Rakusuien

Fukuoka


This small but pretty garden and teahouse was built by a Meiji-era merchant in 1906 and offers a couple of paths, a rushing waterfall and tea ceremony. In the inner garden, ask to see the suikinkutsu, a sort of musical instrument that makes noise when water drips into a ceramic jug beneath the ground. It's all enclosed by richly textured walls called Hakata-bei, named for Hakata and incorporating reclaimed tiles from damaged or destroyed buildings.

It's just north of Sumiyoshi-jinja.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Fukuoka attractions

1. Sumiyoshi-jinja

0.06 MILES

Sumiyoshi-jinja is said to be the original taisha (grand shrine) of Shintō's Sumiyoshi sect. The main kami (divine beings) enshrined here are protectors…

2. Yanagabashi Market

0.38 MILES

Although it doesn't compare in scale or offerings to larger food markets in Japan, Yanagibashi presents the opportunity to browse for fresh fish, seafood,…

3. Hakata Local History Museum

0.44 MILES

On the grounds of the Kushida-jinja shrine, this old-school museum has many displays about the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri, as well as swords, ancient…

4. Kushida-jinja

0.46 MILES

The intimate Kushida-jinja, municipal Shintō shrine of Hakata, traces its history to AD 757 and sponsors the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri, in which…

5. Hakata Machiya Furusato-kan

0.49 MILES

Spread over three machiya (traditional Japanese townhouses), this folk museum re-creates a Hakata nagare (neighbourhood unit) from the late Meiji era…

7. Tōchō-ji

0.58 MILES

Tōchō-ji houses the Fukuoka Daibutsu, Japan's largest seated wooden Buddha (10.8m high, 30 tonnes, completed in 1992) and some impressively carved Kannon …

8. Kihinkan

0.62 MILES

Built in 1910, this historic French Renaissance–style building, a nationally registered important cultural property, can be found just across the river…