Fureai Plaza, Fukuoka City Hall (Hakata Dontaku)

photo by Muyo · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by Hirho · CC BY-SA 4.0

Central stage of the Hakata Dontaku, 3–4 May: 200 groups, 20,000 marching in the parades.

The ふれあい広場 on the west side of Fukuoka City Hall is the ‘main stage’ of the Hakata Dontaku Minato Matsuri, the city festival that every 3–4 May, in Golden Week, ends with the ‘Sōdontaku’, the final performance open to all groups. According to Fukuoka's tourism board, the festival has about 200 groups and 20,000 participants in the parades through the city's streets, plus about another 400 groups and 16,000 participants in the performances on the city's 30 stages. Outside the festival period the plaza itself, open 8:00–21:00, hosts fairs and markets of local products.

ℹ️ The plaza is public, 8:00–21:00 all year round (source: yokanavi.com, Fukuoka's official tourism site). The Hakata Dontaku takes place ONLY on 3 and 4 May: outside those two dates the plaza is just an ordinary open space in the city, not a place to visit for the festival. ⚠️ The festival itself spreads over 30 stages across the city, not just here: this entry covers the stage that the tourism board calls the ‘main’ one.

🚉 Fukuoka (Tenjin) · 5 min walk

Sources: welcome-fukuoka.or.jp · yokanavi.com

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