Japan · Fukuoka Prefecture · Fukuoka
Arato, Fukuoka — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Arato is a chōmei in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, running from Arato 1-chōme to 3-chōme over about thirty hectares. The Man'yōshū knew the headland here as Aratsu.
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Where to stay in Arato
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
Arato sits between Nishi-kōen and the water in central Fukuoka, close enough to walk into Tōjinmachi or Kuromon. Cafés and restaurants have come back to the old port streets. Fresh fish is still the association.
About Arato
What are the main landmarks in Arato?
Nishi-kōen rises above Arato and was once called Aratoyama. The Fukuoka domain's samurai houses stood on the ground the district now covers. Two great expositions used the park and the reclaimed land below it, the Industrial Exposition of 1920 and the East Asia Industrial Exposition of 1927.
What is the history of Arato?
The stretch that takes in Nishi-kōen, Arato and Isaki was called Aratsu, or Aratsu-no-saki, and the Man'yōshū names it more than once. Aratsu was built up as a trading port early in the Edo period, and the name Arato is recorded by then: Kaibara Ekiken's Chikuzen no Kuni Shoku Fudoki puts Arato and Arato-shinmachi north of Fukuoka Castle. At the start of Meiji, Arato village belonged to Sawara District under the Chikuzen Fukuoka domain, and it became part of Fukuoka City on 1 April 1889.
Fishing and its restaurants carried the district through the middle of the twentieth century until the oil shock of 1973 ended both. The fish remained.
Where is Arato?
Arato lies in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, below Nishi-kōen and beside the water that made it a port. It covers about thirty hectares. Tōjinmachi and Kuromon are the nearest quarters.
More areas in Fukuoka
Updated September 2026