Why this ride
335 km from Fukuoka to Fukuoka, about 5 h 32 of riding. The stops in between: Nakatsu-miya, Okitsu-miya Yohaisho, Onga river Pumping Station and Mietsu Naval Dock. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fukuoka day out · Mietsu Naval Dock
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 335 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 32
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fukuoka
Fukuoka is the big city of Kyushu, home to about one and a half million people, and it feels closer to Seoul and Shanghai than to Tokyo in the way it turns its face to the sea. The harbour of Hakata has been a gateway to the continent for two thousand years, and a gold seal found nearby, dated to the first century AD, is said to record a gift from the Chinese emperor. In 1274 and 1281 the Mongols landed here with huge fleets, and the stone wall built to resist them survives in places.
Read the complete Fukuoka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fukuoka is where the day begins. Next is Nakatsu-miya.
2. Nakatsu-miya
Munakata Taisha is not one shrine but three, spread across the sea off northern Kyushu, and Nakatsu-miya is the middle one. The boat leaves from the little harbour of Kōnominato and takes roughly a quarter of an hour, crossing water that was once the main sea lane between Japan and the Korean peninsula. Shrines were built at three points along that lane to protect sailors, and the middle one honours the goddess Tagitsuhime.
Read the complete Nakatsu-miya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakatsu-miya comes up 47 km in. Next is Okitsu-miya Yohaisho.
3. Okitsu-miya Yohaisho
Some holy places are meant to be seen from a distance. Off the coast of Munakata, in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, the island of Okinoshima rises from the Genkai Sea about sixty kilometres offshore. It is a sacred island where rituals were performed from the fourth to the ninth century, and tens of thousands of offerings, including mirrors, jewels and gold rings, were left on its rocks. Ordinary visitors are not allowed to land, so on the island of Oshima, closer to the mainland, stands the Okitsu-miya Yohaisho, a hall from which worshippers can pray towards Okinoshima across the sea.
Read the complete Okitsu-miya Yohaisho write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
94 km in you reach Okitsu-miya Yohaisho. Next is Onga river Pumping Station.
4. Onga river Pumping Station
Steel needs water, a great deal of it, and in the early twentieth century the new Imperial Steel Works at Yawata in northern Kyushu needed more than the local streams could provide. The answer was this pumping station on the Onga river at Nakama, built in 1910, which drew water from the river and sent it through pipelines to the steel works. Remarkably, it is still in operation more than a century later. The red brick building with its tall windows is part of the UNESCO listing of Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution, alongside shipyards, coal mines and iron works that tell the story of Japan's dramatic transformation into an industrial power.
Read the complete Onga river Pumping Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Onga river Pumping Station, about halfway. Next is Mietsu Naval Dock.
5. Mietsu Naval Dock
The Mietsu Naval Dock lies on the Saga Plain, where the Chikugo river flows into the Ariake Sea. It is a place that easily gets overlooked: a modest dry dock and a few stone structures among reeds and creeks. Yet UNESCO listed it in 2015 among the sites of Japan's Meiji industrial revolution, and the reason is the Saga domain's ambition. In the 1850s, under its daimyo Nabeshima Naomasa, Saga set about learning Western shipbuilding, cannon casting and steam technology faster than almost any other domain in Japan, and Mietsu was where the navy was trained and its ships were built and repaired.
Read the complete Mietsu Naval Dock write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mietsu Naval Dock sits at 187 km, about halfway. Next is back through Onga river Pumping Station.
6. back through Onga river Pumping Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Onga river Pumping Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Onga river Pumping Station comes up 234 km in. Next is back through Okitsu-miya Yohaisho.
7. Back to Fukuoka
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fukuoka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
281 km in you reach back through Okitsu-miya Yohaisho. Next is back through Nakatsu-miya.
8. Back to Fukuoka
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fukuoka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Nakatsu-miya, late in the day. Next is Fukuoka.
9. Fukuoka
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fukuoka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 374 km.
Leg by leg
Fukuoka to Nakatsu-miya
Fukuoka → Nakatsu-miya is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Okitsu-miya Yohaisho to Onga river Pumping Station
Okitsu-miya Yohaisho → Onga river Pumping Station is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Onga river Pumping Station to Mietsu Naval Dock
Onga river Pumping Station → Mietsu Naval Dock is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mietsu Naval Dock to back through Onga river Pumping Station
Mietsu Naval Dock → back through Onga river Pumping Station is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Onga river Pumping Station to Back to Fukuoka
back through Onga river Pumping Station → Back to Fukuoka is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.