Fukuoka Castle Ruins Visitor Center

The Fukuoka Castle ruins are marked by massive, jagged stone walls that rise abruptly from the grassy park. These blocks of granite were hauled here in the early seventeenth century for the daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa. He needed a seat of power that could overlook Hakata Bay. During the construction, workers realized the soil was too soft to support the heavy keep, so they built a sprawling fortress of earth and stone instead. The castle towers are gone, but the foundations remain.