Kawabata Shopping Arcade

Kawabata Shotengai is a shopping street that stretches from Nakasukawabata station to Kushida Shrine station. We started off from Riverain Mall exit and hit the jackpot for their scheduled closing day and went to the ground level. Kawabata Shotengai is Hakata'a oldest shopping street that flourished 130 years ago. It has around 130 shops (coincidence!) lining a 400 metre long arcade. We saw many giftshops, eateries, local specialty shops. If you stay nearby, plan a visit both in daytime and when night falls for a different ambience. Tourists please be mindful of rules like touching actual merchandise as well as eat walking.

A charming and bustling covered arcade, the historic Kawabata is a welcome escape from modern malls. Its lively, old-school atmosphere is perfect for a casual stroll, offering a fun mix of affordable shops, tasty street food stalls, and unique local souvenirs. Ideal for soaking up everyday Fukuoka life.

This is another traditional shopping arcade which I like to frequent as there are plenty of shops offering various products, produce, food and desserts.

Beautiful shopping street. Reminded me of Tamako Market Anime :) boight a lot of cute stuffs and souvenirs here. Not to forget enjoying every snacks we encounter here hihi

This shopping arcade is filled with all things Japanese - specifically 'Made in Japan' products that are worth having a look. Stores selling homewares, shoes, food and even tailors line up this covered arcade, making browsing a breeze as you stroll from one end to the other. Who knows, you might find your own hidden treasure here if you look hard enough.

Mode Salon, my girlfriend's "go to" place for casual inexpensive dress/tops. I always enjoyed shopping arcades, finding interesting local shops. Canal City is conveniently accessible at one end of Kawabata Shopping Arcade. On the second day, we had a body and feet massage. Very reasonable rates. Looking forward to coming back for more. There are several massage parlors to choose. Found this ramen place that serves gyoza, fried rice and fried chicken. Definitely one of the better places to eat! Firm noodles, shorter noodles to slurp, tasty broth and melt in your mouth roast pork. Fried rice comes on a hot sizzling plate. Gyoza with 3 sauces. Condiments available.

This is a rather quaint, slightly archaic arcade with a beautiful entrance roof arch. The arcade itself is built along two straight avenues, much like a cross, and has a wide variety of shops including tailors, a Daiso and traditional folkware and items. It is said to be the oldest shopping street in the area. Worth a visit if you are in the neigbourhood and it is only 20 minutes' walk from Canal City.

Unlike some famous shopping streets in Tokyo or Osaka that are dominated by shops oriented towards tourists, this place houses many local businesses that give visitors an authentic and local experience. While it is full of shops, I am a bit disappointed that many of them close quite early. More than half were already closed when I was there at around 7:30pm.

We were on a private walking tour of Fukuoka and our guide brought us here as part of our tour. I am beginning to love the Japanese style malls, hit his a plethora of shops, restaurants, and all types of services even a dentist. You can find pretty much anything in these traditional malls. The sheer volume and variety of fruits and veggies caught my eye and prices were reasonable. I'd probably be here every day if I lived here

An old school shopping adventure. Not a department store but with vendors on both sides of the pedestrian walkway. Not familiar designer shopping but where locals come with their kodomo(children) or friends. Lots of Japanese wares, very established shops for clothes, handmade crafted items or specialty merchandise even a tiny Daiso. Hubs found the perfect place for us to sit with others to enjoy shave ice in glass dishes with complimentary tea.

Kawabata Shopping Arcade / Fukuoka -- When Jamie W. and I visit a new city in Japan, we tend to anchor ourselves to a covered shopping arcade which is the common characteristic of all Japanese cities. It's not a preference thing as it is some kind of gravitational pull induced by the sights and smells of various Kyushu-originated foods as well as local merchandise that gives a city its unique character. That was definitely true here as it extends 400 meters between two larger, generically mid-scale shopping centers. This was where we got our strawberry daifuku skewers (review: https://bit.ly/454aCmv), and the intimate Kushida Shrine was just steps away from the southern end of the arcade (review: https://bit.ly/43OgC1H). If you want a pretty full flavor of Fukuoka, this would be a key spot to traverse. RELATED - Exploring Japan? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2qrUBZo

Many interesting local shops and restaurants here. Ramen, dresses for hostesses, souvenirs for foreigners, kimono, etc... The most popular one is Kawabata zenzai. Sweet red bean soup dessert!

We happen to come across this arcade by chance. It's located by the canal just in back of the Kushida Shrine. It's a nice stroll from the shrine to the Hakata Riverain, where there's a Fukuoka Art Museum. There's many shops and restuarants but caters mostly for adults. Not too many shops had children clothing. There were many massage places available. The cheapest we found was about 3,500yen for 60 minutes (full body and foot massage). Wish I had gone in but when you're with a group, it's very hard to do such s thing.

If shopping at malls is not your thing, you might want to check out a shopping arcade which are prevalent in Japan in just about every city I visited while there. Typically, it will tend to have a better mix of local businesses than if you went to a mall. The Kawabata Shopping Arcade is a shopping street you will find in Fukuoka. If you are coming from Nakasu-Kawabata Station, you will encounter this shopping arcade while on your way to Canal City. It is an open air shopping area, but it is covered. Yes you will find some chain restaurants here along with a Daiso, but for the most part there are a lot of local shops here. It doesn't feel like a tourist trap, but rather a place that the locals would visit in their daily life. There are also plenty of eateries here for all types of budgets and tastes. So it is a great place to grab a meal if you are in the area. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend visiting this shopping arcade specifically, it makes for a nice side trip if you happen to be visiting nearby attractions like Canal City, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and Nakasu.

With all the shopping to be had in Fukuoka, this particular arcade seems to cater to the crowd that would likely keep away from Tenjin. An interesting stroll if you happen to be in the area. In a quick run through of the arcade in search of a dress shirt for my son, I stumbled across a few men's wear shops, a bunch of eateries, convenience stores, a frame store, women's wear (some of which bordered flashy ballroom dresses) but oddly not much for kids. At the end of the arcade nearest the Okura Hotel is the Hakata Riverain which features the Asian Art Museum and the Eeny Meeny Miny Mo shopping complex with higher end stores (like Jimmy Choo, Diesel, BCBG).