The other garden that also receives some praise online is Rakusuien Garden. The place is about a ten minute walk from Hakata Station. But as luck would have it, my place of stay – The Royal Park Fukuoka Hotel – is roughly just under half-way along this route, so the Rakusuien was included right from my early versions of the itinerary as a ready to go anytime filler activity.
I swung by for a visit in the late afternoon: just 30 minutes before its 5PM closing time, initially a little worried that I’d barely have enough time to give the place justice. My fears turned out to be unfounded: the Rakusuien is tiny. There’s a small pond that’s the centerpiece of the garden, but the path that goes round it can be easily completed in about 2 minutes – and that’s if you’re walking leisurely. The admission fee to get in is a very modest ¥100/SGD1.30, and there are half a dozen very large Koi that have been long conditioned to fearlessly approach with mouths opened wide, expecting food from humans. But the small size of the Rakusuien itself is just one part of the problem: the garden itself simply isn’t as beautiful as Ohori Park’s, with little evidence of the kind of careful landscaping evident in the latter. Some Google reviewers have also commented on the rudeness of the ticket seller, and also that the garden has a smell. The elderly gentleman was OK for me – but I’m on my best and most polite behavior whenever I’m visiting someone else’s country – and I didn’t detect any foul odors either.
All said, the garden is a tranquil place to catch a break. Just keep your expectations low.
Summary: if you have the time to spare, it’s on your way, and you have a couple of ¥100 to spare – sure, why not. Otherwise, skip this and check out Ohori Park’s Japanese Garden instead.
Next post on my early evening exploration of Fukuoka City.
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