Plan Your Fukuoka Bike Tour: Top Places and Routes Recommendations

I'm not really a biker or cyclist. But biking has always been my favorite activity when I travel outside the country.  I know I can stroll nearby around where I stay, which is easier, faster and cheaper in transportation expense.  Although not all places are bike friendly, but I take advantage of a good bike lane in the city. After all, I will save in cost, and this is better exercise than just walking.

This is not my first time to ride a bicycle during my travels, but Japan is definitely a good safe place to bike on its road with designated lanes and parking. I biked in Osaka, just riding along the city roads without a destination in mind.  I thought to get the sense of being a cyclist or biker like the locals do, and see how it goes.  

And so when I visited Fukuoka, I planned my biking trip. The weather is fair, but few times it rained.  Yet, the tour went smooth and riding the bicycle to visit the places is awesome. 

Make sure you already know how to ride a bike if you plan to do this tour😄

🚲Where to rent a bicycle?
There are few ways to rent a bike in Fukuoka.

1. Rent a bike via apps.  There are so many bicycle rentals available global and the bikes are easy accessible on stations.  You download the application and rent a wide variety of bicycles to choose from.  Top bike rentals that you can check are Docomo  and CogiCogi .  This may require registration with local mobile number.  Check more details on the website.

2. Rent a bicycle on physical rental shops.  There are many shops on city centers of Fukouka and also in the neighborhood.  You may check the sites of bike rental shops for more details.

3. Some hotels or room stays have their bike rental for free or with a discount fee. You can check this while looking for accomodation. It may not require anymore information, but you may be limited to the type of available bicycles.

When I rent in Osaka in one rental shop, I was asked for a copy of my passport and the address where I stayed.  While in Fukuoka, I chose my Airbnb where there is a rental nearby and luckily, my Airbnb owner also owned the bicycle rental shop.  She gave me a good discount for a day rent and no more requirements. 

I rode the bike without a helmet at that time though I didn't know that wearing a helmet is already mandatory as of April 2023. Apparently I still saw few cyclist not wearing helmet.   You may check this on bicycle rental if they also rent helmets together with the bike.  

🚲Recommended Places to visit:

Now that you have your bike, you can now stroll around Fukuoka. This bike tour is one day trip around Chuo ward and northern part of the Sawara ward. The proposed start trip in Tenjin area is near the Hakata area, so you may also start from there.  See map below.

Parking lots for the bicycles are available in parks and buildings.  I limit places and routes so you can just enjoy the scenery and the feel to commute via bike as locals do.  Be mindful of the bike lanes and traffic for your safety.

Here are the list of places to visit during the bike tour with short description.  Feel free to add other places to visit along the way so that you can include in the recommended routes later.

✅ Ohori Park . The main attraction in this park is the Ohori lake. You can bike around the pond and feel free to bike crossing the bridges of Kangetsu, Shigetsu and other bridges. Stop over at the Pavilion and see the beauty of the waters in the area. I went here in the morning, but you can also checkout the scenic view at night.

✅ Walk inside and see the Ohari Japanese Park Garden in the south side of the Ohari lake.  It is just few steps from the Ohari Terrace.

✅ Nishi Park is famous for its observatory of the Hakata city and coast.  It's garden has a variety of trees and flowers and really the best place to experience the blossoming Sakura. There are also other tourist spots in the park.

✅ For historical site scenes, gardens and events, you can visit the Maizuru park. It is near the Ohari park. It features the Fukuoka Castle Ruines and other historical ruines. Entrance is free to walk or ride a bike.

✅ Fukuoka Art Museum is across the Ohari lake. It features different art exhibits, modern and contemporary.  There is an entrance fee. 

✅ Fukuoka City Museum.  This museum showcases the lifestyle and culture of Fukuoka with rich collection of historical artifacts. There are exhibits scheduled on each floors or galleries with different entrance fee. 

✅ Fukuoka Red Brick Culture Museum.  I usually passed by this museum when I visited Fukuoka.  It is open until 9:00 pm, and it was always last in my itinerary.  However, I usually end up on different place too far from it so I didn't get to visit.  But it has good reviews, so you can check it out. Entrance is free.

✅ Momochi Beach. You can bike around the Momochi seaside park to the central park.  There are schools and hospital around the area.  Momochi beach is a man-made sandy beach of about 1 km.  It's a home to the Fukuoka tower, restaurants and a sunset view. 

✅ Proposed meeting place or last stop of your bike tour for the Western style Kihinkan Hall building.  Best as background of the iconic FUKUOKA instagramable scenery.

✅ Have your meal in Ohori Terrace near the side of the lake. It has very sumptous meals, good coffee and tea.  It opens at 9:00 am, so you can have your breakfast, after your biking or drop by for lunch. 

✅ Cafe Bimi.  I just found this out recently, a coffee shop famous for selling only 2 items. They have a variety of coffees to choose from and goes only with the fruitcake .  It opens at 12:00 noon and a number of people already in queue. I will definitely grab my hot black coffee and try it with their fruitcake for snack or merienda when I go back there.  

✅ Ugimitei.  This is a Japanese restaurant in the Nishi park.  A must-try food for lunch as it opens late at 11:30 am and only up to 3:00 pm. 

🚲Recommended Routes:

Option 1:   Slow travel and chill, and no visit at the museums.

• Ohari Park.  If you are coming from Tenjin area exactly in Tenjin Central park, this is about 12 to15 mins bike via Showadori Avenue.
•  Have your breakfast at Ohari Terrace which opens at 9:00 am.  If you can't wait for breakfast, then try Starbucks inside the park which opens at 7:00 am.  There are other restuarants that are open also at 7:00 am.
• Visit the historical ruins at Mazuri park after.
• Drop by at Cafe Bimi which is just nearby and see if you can squeeze in for coffee and snack as the queue must be long.
• If you are able to get your snack, you can bike going north along side Ohari lake to get to Nishi Park.  Bike straight to the main road with moderate uphill up to the Observatory. 
• You can try the Ugimitei for late lunch. Make sure to be there before 2:00 pm so that you have an hour for lunch. You can stroll in the area until you feel like going back to Tenjin area.
• Stop by for iconic instagram photos in Kihinkan Hall and the Fukuoka facade.

Option 2:  Intense biking activity with sight seeing in the parks. You may opt to any restaurants or fast food nearby. 

• Start your bike trip to Nishi park. From Tenjin Central park, bike along Showadori avenue. Nishi park is a hilltop park with picnic area, restaurants and booths.  Expect moderate acceleration on your biking but worth sightseeing of the coast and Fukuoka city when you reach the top.
• Next is the Momoshi beach for biking and sightseeing. For breakfast or brunch, you can grab your meals at McDonalds along the road routes from Nishi Park. There are also restaurants in the beach. Rest and feel the handmade sandy beach. You can bike in the Momoshi seaside area up to the Central park to rest.
• If you still haven't taken your lunch, you can bike toward the Ohari park and have your lunch time in Ohari Terrace and have coffee in Cafe Bimi.
• You all have the time to bike around Ohari and Mazuri park for historical sceneries and gardens.
• Drop by at the Kihinkan Hall for instagrammable pictures.

Option 3.  Museum visits

• I really like the ambiance in Ohari terrace so I recommend that place for breakfast and coffee. So start sightseeing while biking along the Ohari lake while you wait for coffee shop to open. 
• The Fukuoka Art Museum has a minimal entrance fee for a very rich collection of contemporary arts.  There's a cafe inside the building and see a scenic view of the Ohari park and lake.
• The Fukuoka City Museum is in the heart of Momoshi area.  Start biking from Ohari park to north west via Meiji-Dori avenue.
• There are other museums in the area such as the Fukuoka Musical Arts and the Fukuoka City Science Museum. These are  additional place to visit with entrance fee.
• You can still visit Momochi beach after the Fukuoka City museum as it is just few blocks away. Feel the breeze and the manmade sand and check out the restaurants.
• Last visit will be the Fukuoka Red Brick Cultural Museum going east, and on the way where you started.

Itineraries are all feasible on any season, but you should wear appropriate clothes and accessories. Routes are just guidance and my preferences, it is still best to use Google Maps or preferred GPS apps to take you to each destination the fastest. Be comfortable and safe at all times. 

If you are travelling alone and first time in Japan, check out my other topics related to this.