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Lakeside path and benches along the wide pond of Ohori Park with Fukuoka buildings beyond
Photo: Tzuhsun Hsu from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fukuoka · park

Ohori Park

大濠公園

A park around a large pond in the heart of Fukuoka. A 2km path circles what was once Fukuoka Castle's moat, busy with walkers, joggers and rowing boats.

Swan-shaped pedal boats on the pond at Ohori Park
Photo: Tauceticentrum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pond of Ohori Park with small boats, willow branches and the city skyline
Photo: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A park born from Fukuoka Castle's moat

Ohori Park is a prefectural park almost in the very centre of Fukuoka City. It covers about 39.8 hectares, about 22.6 hectares of which is a large pond, making it one of the leading waterside parks in Japan.

This spot was originally an inlet of Hakata Bay. In the early Edo period, when Kuroda Nagamasa built Fukuoka Castle, he used it as the castle's sotobori (the outer moat that protected the castle). Work to landscape it got under way after the East Asia Industrial Exposition was held here in 1927, and it opened as a park in 1929. Today it is a nationally Registered Monument.

Things to see around the pond

A path of about 2km runs around the pond, and you will see local people out walking and jogging. In the pond there are islands linked by four bridges, and the Ukimido, a pavilion that seems to float on the water.

At the boathouse you can hire swan-shaped pedal boats or rowing boats and head out onto the pond. The building also has a cafe and a French restaurant.

The park also has a Japanese garden and a nogakudo (a theatre for Noh, a traditional Japanese performing art), and the Fukuoka Art Museum is on the east side. You can spot water birds such as herons and ducks, too.

Modelled on China's West Lake?

Ohori Park is often described as being modelled on West Lake in Hangzhou, China. However, the 1925 design plan says only that it drew on "many parks overseas", and West Lake is not mentioned. One theory is that the idea spread later, partly because a Chinese-style pavilion was moved to the park.

Getting there

Get off at Ohorikoen Station or Tojinmachi Station on the Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line, and the park is right there. From Hakata or Tenjin you can get there by subway or bus. Next door are Maizuru Park, home to the ruins of Fukuoka Castle, and an exhibition hall on the site of the Korokan (an ancient guesthouse for foreign envoys), so you can walk around them all together.

Tips

  • The path around the pond is about 2km. Walk the full loop and you will see the park from many different angles.
  • Combine your visit with the Fukuoka Castle ruins in neighbouring Maizuru Park and it becomes clear that this was once the castle's moat.
  • The park also hosts volunteer activities and events such as winter illuminations. Details and dates can change, so check the official website.

Sources

Updated 29 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

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