FUKUOKA, JAPAN: A Side Trip to Dazaifu

 

FROMMER’S:

If you have 4 or more hours to spare, I heartily recommend taking a side trip to Dazaifu, a pleasant village that is home to a shrine that is immensely popular with Japanese and the Kyushu National Museum. Dazaifu has a festive atmosphere, and one of the main reasons to visit, in my opinion, is to see everyone else.

The best way to reach Dazaifu is from Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station in Tenjin (located in the Mitsukoshi department store building). Take a limited express (tokkyu) of the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line (there are departures every 30 min.) 12 minutes to Futsukaichi (the second stop); transfer there (across the platform) for the 8-minute train ride on the Nishitetsu Dazaifu Line (two stops) to Dazaifu Station, the last stop (though there are a few trains that go directly from Fukuoka Station to Dazaifu). If you don't catch a limited express, the trip to Dazaifu can take about 50 minutes. In any case, the fare is ¥390 ($3.25/£1.65) one-way. The Dazaifu City Tourist Information Desk (tel. 092/925-1880; daily 9am-5:30pm), located inside Dazaifu Station, has an English-language pamphlet.

GATEWAY TO JAPAN:

0:20-0:30 h by private Nishitetsu train from Nishitetsu-Fukuoka station; some direct trains, otherwise change at Futsukaichi, served by both local and express trains.

Dazaifu was the southern outpost of the Yamato government.  It was from here that the Japanese launched armies in the 6th century to defend their Korean colony, Mimana, and their ally, the Paekche Kingdom (Kudara in Japanese) against a rival Korean kingdom, Silla, and Tang China.  Later, the Nara court appointed governors to Dazaifu to administer all of Kyushu and to host foreign envoys.  Dazaifu becames a splended, smaller version of Nara, and an appointment to the governorship carried power and prestige.  But in the Heian period, as the court became less concerned with provincial and foreign affairs, the Dazaifu post offered an excuse to remove political foes from Kyoto.  The most famous exile was Sugawara no Michizane, who “governed” from Dazaifu for two years before succumbing to grief.  The Dazaifu Tenman-gu was later built to console his deified spirit.  The shrine has since taken on a life of its own so that today the town of Dazaifu thrives around the approach to the shrine, while the ruins of the ancient government headquarters lie amid fields and groves. 

The Dazaifu Tenman-gu is a short walk from Nishitetsu-Dazaifu station, and the Kannon-ji/Tofuro area is about 0:25 h on foot from the station.  We recommend renting a bicycle at the Tourist Center across from the station ticket window.