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Canal City Hakata, born in April 20th 1996 as a redevelopment project, is a shopping complex comprising a great variety of business and leisure facilities including a shopping mall, a movie theater, amusement facilities, two hotels, showrooms and corporate offices residing on its 35000 meters square site.
A 180-meter-long canal runs through the middle of the site among the rounded shape and colorful buildings which make up a small town and the dynamic fountain shows announce the time every thirty minutes.
On the stage set up beside the canal, various performances and music shows are held almost every day. This is a small entertainment city which is always full of bustle, where anyone can have some fun, gather with friends and relax.
The concept of Canal City is “a city theatre”.
The leading actor of this theatre called Canal City is not the buildings or its functions, but “people”.
The visitors here may find themselves watching a show as an audience or performing as an actor.
Various stories are created by people visiting here for different purposes.
Despite the apparent image of Canal City as a vivid colored modern building, the coloration of the buildings is actually very traditional Japanese style.
The colors, which have been used for kimonos since long ago, relax the mind of the visitors.
As the name suggests, the canal is the symbol of this facility.
Canal City consists of various buildings standing along the canal which runs slowly from north to south throughout the site.
During your shopping, you can take a rest on a bench beside the canal, watching the calming stream of water.
The space around the canal is divided into five zones. As you move from one end of the site to the other, you can see the space designs change gradually from the natural taste to modern.
Walking through the site, you can feel the nature and enjoy a variety of scenes as if they were performed on the stage one after another.
Sea Court
Earth Walk
Sun Plaza Stage
Moon Walk
Star Court
You can enjoy the fountain shows at the Sun Plaza Stage beside the canal.
It is a great water attraction. Water dances and makes various kinds of movements to the music, which will never make you bored.
- Fountain Show with Music
- 10:00 – 22:00 Every hour sharp
- Fountain Show without Music
- 10:00 – 22:00 Every half-hour
* Fountain show times may be changed or cancelled depending on event schedules.
Canal City takes on various expressions with seasonal decorations and illuminations; romantic decorations during Christmas seasons, festive decorations from around the Canal City anniversary month (April) to golden week holidays, and decorated floats of Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival, which is the traditional summer feature of Hakata.
- January
- New Years Holidays (gate pines, decoration of straw rope)
- Spring
- Colorful Decoration with Flowers
- July 1 – 14
- Decorated Floats of Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival
- Autumn
- Halloween Interiors
- Winter
- Christmas Illuminations
The live performances by the performers from all over the world, music concerts and various other amusing events are held almost everyday on the Sun Plaza Stage at the 1st basement floor.
At the portrait shop beside the canal, one of the portrait painters will draw your likeness sketch with her or his unique touch.
It only takes about 15 minutes. Why not taking a shot for your souvenir?
* The portrait may be moved to other locations depending on the weather conditions and event schedules.
There are cart shops beside the canal. You may find yourself attracted to those interesting and fancy goods as you pass by the cart shops.
* Cart shops may be moved to other locations depending on the weather conditions and event schedules.
“Fuku/Luck,Fuku=Luck,Matrix” by Nam June Paik, the worldly famous genre founder of video art, is installed.
The fragments of images picked by Paik, including sophisticated and vulgar images, Western and Asiatic landscape images tangle up on as many as 180 TV monitors (10 vertical X 18 horizontal rows), making an information chaos.
This is one of the largest works by Paik existing in Japan.
- Nam June Paik Profile
- Born in Korea in 1932. Majored aesthetics of music at the Department of Aesthetics and Art History, Faculty of Literature in Tokyo University.
Moved to Germany to study contemporary music and started his activity in contemporary art.
Based in New York later and gained a high recognition as an artist.
Had a deep connection with Fukuoka and won the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1995.
Passed away at age 73, on January 29, 2006.
- Lucky Frog
- A "Lucky Frog" sculpture, by Taiwanese artist Hung Yi, greets you at the entrance of the east building, the new entrance of Canal City Hakata located on Hakata-ekimae dori Avenue. The frog is a new happy icon of Canal City, creating a friendly atmosphere that will put a smile on your face.