Enjoy food, shopping, and workshops along with paying respects on the Dazaifu Sando!

The shrine is located approximately 40 minutes from JR Hakata Station. Once you arrive at Dazaifu Station, walk the roughly 400 meters along the approach to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. Once there, you should first pay your respects to Tenjin-sama, known as the god of learning, culture, and the arts.

The Gohonden main hall at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, an important cultural property, is currently undergoing renovations. These major renovations during this, the Reiwa era, are the first in 124 years, and during this period, a special temporary main hall can be viewed.

The grounds of the shrine are filled with numerous power spots, such as Ume-no-Tane Osame-dokoro (depository for plum seeds) and Ookina Jumoku (huge trees). A visit to any of them will surely make you feel good.

After paying your respects at the shrine, quickly recharge your energy with Sando Sweets (confections available along the shrine approach). The flagship store of Japanese confectionary Dazaifusando Tenzan, established over 30 years ago, is located just three minutes walk from Dazaifu Tenmangu.

Inside, you will find popular confections such as their Monaka (sweet bean jam sandwiched between mochi wafers) topped with an extra large Amao strawbery, and their Ichigo Daifuku (strawberry and sweet bean jam in a rice cake). Those extra large Amao strawberries are obtained directly from a specially contracted farmer, and are always available fresh. The strawberry season lasts from December through April, during which a variety of sweets using the Amao strawberries are available.

There are numerous other delicious offerings using Amao strawberries as an ingredient outside the season as well. The strawberry kudzu ice cream bar has a firm texture and does not easily melt, making it the perfect snack as you walk around during hot summer days. They also offer a Shine Muscat Dango, or ball confection made with Shine Muscat grapes, one of many appealing and indulgent Japanese confections that are available seasonally.

For lunch, we head towards Coba Cafe, a restaurant that is attracting a great deal of attention on social media. Many guests come here to enjoy the seasonal parfaits, whether to gaze on them, taste them, or take pictures of them. The seats here are completely filled within five minutes of opening at 11:00 AM. Terrace seats are available during warm seasons, allowing you to enjoy your cafe moment in a wide open atmosphere.
The menu at Coba Cafe also features other dishes produced with uncompromising attention to detail, such as their chicken wing stick curry and their homemade pudding.

But the most popular offering is their bewitching seasonal parfaits. Their Earl Gray Mont Blanc with Figs, which features seasonal ingredients such as caramelized figs and freshly made Earl Gray mont blanc, offers a deep flavor experience in which the taste of each ingredient creates a harmony in your mouth. You will surely be enchanted by the bewitching appearance that seems like a painting no matter how you look at it.
The parfaits change according to the season, so be sure to check Instagram before visiting.

Umegae Mochi rice cakes are a traditional gourmet offering in Dazaifu. Who would think that there is a workshop where you can try making them by hand yourself? The venue is located on the 2nd floor of the Dazaifukan, just 15 minutes walk through the Rainbow Tunnel from the Kyushu National Museum. We recommend making reservations in advance and being there early. First, participants listen to an explanation of the story and history behind Umegae Mochi from the instructor.

Then, you are provided with dough containing sweet red bean paste which you kneed yourself, and then grill in the baking mold. The most difficult challenge is watching the color change as you grill them because you must finish doing so in just one and a half minutes.

The baking mold is quite heavy, so be careful not to drop your Umegae Mochi.
The completed Umegae Mochi offers a crisp exterior and a soft, chewy interior. And they taste even better when you make them yourself. Some participants grill quite a lot of Mochi in order to take them home as gifts. So why not experience the appeal and tradition of Umegae Mochi for yourself?

Our next stop is YAMAYA BASE DAZAIFU, located close to Nishitetsu Dazaifu Station. This shop is a bakery operated by Yamaya Communications, famous for their Karashi Mentaiko, or spicy cod roe. The shop is considered the holy land for Mentai French bread, which they sometimes sell even more than 1,000 freshly baked loafs per day!

They bake two kinds of bread: Mentai French and Mentai Cheese French. The loafs are carefully reheated in the oven after taking your order, ensuring that the outside is crispy and the inside is soft and fluffy. When you take your first bite, the delicious Mentai butter filling melts in your mouth. We also recommend sharing with friends or family, as the bread comes sliced in easy to eat pieces.

The bread is also available frozen next door at Hakata-no-Aji Yamaya, so you can take it home as a gift.
You can also experience the same delicious Mentai French bread at the Yamaya Base branch in the Ming shopping center, which opened in November. 

How about a glass of craft beer for your dining explorations? DAZAIFU BREWERY, the first brewery in Dazaifu, is located just one minute walk along Tenjin-sama Street from Yamaya Base, so many people like to sip on the brewery’s beer as they snack on Mentai French bread.

This brewery was launched through crowdfunding under the idea to “invigorate Dazaifu even more through delicious craft beer,” and reached its funding goal in just one week. Visitors can view the brewing floor through glass inside, and enjoy freshly brewed craft beer.

Their beers are popular for the unique personality of each and their delicious taste, including their Tenjin Daikichi Ale (pale ale), Tenjin IPA (IPA), and Tenjin Ume Ale (white ale). You can also buy all three as a set, which makes a great gift.

They also offer an ample variety of snacks to go along with the beer, such as Karaage fried chicken with Ume plum sauce and Kushikatsu (skewered fried pork cutlets), as well as soft drinks for those too young to drink the beer. The staff are also quite friendly, and the fun atmosphere like a Japanese Izakaya bar is sure to encourage your libations. It is a brewery with a friendly, at-home atmosphere and popular with the locals as well.

To wrap up your visit, why not stretch your legs and head over to Homangu Kamado Shrine, just six minutes by car from Dazaifu. This shrine was originally constructed at Mount Homan, considered the so-called “demon gate” of the Dazaifu government, to pray for its protection, and accordingly is worshipped as the god, and accordingly is worshipped as the god which protects from evils. The shrine is also widely worshipped as representing marriage due to the enshrinement of the goddess (Tamayori-hime), and protecting against evil spirits.

A wide variety of protective amulets are available at Kamado Shrine, such as the Musubi string that prays for finding love, an amulet for luck in work, a strawberry protective amulet, and many other appealing items that will tickle your fancy. 

The shrine is also a great place to snap a picture at dusk when the sun begins to set. The sight of the evening sun shining through the Torii gate is both spiritual and majestic, and simply seeing it will fill you with optimism.
Taking a walk along the shrine approach, with its numerous power spots, will help you fill both your stomach and your heart. We hope you enjoy it!