Large national park on the sandspit of Hakata Bay with flower gardens, a marine zoo and a beach; admission 450 ¥.
The Uminonakamichi Seaside National Park occupies the entire narrow sandspit that closes Hakata Bay to the east, an 8-kilometre-long strip barely 500 metres wide with the Genkai sea to the north and Hakata Bay to the south. The park is the largest in Fukuoka, with 329 hectares of themed gardens, pine forests, a 3-kilometre white-sand beach, tulip fields (in spring), sunflowers (in summer), cosmos (in autumn) and a marine aquarium (Uminonakamichi Marine World). The aquarium has an underwater tunnel where sharks, manta rays and bottlenose dolphins swim, with dolphin shows three times a day (combined park + aquarium admission ~2.500 ¥). The park itself has admission of 450 ¥ for adults. It is toured by rental bicycle (300 ¥/2h) or on the park's little internal train. It is reached from Hakata station on the fast ferry (25 minutes, 680 ¥) or on the JR Kagoshima train to Uminonakamichi (30 minutes). Ideal for a whole morning outside the centre of Fukuoka.
