I’ve been doing a fair bit of running since I arrived in Fukuoka.  Since the weather has generally been good, it is just too tempting to resist getting out to run without the need for 3 layers, gloves, beanie and a prayer to the god of frostbite.  I haven’t done anything long distance yet, but I’ve given a 5km area south of Hakata station a good go.

Let’s go for a little virtual tour…

The first run is along one of the river/canals of Fukuoka city, specifically the Naka River.  I quite like this one as it has nice paths to run along the river, meaning I don’t have to stop for traffic every 200 meters.

View along the canal path of the Naka River

The path is really nice and smooth (reducing, but not eliminating the chances of me falling on my face) but also inset from the road, meaning it is quiet and feels fairly detached from the city.

Next up are two photos on the same street at the end of the canal path section which are fairly illustrative of the type of off-main-street views:

Side street in South Hakata

So much concrete…

They certainly do like concrete here.  Probably necessary for the whole earthquake thing, so you have to respect the choice of function over form.

The next stop is Sanno park, which is by far my favourite of the smaller parks in the area.  It boasts a 1.2km running track (nice and soft), a few little hills to sprint up and a shrine.  The shrine is especially nice, sitting in the middle of the park, but separated by sitting atop a small hill and surrounded by trees.

Hiyoshi Shrine in Sanno Park

Apart from the shrine, this park is quite different in that it has actual trees and grass.  Most parks are mostly concrete/dirt areas with a small row of trees.

Sanno Park

I’m planning on ranging out more on my runs over the summer and I’ll be reporting back with what I find!