Latest news with #Fukuoka
NHK
16 hours ago
- Climate
- NHK
Downpours hitting southwestern Japan, landslide alerts issued
The seasonal rain front and developed rainclouds brought intermittent downpours to southwestern Japan on Tuesday morning. The Japan Meteorological Agency says warm humid air was flowing toward the front stretching from northern Kyushu to near the Shikoku region, creating unstable atmospheric conditions in western and eastern Japan. In the hour until 11 a.m., heavy rainfall of 38 millimeters was logged in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture, and 34 millimeters was recorded in Kusu Town, Oita Prefecture. Weather officials say previous precipitation has considerably increased the risk of landslides in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures and have issued alerts in some areas. The front is expected to stay near the Kyushu region until Wednesday. A band of heavy rain clouds bringing extremely heavy precipitation could form by late Tuesday afternoon, especially in Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita and Kumamoto prefectures. Downpours with lightning could hit localized areas outside Kyushu in western and eastern Japan. The maximum rainfall forecast in the 24 hours until Wednesday morning is for 180 millimeters in northern Kyushu, 150 millimeters in Kinki and 120 millimeters in southern Kyushu and the Chugoku region. The agency is advising people in northern Kyushu to be careful of landslides and flooding in low-lying areas and rivers. Meanwhile, the seasonal rain front and humid air has also brought precipitation to the Kanto-Koshin and Hokuriku regions. The agency announced on Tuesday that the rainy season appears to have arrived in these regions, as rainy and cloudy conditions are expected to continue over the next seven days. The rainy season has arrived in the Kanto-Koshin region three days later than a normal year, but 11 days earlier than last year. In the Hokuriku region, it is one day earlier than usual and 12 days earlier than 2024.
Condé Nast Traveler
31-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Condé Nast Traveler
Fukuoka Is Japan's Most Overlooked Street Food Paradise
This is part of Uncovering Japan, a collection of stories that spotlight the lesser known gems that belong on your Japan itinerary, offering everything from a wellspring of local craft and a vibrant street-food culture to traditional wellness. Read more here. One chilly spring evening on a sidewalk in Fukuoka, Japan's sixth-largest city, I find myself huddled into a 10-seat outdoor restaurant, a clear plastic tarp separating me from the elements while shoulder-to-shoulder with patrons eagerly downing draft beers and greasy, pan-fried dishes. The namesake chef of this food stall, or 'yatai' as they're known in Japan, quickly yet methodically cooks through an expansive menu of Fukuoka's unique specialties. For my order, Kawachan rolls a dashi broth-based omelette around a mound of spicy mentaiko, a pollock roe cured in chili pepper—so regionally celebrated that you can find mentaiko-flavored Pringles in local stores. He arranges the slices of egg in a flower shape with a massive dollop of mayo at the center for dipping. The dish is sweet, salty, decidedly umami. It's creatively plated and, honestly, a bit thrilling to be eating on a sidewalk in 50-degree weather. But that's Fukuoka for you. Every night around 6:00 p.m., chefs wheel up and put together these yatai stalls along the city's downtown streets. A bustling nightlife scene emerges as patrons crowd into the tiny sidewalk restaurants to enjoy food and drinks prepared right there outdoors. By dawn, the yatai disappear, giving way to the daytime shuffle of pedestrians. Spending a night hopping between yatai, grabbing a bite or two at each, has become the most famous symbol of Fukuoka's vibrant food culture, which sees street food sit comfortably alongside high-end sushi joints and Michelin-starred gastronomy. 'Yatai aren't some new trend—they've been part of everyday life here for over 80 years. They're one of the things that really make Fukuoka stand out.' Nick Szasz, publisher of the local publication Fukuoka Now Each night, patrons crowd into Fukuoka's tiny sidewalk restaurants to enjoy food and drink prepared right there outdoors. Andrew Faulk Yatai dish up Fukuoka specialties like tonkotsu and fried ramen, or okonomiyaki, a savory pancake with a protein and tasty toppings. Nikolay Tsuguliev The success of the yatai has coincided with Fukuoka's rise as Japan's fastest-growing city, particularly among young people. This is a heavily commercial and modernized city powered by an influx of tech startups and young people seeking affordable urban living. The city's temperate climate, along with its laidback, almost U.S. West Coast-like attitude, and its friendly, hospitality-driven culture, make it the obvious place for yatai to thrive. However, because Fukuoka is located in the southwestern corner of mainland Japan, on the island of Kyushu, relatively far from the wildly popular 'Golden Route' of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, it is often overlooked by first-time visitors to Japan. The megacity of Osaka, in particular, is frequently hailed as Japan's street food capital, but as I pop each umami bite of mentaiko omelette into my mouth and listen to the friendly banter next to me, I am convinced that Fukuoka actually deserves that title. 'Nowhere else in Japan has this much street food,' said Nick Szasz, the publisher of the local publication Fukuoka Now, who, along with his wife Emiko, leads tours throughout the region. 'Yatai aren't some new trend—they've been part of everyday life here for over 80 years. They're one of the things that really make Fukuoka stand out.' At every old-school yatai in Fukuoka, you'll reliably find patrons slurping on ramen. Getty Images 'It's a great way to make new friends,' remarked Hiroshi Nagasawa, a born-and-raised Fukuoka resident who leads nightly yatai-hopping tours for travelers from all over the world. During my first nights of yatai hopping, I aimed to try the classic Fukuoka specialties, including, of course, the aforementioned spicy mentaiko, along with tonkotsu ramen, fried ramen, and a local take on gyoza.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Elderly Japanese woman loses US$345,000 to scammers, joins gang as they are ‘kind' to her
An elderly Japanese woman who was conned out of 50 million yen (US$345,000) by a gang of fraudsters ended up joining the racketeers who fleeced her because they treated her 'kindly'. Advertisement On May 16, police in Fukuoka city, southwestern Japan, said that they had arrested 72-year-old Kumi Kawauchiyama on suspicion of fraud. The police said she helped a scam gang to defraud 12 million yen out of an 85-year-old woman. The unidentified victim received a phone call from a member of the gang posing as a police officer who told her she needed to deposit all her assets into a specified account to prove her innocence. Members of the fraud gang posed as police officers and called their victims to make them part with their assets. Photo: The scammers further instructed her to go to the bank with Kawauchiyama, and tell her bank that Kawauchiyama was her daughter and the owner of the account.
The Mainichi
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Football: Cerezo secure late win as Fukuoka's downturn continues
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Late goals from Masaya Shibayama and Rafael Ratao gave Cerezo Osaka a 2-0 win over out-of-form Avispa Fukuoka in the J-League first division on Saturday. Cerezo moved three points clear of Fukuoka after both teams started the day level on 22 points, with the visitors, who sat top of the table on April 12, having now gone eight games without a win. A dominant Cerezo had chances late in the first half with Sota Kitano, linked with a summer move to Red Bull Salzburg, involved in an attack that saw Lucas Fernandes' strong effort from inside the box denied superbly by Fukuoka keeper Masaaki Murakami at Yodoko Sakura Stadium. Minutes after the break, the visitors went close with a 30-meter drive from Shintaro Nago that clipped the post. The midfielder was then denied by Cerezo keeper Koki Fukui on a 77th-minute counter, and Yu Hashimoto's free-kick from 25 meters out rattled the bar before Cerezo made the most of one Fukuoka mistake. Motohiko Nakajima played a first-time pass forward to his fellow substitute Shibayama to slot home after Fukuoka defender Tomoya Ando, who has been one of their standout players of the season so far, played a wayward pass into the midfield in the 84th minute. "Moto gave me a nice pass, and I knew I had the time to turn," Shibayama said. "The opponents pressed up with momentum in the first half, but we persevered, and I was waiting to come on determined to decide the outcome of the game." Fukuoka forward Wellington had the ball in the net in the 90th minute with a thumping header, but the goal was ruled out for offside before Cerezo sealed all three points deep in the stoppage time as Ratao steered home Reiya Sakata's cutback. In the day's other game, Nagoya Grampus came from behind to beat Urawa Reds 2-1 and moved out of the relegation zone.
Japan Times
21-05-2025
- Japan Times
Company boss held on suspicion of abandoning father's body at storage site
Police have arrested the president of a construction firm for allegedly abandoning the body of his father at a materials storage yard in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. Ryuma Hanayama, 46, was taken into custody on Wednesday on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. 'I didn't do it,' he reportedly told investigators, denying the allegations. According to police, Hanayama is suspected of burying the body of his 87-year-old father, Ryuichi, sometime between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on April 18 at a storage site owned by the civil engineering and construction company he runs in the city's Kokuraminami Ward. The older man had been missing since April 17. He lived alone and was last seen returning home in his own car at around 3 p.m. that day. A relative filed a missing person's report with the Fukuoka Prefectural Police on April 18. Using surveillance footage, investigators later identified a suspicious vehicle — believed to have been used to transport Ryuichi Hanayama — that traveled from near his home to the storage site. Police searched the storage site on Tuesday and discovered his body buried underground, wrapped in what appeared to be a plastic sheet. A preliminary examination found no obvious external injuries on the body. Authorities plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Police noted there had been prior disputes between the suspect and his father, and they are investigating the case to determine whether murder was involved. Translated by The Japan Times
