Transportation in Fukuoka

Fukuoka's core is the subway: three color-coded lines that intersect at Hakata and Tenjin, the two districts you'll keep returning to. Trains are spotless, run every few minutes, and cost a fraction of a taxi. Pick up a rechargeable Hayakaken card at the first station you see, tap it on subway gates, city buses, and even some vending machines. Buses fill the gaps the subway skips, for temples and the beach. Board in the middle, pay when you exit. If you're heading out of town, the JR Kagoshima and Nippō lines leave from Hakata Station. But for most visitors the subway is the only rail you'll use. From Fukuoka Airport, the subway's Kūkō Line is the no-brainer: 5 minutes to Hakata, 11 to Tenjin, with service until late evening. Miss the last train and the official taxi rank outside the domestic terminal is your fallback, insist on the meter and ignore the curbside hustlers. Skip the airport limousine buses unless you're hauling oversized luggage. They cost more and crawl through traffic that the subway simply glides under.