Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000
Outline of Kyushu-Okinawa Summit Meeting

The people of Fukuoka Prefecture are known to have a cheerful and 'festival-loving' disposition. A total of nearly 300 festivals and events are held each year, all full of local color. The city comes especially alive during the 820-odd-year old Hakata Dontaku Port Festival held every May. About 300 groups totaling some 25-thousand men and women of all ages participate in a costumed parade. The name Dontaku is derived from the Dutch word Zondag, which means holiday. There are also many international sporting and cultural events such as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship and the Asian Pacific Festival.

Fukuoka boasts many popular dishes including Mizutaki, a stew of chicken and vegetables cooked in chicken broth, Game-ni, which is chicken, burdock and Konnyaku flour paste seasoned with soy sauce and sweet sake, and there is also Motsuni, the inexpensive but deliciously nutritious stew of beef innards. And because Fukuoka is surrounded by the sea on three sides, there is a wide variety of seafood to choose from. During winter, one can enjoy Fugu blowfish dishes. Other Fukuoka delicacies include Karashi Mentaiko, or spicy cod roe, which is very popular among tourists as a take-home gift.