Munakata and Fukutsu weekend itinerary
- Depart Fukuoka City by car at 8:00, visiting Miyajidake Shrine, Roadside Station Munakata, Munakata Taisha, Kanezaki, Satsuki Matsubara, and Yamatsubasa.
- Shop at the roadside station during the morning before fish sells out, returning to Fukuoka City around 18:15.
- General admission to Munakata Taisha's Shinpokan is ¥800, and weekend adult admission at Yamatsubasa is ¥1,670.
Updated October 21, 2026: edition for Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25
No plans or reservations for this weekend? Leave central Fukuoka by car at 8:00 and follow this order, and your day is set.
Leaving Fukuoka City at 8:00 gives you time for Miyajidake Shrine in Fukutsu and Roadside Station Munakata. Continue to Munakata Taisha Hetsugu and its Shinpokan treasure hall, then lunch on local fish in Kanezaki. Walk the Satsuki Matsubara promenade before finishing at a day-use hot spring in Munakata. Shop before the morning fish sells out, then bathe before returning to Fukuoka City around 18:15; travel times are approximate.
In short
- Roadside Station Munakata gets busy on weekends. Arrive before 10:00 for fish and vegetables, and carry your purchases in a cooler bag.
- If your fish is unavailable, try Kanenomisaki Live Fish Center in Kanezaki at lunchtime; it closes at 16:00. Another option is Roadside Station Munakata’s temporary stall on basement level 2 of ONE FUKUOKA BLDG. in Tenjin. It runs on weekends and public holidays through November 1, until 20:00.
- Kids Halloween Fes takes place on the roadside station’s lawn on October 24 and 25. Restaurants in Munakata also hold an ika chazuke (いか茶漬け, squid with rice and tea) festival through November 15.
- Checked with official pages on October 21, 2026.
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Fukuoka City departure at 8:00: a Munakata and Fukutsu itinerary for October 24–25
Leave Fukuoka City at 8:00, reaching Miyajidake Shrine at 8:50, Roadside Station Munakata at 9:50 and Munakata Taisha at 10:45. Have lunch in Kanezaki at 12:15, bathe at Yamatsubasa at 15:30 and return to Fukuoka City around 18:15. The stops are roughly 10–25 minutes apart by car.
| Time | Where | What to do | Next stop (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | Fukuoka City | Head to Fukutsu via Koga IC on the Kyushu Expressway | 45–50 minutes by car to Miyajidake Shrine |
| 8:50 | Miyajidake Shrine | Visit the shrine and see the giant sacred straw rope that the shrine calls Japan’s largest. Keep breakfast light | 20 minutes by car to Roadside Station Munakata |
| 9:50 | Roadside Station Munakata | Buy fish and vegetables first; put them in a cooler bag | 10 minutes by car to Munakata Taisha |
| 10:45 | Munakata Taisha Hetsugu | Visit the shrine and Shinpokan treasure hall (general admission ¥800) | 15 minutes by car to Kanezaki |
| 12:15 | Local fish lunch in Kanezaki (for example, Yassan) | Sashimi set meals, squid rice bowls or live squid | 10–15 minutes by car to Satsuki Matsubara promenade |
| 13:45 | Satsuki Matsubara promenade | Walk the pine-lined coastal promenade, about 1.5km | 20–25 minutes by car to Yamatsubasa |
| 15:30 | Yamatsubasa | Bathe in free-flowing hot spring water (weekend adult admission ¥1,670) | 45–55 minutes by car to Fukuoka City |
| 18:15 | Fukuoka City | Arrive back | (Arrival) |
| Sat & Sun | Extra stop: Kids Halloween Fes at Roadside Station Munakata | 10:00–16:00. Food trucks, fairground games and candy tossing from 12:00; costume contest on October 24 | On the station’s lawn; combine it with shopping |
| Sat & Sun | Extra stop: Munakata Local Fish Chazuke Festival | Ika chazuke at Munakata restaurants through November 15. Lunch options Yassan and Umihiko participate | Order it at your lunch restaurant |
| Sat & Sun | Extra stop: Roadside Station Munakata’s temporary stall at ONE FUKUOKA BLDG., Tenjin | Buy fish and vegetables you missed earlier, through November 1 | Returning at 18:15 leaves about 1½ hours before closing at 20:00. Near Tenjin subway station |
Travel estimates combine road-map route calculations with extra time for traffic lights and congestion. Journeys to and from Fukuoka City were calculated from Chuo Ward, so times vary with your departure point.
Sources: official facility websites, Munakata City’s tourism guide (Tourism Creation DMO Munakata), Fukutsu Tourism Association and Crossroad Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association. Checked October 21, 2026.
Munakata and Tenjin: extra stops this weekend, October 24–25
Kids Halloween Fes 2026 runs on Roadside Station Munakata’s lawn from 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25. Activities include food trucks, shooting games, yo-yo fishing, inflatable play equipment and workshops. Candy tossing starts at 12:00 both days, with a children’s costume contest only on October 24 (Roadside Station Munakata: Kids Halloween Fes announcement (Japanese)). Families can extend their shopping stop to join in.
Restaurants across Munakata serve seasonal squid chazuke for the Munakata Local Fish Chazuke Festival through November 15. Munakata Ama Shokudo Yassan, introduced below, offers live-squid chazuke for ¥1,950, with limited portions. Katsugyomura Umihiko serves Munakata squid chazuke for ¥1,980, while Roadside Station Munakata sells frozen squid chazuke from ¥980 (Munakata City tourism guide: Local Fish Chazuke Festival (Japanese)). The Chikuzen Genkai Squid Fair 2026 also runs through November 15, involving 32 restaurants across Fukutsu, Munakata, Koga, Okagaki and Ashiya (Fukutsu Tourism Association: squid fair announcement (Japanese)).
Back in Fukuoka City, the Munakata Food Fair runs at ONE FUKUOKA BLDG. in Tenjin through November 1. Roadside Station Munakata operates a temporary stall on basement level 2 on weekends and public holidays, from 10:00 to 20:00 (Munakata City tourism guide: Munakata Food Fair (Japanese)). Pick up fish or vegetables you missed at the roadside station on your way home.
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Miyajidake Shrine first: look up at the giant sacred straw rope
With a generous fish lunch ahead in Kanezaki, keep breakfast light with coffee and a small bite at home.
Miyajidake Shrine in Fukutsu calls its sacred straw rope, giant drum and giant bell its “three largest in Japan.” The rope measures 2.6m in diameter and 11m long, and weighs 3t. It is replaced every year using straw from rice grown in the shrine’s own fields (Miyajidake Shrine: three largest in Japan (Japanese)).
Coming from Fukuoka City, leave the Kyushu Expressway at Koga IC (Miyajidake Shrine: access information (Japanese)). Crossroad Fukuoka lists parking for 700 cars and a journey of about 20 minutes from Koga IC (Crossroad Fukuoka: Miyajidake Shrine (Japanese)).
October’s Hikari no Michi ended on October 20. Award-winning entries from the Hikari no Michi National Calligraphy Competition remain displayed in the shrine corridors and elsewhere through November 3 (Tuesday, public holiday) (Miyajidake Shrine: calligraphy competition announcement (Japanese)).
| Name | Miyajidake Shrine |
|---|---|
| Address | 7-1 Miyajimotomachi, Fukutsu, Fukuoka |
| Phone | 0940-52-0016 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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Roadside Station Munakata opens at 9:00: shop early on busy weekends
After visiting the shrine, stop at the roadside station to browse today’s fish before it sells out.
Roadside Station Munakata’s local produce market opens from 9:00 to 17:00, with roughly one-third of its sales area devoted to Genkai Sea fish. Staff can fillet fish for a fee, and stalls also sell seasonal vegetables, handmade boxed lunches, prepared dishes and dried fish. It closes on the fourth Monday each month, or the following day if that Monday is a public holiday. It is open this weekend (Roadside Station Munakata: local produce market (Japanese)).
The station gets busy on weekends, and its official website says some fish sells out early depending on supplies. Daily deliveries appear under “Today’s arrivals” on the official website’s homepage. That is why this itinerary stops around 9:50; carry fresh purchases in a cooler bag for the rest of the day. Parking accommodates 152 cars (Crossroad Fukuoka: Roadside Station Munakata (Japanese)).
Inside the station, Hime no Ho makes rice-flour bread using rice grown in Munakata and Fukutsu. It opens at 9:00 and closes when sold out (Munakata City tourism guide: Hime no Ho (Japanese)). Pick up a snack if you are feeling hungry.
If your fish is unavailable, another option is Kanenomisaki Live Fish Center in Kanezaki, where you stop around lunchtime. Run by the Munakata Fisheries Cooperative, it buys fresh fish from fishers at Kanezaki fishing port. It opens from 8:00 to 16:00 and closes on Wednesdays, according to the cooperative’s official website. If you still miss out, try the temporary stall at ONE FUKUOKA BLDG. in Tenjin, described in the weekend section above.
| Name | Roadside Station Munakata |
|---|---|
| Address | 1172 Eguchi, Munakata City, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | 9:00–17:00 (closed 4th Monday of each month, or the following day if a public holiday; closed August 15–17 and December 31–January 5) |
| Phone | 0940-62-2715 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
| Name | Kanenomisaki Live Fish Center |
|---|---|
| Address | 778-5 Kanezaki, Munakata City, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | 8:00–16:00 (closed Wednesdays) |
| Phone | 0940-62-1570 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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Munakata Taisha Hetsugu: allow just over an hour for the shrine and Shinpokan
After shopping, head to Munakata Taisha, which enshrines the three Munakata goddesses.
The Shinpokan treasure hall at Munakata Taisha Hetsugu opens daily from 9:00 to 16:30, with last admission at 16:00. Admission costs ¥800 for general visitors, ¥500 for high school and university students, and ¥400 for elementary and junior high students. Exhibits include National Treasures excavated on Okinoshima (Munakata Taisha: Shinpokan treasure hall (Japanese)).
Parking lots 1–3 provide roughly 1,000 free spaces in total (Crossroad Fukuoka: Munakata Taisha (Japanese)). The shrine is about 10 minutes by car from Roadside Station Munakata, with Kanezaki another 15 minutes away.
| Name | Munakata Taisha Hetsugu |
|---|---|
| Address | 2331 Tashima, Munakata, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | Shinpokan: 9:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), open year-round |
| Phone | 0940-62-1311 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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Kanezaki local fish lunch: for example, Yassan beside the fishing port
After walking around the shrine, are you ready for lunch?
According to the Munakata Fisheries Cooperative, Kanezaki fishing port has one of the largest catches in Fukuoka Prefecture. Common catches include conger eel, wild pufferfish, spear squid and yellowtail (Munakata Fisheries Cooperative: official website (Japanese)). These two restaurants participate in the chazuke festival listed in Munakata City’s tourism guide and serve as examples for this itinerary.
For example, Munakata Ama Shokudo Yassan sits beside Kanezaki fishing port and serves fish bought directly from fishers. Lunch hours are 11:30–15:00. It closes every Tuesday and the first and third Wednesdays, and opens on Saturdays and Sundays. Lunch options include a sashimi set for ¥1,500, simmered or grilled fish sets for ¥1,200, and a squid rice bowl for ¥1,500, excluding tax. Seasonal live seafood sashimi and live squid start at ¥2,000.
Kanezaki conger eel dishes are its specialty, according to the menu on Yassan’s official page.
If Yassan is full, try Katsugyomura Umihiko, a few minutes by car from Roadside Station Munakata. Munakata City’s tourism guide describes it as a seafood restaurant focused on local fish from Kanezaki fishing port (Munakata City tourism guide: Katsugyomura Umihiko (Japanese)). It offers more than 30 rice bowls, plus live Kanezaki squid from its tanks: medium ¥3,300 and large ¥4,400. Set meals start at ¥2,750 on Sundays and public holidays; the restaurant has 90 seats and opens at 11:00 (Katsugyomura Umihiko: Sunday and public holiday menu (Japanese)).
| Name | Munakata Ama Shokudo Yassan |
|---|---|
| Address | 757-1 Koji, Munakata City, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | Lunch 11:30–15:00, dinner 17:30–20:30 (last order 20:00). Closed every Tuesday and 1st and 3rd Wednesday |
| Phone | 0940-72-5272 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
| Name | Katsugyomura Umihiko |
|---|---|
| Address | 1866 Mutajiri, Munakata City, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | 11:00–21:00 (irregular holidays) |
| Phone | 0940-62-2280 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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Satsuki Matsubara promenade: walk about 1.5km after lunch
After a generous fish lunch, take a short walk along the coast.
The Satsuki Matsubara promenade stretches about 1.5km, with views of pine woods and the Genkai Sea. Two viewpoints overlook Oshima and Jinoshima, and on clear days you can sometimes see Okinoshima. A parking area with toilets sits below Genkai Higashi Elementary School (Munakata City tourism guide: Satsuki Matsubara promenade (Japanese; English section included)).
The pine forest extends about 5.5km from Kanezaki to Konominato, and the promenade is a few minutes’ walk from Roadside Station Munakata. These details come from Munakata City’s page, English section. The drive from Kanezaki takes about 10–15 minutes. Even with a leisurely return walk, you can head toward the hot spring shortly after 15:00.
| Name | Satsuki Matsubara promenade |
|---|---|
| Address | Eguchi, Munakata, Fukuoka |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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Yamatsubasa: weekend adult admission ¥1,670 for a hot spring bath before heading home
After walking through the pine forest, wash off the sweat with a bath before heading home.
Munakata Omaru Natural Hot Spring Yamatsubasa charges adults ¥1,670 and children aged 4–11 ¥830 on weekends and public holidays. Weekday admission costs ¥1,470 for adults and ¥730 for children. This day-use facility uses entirely free-flowing natural hot spring water from its own source. On Saturday, October 24, it closes at 24:00, with last admission at 23:00. On Sunday, October 25, it closes at 23:00, with last admission at 22:00; regular closures are the third Wednesday (Yamatsubasa: visitor information (Japanese)).
Children under 4 or shorter than 100cm cannot use the communal baths and must use a private family bath. On weekends and public holidays, these start at ¥4,500 per room for 60 minutes. People with tattoos cannot use the baths, according to the same visitor information page.
Parking is free, and the return drive along Route 3 to Koga IC takes about 20 minutes (Yamatsubasa: access information (Japanese)). Leaving around 17:15 should put you back in Fukuoka City around 18:15.
| Name | Munakata Omaru Natural Hot Spring Yamatsubasa |
|---|---|
| Address | 474 Omaru, Munakata, Fukuoka |
| Hours / Closed | Sunday–Thursday and public holidays 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), Friday–Saturday and days before public holidays 10:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00). Closed 3rd Wednesday (open daily in March and August) |
| Phone | 0940-37-4126 |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
| Official site | Open the official site ↗ |
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More weekend day trips from Fukuoka
- Itoshima day trip: café, oyster hut, hike, onsen and farm market
- Asakura day trip: ramen, persimmon picking, onsen and udon
- Yobuko and Karatsu day trip: morning market, squid, cape, castle and onsen
- Dazaifu day trip: shrines, mochi, museum and onsen
- Tosu and Ogori day trip: outlets, ramen, onsen and Costco
Sources (checked October 2026)
10 pages we checked
- Roadside Station Munakata (Japanese): Kids Halloween Fes announcement, local produce market
- Roadside Station Munakata (English): official English website
- Munakata City tourism guide (Japanese): Local Fish Chazuke Festival, Munakata Food Fair, Hime no Ho, Katsugyomura Umihiko, Satsuki Matsubara promenade, including an English section
- Fukutsu Tourism Association (Japanese): Chikuzen Genkai Squid Fair 2026
- Miyajidake Shrine (Japanese): three largest in Japan, access information, calligraphy competition announcement
- Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association, Crossroad Fukuoka (Japanese): Miyajidake Shrine, Roadside Station Munakata, Munakata Taisha
- Munakata Taisha (Japanese): Shinpokan treasure hall
- Munakata Fisheries Cooperative (Japanese): official website
- Katsugyomura Umihiko (Japanese): Sunday and public holiday menu
- Yamatsubasa (Japanese): visitor information, access information
