai Hawks, are moved to Fukuoka and renamed the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (renamed the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2004).
• 1989: Asian-Pacific Exposition is held.
• 1997: The 30th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank was held in Fukuoka.

21st century:

• 2005: Fukuoka subway Nanakuma Line started operations.
• 2014: Selected as the National Strategic Zone for "global startups & job creation" by the Japanese government.

Climate: Fukuoka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), hot humid summers, and relatively mild winters. The city also sees on average about 1,600 mm (63 in) of precipitation per year, with a stretch of more intense precipitation between the months of June and September. Along with much of the prefecture, Fukuoka City has a moderate climate with an annual average temperature of 16.3 °C (61 °F), average humidity of 70% and 1,811 annual daylight hours. Roughly 40% of the year is cloudy.

Winter temperatures rarely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) and it rarely snows, though light rain does fall on most days if not as consistently as on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu. Spring is warm and sunnier, with cherry blossoms appearing in late March or early April. The rainy season (tsuyu) lasts for approximately six weeks through June and July, during which time the humidity is very high and temperatures hover between 25 °C (77 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F). Summers are humid and hot, with temperatures peaking around 37 °C (99 °F). Autumn, often considered to be Fukuoka's best season, is mild and dry, though the typhoon season runs between August and September.

Hakata-ku (博多区) is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location of Fukuoka's main train station, Hakata Station, Fukuoka Airport and the Hakata Port international passenger ship terminal.

Economy: Many Japanese companies have established branch offices in Hakata-ku due to its ease of access to local government offices as well transportation hubs such as Hakata Station and Fukuoka Airport. The headquarters of JR Kyūshū, Best Denki, and many other companies are in the ward.

Air Next, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways, is headquartered on the grounds of Fukuoka Airport in Hakata-ku. Link Airs has its headquarters in the Fukuoka Gion Daiichi Seimei Building (福岡祇園第一生命ビル Fukuoka Gion Daiichi Seimei Biru) in Hakata-ku. Cisco has an Asia-Pacific sales office on the 12th floor of the Fukuoka Gion Daiichi Seimei Building. Hakata's economy was significantly transformed in 1996 with the opening of Canal City Hakata, an award winning destination shopping and entertainment center.

Cruise Ship Tourism: From the early 2010s Hakata became the beneficiary of significant growth in cruise ship tourism; particularly with visitors from China. In 2014, 91 cruise ships travelled from China called at Hakata. In 2015, 245 cruise ship calls were made at Hakata Port. After expansion and redevelopment of the port facilities, the number of cruise ship port calls in 2016 is expected to exceed 400. As of 2015, the largest passenger vessel making regular port calls at Hakata is the Royal Caribbean International owned MS Quantum of the Seas.

Partly as a result of growing international tourism, in 2015 Fukuoka reported the fastest rising tax revenues and population in Japan.

History:

Culture:

• Hakata was the traditional center for the manufacture of Hakata ningyō, which are traditional Japanese dolls that are famous throughout Japan. Today, almost all Hakata ningyō makers (Hakata ningyō shi) have their factories out of the Old Hakata Area, a part of modern Hakata-ku.
• Hakata-ori is a textile used for obis of kimonos.
• It is also the home of Mentai Rock, named after the popular mentaiko dish served in the region, that spawned numerous J-pop idols during the early 1980s.
• Neo Mentai Rock is the name given to a recent renewal in activity from local musicians.
• Hakata-ben is the local Japanese dialect spoken in the Old Hakata Area.
• Hakata is also the location of the pop group HKT48. Anuther popular group from Hakata are Kanikapila
• Parts of the famous crime novel 'Points and lines' ('Ten to Sen' in Japanese) by the award-winning Japanese writer Seichō Matsumoto occur in Hakata and its train station.