15 Recommended Parks in Fukuoka: Everything from Playing, Sports, and Walking to Spectacular Views♪

Without a doubt, children will be thrilled by the colorful, fun, and giant playground equipment and slides with monkey and banana motifs♪ They'll love running around on the playground structures and whooshing down the long slides, and there is also a child zone with play equipment for young children. In addition, the park has a murmuring waterway for playing in the water during summer, and the Koga City Skate Park for skateboarding and rollerblading. You can also enjoy a picnic or barbecue at the picnic area.

This vast park is located in the mountains and surrounded by nature, but is still less than an hour from central Fukuoka City. The dinosaur-themed "Yasugon" playground structure is extremely popular with children! There are several ways to climb up to the long roller slide that extends down from the dinosaur's mouth, so you children can enjoy it as many times as they want♪
Other facilities include a child zone for young children and a forest walkway where you can have fun bird watching while immersed in and surrounded by the forest. The park also features a beautiful hedge maze, which makes a perfect challenge for parents and children to take on together!

Kitakyushu City's largest park is themed around "water, greenery, and interacting with animals." Centered around the Tonda Reservoir, the park has multiple natural areas to enjoy, including a vast lawn park, a tropical ecology garden, a kangaroo plaza, a pony plaza where you can enjoy horseback riding, as well as mountain forests, fields, and a beach. The Guinness World Records-certified World's Longest Swing is also a must-see! In addition to enjoying seasonal flowers within the park, the rose garden is also a highlight, with colorful roses blooming depending on the season.

This attractive park is a relaxing, natural space that is surrounded by seasonal flowers and plants. Children love playing on the playground equipment and its 100m long roller slide that takes advantage of the slopes and the athletics equipment. The park also has two large ponds and a local museum where you can learn about the history and daily activities of Miyama City, as well as a campground, barbecue area, and a put-put golf course. The murmuring waterway, where you can play in the water, is also super popular in the summer!

Oto Central Park features a thrilling and eye-catching giant slide that is approx. 90m long and has a height different of approx. 15m! The slide is built to follow the contours of the mountainside, and you can enjoy a view of seasonal flowers and plants while sliding down it. The flowers in the garden were planted by volunteers from the town. In spring colorful tulips are in full bloom, providing a visual delight to visitors.

Ohori Park is one of Japan's foremost aquascape parks, and was built by taking advantage of the outer moat of Fukuoka Castle. The approx. 2 km long promenade around the large pond in the center of the park is a popular course for strolling and jogging. Enjoy a walk while taking in the seasonal flowers and bird watching. The park also features numerous benches, and people often stop to read a book or chat while looking at the scenery. Within the park premises you can also find spots to experience culture and art, including the Fukuoka Art Museum, a Japanese garden, and a Noh theatre.

Enveloped by the sea on both sides, this national park is one of the largest in the Kyushu region. The park's flowerbeds, gardens, and museum offer year-round  viewing of seasonal flowers, and it is also a popular spot for people wanting to take photos that look good on social media. As such, when you visit make sure to take along a camera to capture the park's spectacular natural beauty, such as the contrast between the pink cherry blossoms and the blue of the baby blue eyes flowers. Visitors can interact with approx. 50 types of cute animals, including squirrel monkeys, capybaras, and kangaroos, and there are also attractions such as go-carts and a miniature steam locomotive, so the whole family can have fun together. In addition, there are also accommodation facilities, restaurants, and athletics equipment.

Hananooka Park is a famous spot for plum blossoms, and from around the beginning of February 16 varieties of plum blossoms are in full bloom. Then, in early summer, the irises and roses blossom. The observation deck has a wonderful view overlooking the gardens, at the Animal Fureai Plaza you can take a ride on a pony, and there is also a BBQ area with grills you can use. The direct sales area is full of fresh, seasonal vegetables and flower seedlings that are grown with care by local producers, which gives the area a very local feel.

Kurume Cycling Family Park is a bicycle theme park built near the Kurume Velodrome. On the family course you can go cycling not just by yourself, but can also enjoy group rides in covered bike carriages for 2-4 people and in ones for up to six people (it's also OK to bring infants!). There is also a full-fledged mountain bike course.
The "Funny Bike Corner" gives you 30 minutes to have fun riding a variety of unique bicycles, such as a bicycle that moves forward by jumping. In addition, the park also includes several full-body play facilities, such as the Wanpaku Domukan (a children’s play castle) and Boken Hiroba (adventure square). Bring lunch, some snacks, and enjoy a day-long outing with your family!

Built on the site of the former Mitsui Tagawa Mining Works' Ida Mine, within this park you can still find the scaffolding for the mining shaft and the huge chimneys that were once used, and the view from both the playground area and the promenade is unique and spectacular. Coal Commemorative Park has also been selected as one of Japan's top 100 historical parks. By visiting the Tagawa City Coal and History Museum you can experience Tagawa City's history as a coal mining town through exhibits such as the collection of important historical documents and the historical coal mine paintings produced by Sakubei Yamamoto, which became Japan's first Memory of the World Register.

Chikushino Sogo Park is located on a small hill at the foot of Mt. Tenpai, and the incredible view as it provides is definitely worth a visit. The beautiful blue of Lake Tenpai and the lustrous green trees and grassy fields will soothe and rejuvenate your soul. Feel free to enjoy yourself by having a picnic on one of the grassy areas, by lying down for a while, or playing some light sports. The park also has plenty of playground equipment for children, such as roller slides, with the large, sailing ship-themed playground equipment being especially popular! After you're done playing, we recommend relaxing at the onsen hot spring facilities located halfway up Mt. Tenpai.

At Nokonoshima Island Park, a yellow carpet of rapeseed blossoms spreads out across the area and stands out against the blue of the sea and sky. This view is only possible because of the park's location on Nokonoshima Island in the sea. The gardens here are filled with flower fields that change throughout the seasons, making it a popular place to stroll around, as well as for commemorative photos such as weddings. After having fun with the sports and playground equipment that are surrounded by greenery and nature, take a break at the restaurant or souvenir shop. The ceramics and raku ware pottery making experiences that you can do here are also sure to remain as a treasured memory. The cottages here have a sophisticated design that coexists with nature, and by staying at one you can fully enjoy the scenery of Nokonoshima Island as it changes over time.

Hiraodai, located in the northeastern part of Fukuoka Prefecture and with an altitude of up to 700m above sea level, is one of Japan's three major karst plateaus. Over the years, the limestone geology has created great natural works of art, including the "sheep herd field" that looks like sheep herding in a meadow, and underground limestone caves. Sola Land Hiraodai is a place where you can play, learn, and enjoy various experiences all day long in such an irreplaceable environment. From the northern observation deck you'll have an excellent view of the magnificent karst plateau, and the view at sunset is particularly breathtaking. The 23-meter long dynamic roller slide and the new Heidi swings are not only fun to play on, but also make for memorable photos.

This relaxing spot, full of greenery and water, is located alongside the Suwa River that flows into the Ariake Sea. In addition to the large-scale playground equipment, sports facilities, and a murmuring stream for playing in the water, there is also a nature observation pond where you can interact with seasonal plants, flowers, and wild birds. From late April to late May, the irises along the banks of the pond are in full bloom. There is also an observation deck that offers a panoramic view of Omuta City, Mt. Miike, and the Ariake Sea. At the park's cultural exchange zone a variety of events are held and there are numerous spots for taking photos, including murals, fountains, and monuments with motifs from local festivals.

Nogata Riverside Park is composed of a grassy area with playground equipment. It is also famous as a spot for cherry blossoms, and in spring the park is especially beautiful because of the tulips that bloom along the river, creating an amazing combination with the cherry blossoms. Other highlights include the beautiful gradation of the 300,000 sunflowers and cosmos flowers that were planted by local residents over approx. 3,200 square meters. There are small bridges crossing the rivers on both sides of the park, and they are located so close to the water that you feel as if you are walking on the surface of the river itself. If you time it right, you might also have an encounter with some of the aquatic creatures that live there!