Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

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Recently awarded the “New Gastronomic Destination” award by the digital guide La Liste 2025, Fukuoka Prefecture, the gateway to Kyushu, is attracting more and more gourmet travelers in search of culinary adventures. As recognized by this French jury, Fukuoka has, since ancient times, been a major point of contact with the mainland and the birthplace of many Japanese culinary traditions. Without a doubt, the Prefecture is full of gastronomic treasures capable of pleasing all tastes, from street food to exceptional cuisine. Today, Zoom Japan invites you to discover the charms and flavors of Fukuoka’s local food through some of its must-try dishes!

Flavors of Fukuoka – Culinary Specialties and Gastronomic Experiences.

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

YATAI

When talking about Fukuoka’s cuisine, it’s impossible not to mention the yatai culture, these small mobile restaurants that set up shop every evening on the streets of Fukuoka to serve simple and comforting specialties in a friendly atmosphere! Starting at 5 p.m., dozens of stalls set up shop in the lively Tenjin and Nakasu districts, in the heart of the city. In the middle of the towering office buildings, a charming refuge takes form, revealing a more nostalgic and warm-hearted Japan.

The appeal of a yatai restaurant lies in the encounters that take place there. Under these small, gourmet roofs, office workers just leaving work and travelers alike meet and share a moment of togetherness. You can enjoy something to accompany a few glasses of beer or sake, each yatai having its own specialties and favorite dishes : ramen, oden, yakitori, yakisoba, gyoza, and chahan. It’s the warm atmosphere, just as much as the wonderfull food, that makes the experience memorable and encourages people to get together. To achieve this, the yatai employees and managers, always full of enthusiasm, strive to put customers at ease and encourage friendly conversation.

To get the yatai experience, we headed to the El Bajon yatai, run by Yuya Otsubo, a charismatic Japanese chef who has traveled extensively and worked in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain. His mobile restaurant is distinguished by its international cuisine: jerk chicken, ajillo, and even savory crepes. The success of a yatai restaurant depends largely on its location, and although his isn’t ideally located, he has won over many customers thanks to it’s warm atmosphere. Here, there are no language barriers: his employee, Jeff, is French and familiar with the yatai culture, having spent the past few years working at eight different locations. His dream is to open his own yatai restaurant one day, in Fukuoka. In the meantime, he spends each evening satisfying customers’ hunger and thirst with infectious passion and boundless energy, as if he were only there for one night. At midnight, it’s time to pack everything up. In 30 minutes, all that remains is an empty pavement – the end of a one-night adventure that will have seen dozens of customers from all walks of life, but which will begin again the next day, when the yatai takes up residence on the street once again.

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

UDON

While Fukuoka Prefecture is particularly famous for its Hakata ramen – thin noodles in pork bone broth – it is also renowned for its udon, thick wheat noodles most often served in a light dashi broth.

It’s by tracing the region’s history that we can understand why : around the 13th century, during the Kamakura era, the monk Enni, returning from the Song Dynasty in China, founded the Shoten-ji temple in Fukuoka City. He then introduced the technique of milling, using a water mill, thus spreading the art of making udon and buckwheat flour soba throughout Japan. The Shôten-ji temple was thus the birthplace of these noodles. Even today, Fukuoka udon stand apart in several different ways.

First of all, they are much softer than udon from the rest of Japan, with an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture, unlike the firmer udon from other regions. Secondly, they are usually accompanied by burdock root tempura (a plant of the thistle family), forming a popular speciality called goboten udon. This combination not only brings different textures to the dish – the crispiness of the fried food and the crunch of the burdock contrasting with the softness of the udon – but it also creates a strong visual impact when served: the voluminous fried food seems to form a swirl of flavors above the bowl of noodles.

Because of their lightness compared to ramen noodles, udon is a dish that can be eaten daily, even several days in a row, without becoming monotonous. Fukuoka Prefecture is home to several large regional restaurant chains specializing in udon, such as Sukesan Udon, which is present in several cities across the prefecture, including Fukuoka, Dazaifu, Kitakyushu, and Kurume. These establishments offer simple but delicious local flavors at very affordable prices.

For those looking for a friendly, retro atmosphere, Daichi no Udon Honten offers a warm setting. Nestled in a peaceful neighborhood west of Fukuoka, its goboten udon is a true institution. According to its chef, Takehiro Hisada, the taste of the bowl of noodles constantly changes depending on various factors, such as temperature, season, and humidity. A good reason to visit Fukuoka Prefecture at different times of the year, to enjoy its scenery and seasonal delicacies!

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

SUSHI

Ideally located in the north part of Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture benefits from a geographical location that allows it to take advantage of the region’s abundant agricultural production. Its good access to the sea guarantees deliciously fresh fish. While Fukuoka is often associated with simple, convivial dishes like ramen, udon, and other specialties served in yatai restaurants, the Prefecture can also be proud of its numerous gastronomic assets, with restaurants offering a delicate and sophisticated cuisine. So, there’s no shortage of excellent sushi spots and it’s no coincidence that four sushi restaurants in Fukuoka Prefecture were selected in the La Liste 2025 gastronomic guide : Chikamatsu, Sushi Sakai, and Sushi Gyoten in Fukuoka City, as well as Kiku Zushi in Kasuga.

It’s precisely to one of these places, Sushi Sakai, that Zoom Japon takes you to discover the art of sushi preparation in Fukuoka! Chef Daigo Sakai offers an exceptional gastronomic experience in his three restaurants : Sushi Sakai, Gahojin, and Zaisho, all located in the same building, the first run by the master, the other two by his disciples. Each offers a succession of refined dishes, showcasing seasonal produce, on its daily menu – fugu roe (fugu shirako), kuruma ebi shrimp, amberjack (buri), and young sea bream (kasugo), for example. The restaurants boast the unique feature of having wine waiters who can recommend wines, sakes, and even teas that pair perfectly with the different dishes served. Chef Daigo Sakai is a great fan of the sake produced in the Fukuoka Prefecture, and finds that it pairs wonderfully with his sushi. The region is particularly prized for its white fish, such as sea bream (tai), turbot (hirame), and flying fish (tobiuo). It also benefits from easy access to fish from the whole of Kyushu, making it a prime destination for a wonderful sushi experience.

Fukuoka Prefecture also has its own style of sushi, called hakatamae, which differs from the edomae style more common in the rest of the country. This first type of sushi mainly uses white fish caught in the nearby Genkai Sea. It is also characterized by a slightly sweeter soy sauce and less vinegary rice. One of the area’s must-try places is the Yamanaka restaurant, which has specialized in this sort of sushi since 1972.

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

SAKE

While the Kyushu region is certainly the land of shochu, the alcohol distilled from various grains (rice, wheat) or from sweet potatoes, Fukuoka Prefecture is nonetheless very well known and appreciated for its nihonshu, the famous Japanese sake. It has numerous mountains, from which clear rivers flow, and it’s only natural that sake breweries have chosen to take advantage of this high-quality water to create their excellent nihonshu. Japan has a large number of sake-producing regions, each with its own characteristics and assets, but the great strength of Fukuoka’s sake is its ability to combine with all sorts of tasty food. With a light, dry, and refreshing taste, Fukuoka Prefecture’s nihonshu is known for being very easy to pair with food, especially when it comes to local specialties: motsunabe (tripe stew), yatai yakitori, white fish, or simply Fukuoka’s soy sauce, which is sweeter than elsewhere.

To discover the richness of Fukuoka Prefecture’s nihonshu, one iconic place stands out : the Isonosawa sake brewery, dating back to 1893 and located in the charming town of Ukiha. It offers accommodation entirely dedicated to sake! Guests stay in the brewery’s traditional building and enjoy a fun experience exploring the different stages of sake production. As if they themselves were a sake ingredient (rice) they immerse themselves in a bath made from a genuine recycled sake vat, to evoke the rice-washing process, then relax in a sauna, symbolizing the rice-steaming stage. The brewery also offers the opportunity to taste its sakes, which can be enjoyed either on their own or as an elegant accompaniment to a good meal.

In addition to its great combination with food, the other great strength of Fukuoka sake is its impressive diversity. With more than 50 breweries, each offering its own beverages with unique characteristics depending on the type of rice used, the polishing rate, and the fermentation method, Fukuoka Prefecture has something to pamper all tastes, from novice to expert ! In the city of Kurume, the Jojima Sake Festival is a wonderful event held every year in mid-February, inviting visitors to discover the rich diversity of the region’s nihonshu. Visitors can take part in various activities, such as dancing and live music, whilst enjoying dozens of excellent sakes, which they can have fun comparing. There are also stalls selling local specialties, such as Amaou strawberries and grilled oysters, once again proving that Fukuoka’s sake is particularly good with delicious food!

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025

YAME-CHA TEA

Aside from nihonshu, there’s also something in Fukuoka for those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks – Yame-cha, a tea renowned throughout Japan for its refinement and considered to be one of the best in the country. Its cultivation dates back around 600 years, when the monk Eirin Shuzui, returning from China, introduced tea seeds and tea processing techniques to the region. Over time, thanks also to particularly favorable geographical conditions, Yame-gyokuro, an exceptional green tea made from the smallest buds of the tea plant, has acquired a reputation for excellence. While Yame-gyokuro is by far the most popular variety, Yame-cha tea can come in different forms, including roasted (hojicha), with toasted rice grains (genmaicha), or as a black tea (wakocha).

To taste this local beverage, the ideal place to go is in the city of Yame, which is home to a superb historic district filled with shops, galleries, and artisan’s workshops which go back for generations. There, for example, you’ll find Konomi Honke, the oldest tea merchant in the Kyushu region, with a history spanning over 330 years and a specialist in Yame-cha tea. But if there’s one essential visit in the area, it’s to the Yame tea plantations, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Japan. Green tea can be enjoyed by the eyes as well as in a cup ! The tea fields offer sumptuous landscapes, particularly in spring, when their color intensifies and forms a veritable sea of ​​green.

Yame-cha tea can be found throughout Fukuoka Prefecture, although Yame City is perhaps the best place for tasting it. In the heart of Ohori Park in Fukuoka City, the delicatessen-café &LOCALS, for example, offers different variations of Yame-cha, ranging from matcha to wakocha black tea. Tea is also used in cooking, notably ochazuke, a bowl of rice drizzled with hot tea and garnished with various toppings, as well as desserts such as ice cream and monaka – delicate wafers filled with red bean paste. Whether you’re a fan of savory or sweet flavors, you just have to try Yame-cha!

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Fukuoka Prefecture is a beautiful gastronomic destination, attracting more and more food-loving travelers each year, and offering a wide variety of flavors, atmospheres and experiences to suit all tastes and budgets. And between meals, there’s no shortage of sightseeing ideas : Fukuoka Prefecture boasts equally important tourist attractions, full of exciting places to discover. From restaurants to walking tours, Fukuoka Prefecture has all it needs to win the hearts and appetites of its visitors!

Fukuoka, Gastronomic Journey 2025