Make the most of the time you have in Fukuoka when your ship docks with a local insider to show you a full snapshot of their city - no matter how flying your visit. From exploring the city’s up-and-coming otaku scene at Marble Choco – a store dedicated to impossibly intricate dollhouse furniture – to sipping an extra-smooth flannel drip coffee in the Daimyo neighborhood, a caffeinated hub of trendy twentysomethings, urban culture, and hipster cafes. You could stave off your hunger pangs in restaurant-lined Ropponmatsu, where you’ll have your pick of intimate izakaya and famous tonkotsu ramen joints – slurp a sit-down meal, or grab a vending machine ticket to cash in for a quick noodle fix. At dusk, cross neon-reflected Naka River onto Nakasu Island, where yatai mobile food stalls come out with the stars, and locals feast on yakitori skewers and draft beer.

When your ship docks at Hakata Port, hop on a bus and travel 15 minutes into Fukuoka’s lively city center with a local host. What you do on this whirlwind experience through the city’s iconic districts is totally up to you! Maybe you’ll stock up on souvenirs at the enormous Canal City Hakata entertainment complex east of Naka River, or perhaps you’ll travel back in time to ancient Japan’s temples and shrines, like Tōchō-ji and Kushida, just down the street. You could swivel your head between the backstreet LED screens of ultra-modern districts around the river, stroll serenely through lush Ōhori Park, or head west via subway to Nishijin’s traditional shop-lined streets, where the tallest seaside tower in Japan is just a short walk away.