The origins of Hakata Station date back to 1889, around 600 meters north of its current residing position. The train industry was still in its early infancy stage resembling more of a tram that transported a few thousand people throughout the Hakata district.
As the city and population grew in 1963 the city decided to rebuild and expand the Hakata station. In 1975 Hakata station hosted the Sanyo Shinkansen (Bullet Train) followed by the connection of the Fukuoka Subway which was later connected in 1985.
In 2011 and after a 5-year, 24/7 a week, and around-the-clock re-construction undertaking with over 30k architects engineers, workers, and employees to have it operational in record time 2011 the newly rebuilt, redesigned, and much larger Hakata station (now officially Hakata City) finally re-opened and was subsequently connected to the JR Kagoshima line. Now with more than 130,000 people going through the station daily connecting people throughout Kyushu and beyond this traffic adds to the growth of new businesses as well as apartments as more people move closer to the city and station.
Hakata Station is one of the largest stations in Kyushu and a hub for connecting with all the other prefectures throughout Kyushu. Hakata is also famous for its wide selection of food, particularly ramen and udon, the station has over a dozen great shops to satisfy any ramen connoisseur’s appetite.