The Royal Park Canvas Fukuoka Nakasu (Review)

Opened in August 2023, The Royal Park Canvas Fukuoka Nakasu joins the lineup of "THE" hotels alongside The Royal Park Hotel 🏨 Fukuoka, which has operated since 2011 near the exit of JR Hakata Station. This new hotel is located a few kilometers away, along the Hakata River (a branch of the Naka River) on the river island of Nakasu, in the historic and lively heart of Fukuoka. It remains easy to reach by subway 🚇 from JR Hakata Station or from Fukuoka's domestic airport (FUK), and offers a central location for visiting the city's must-see spots, such as stopping by one of the famous yatai food stalls in the Tenjin or Nakasu districts.

Designed as an oasis of nature suspended within the urban landscape, The Royal Park Canvas Fukuoka Nakasu falls into the luxury eco-hotels category in Japan, placing a strong emphasis on its guests' well-being and health. The interior decor is meant to feel warm and soothing, thanks in particular to:

• The widespread use of light-colored wood in the furniture;
• An abundance of plants decorating the lobby and common areas; and,
• A certain clean, harmonious style found in the rooms, notably featuring black-and-white panoramic photos of Kyushu landscapes.

As for amenities, the hotel offers:

• A rooftop terrace (rooftop garden) and a lounge that also opens onto the outdoors;
• A bar called Komorebi, ideal for an evening drink;
• A communal hot bath (public bath) as well as a sauna for unwinding after a day of sightseeing.

The Ono Hakata -Octo Natura Kyusyu- restaurant serves a sweet-and-savory buffet breakfast every morning. An open kitchen equipped with a wood-fired oven also prepares additional dishes on-site and on request: Japanese-style hamburgers, quiche, or French toast; the selection is eclectic and fairly healthy. The only drawback is the lack of fresh fruit (perhaps understandable during a winter stay). Coffee lovers will also enjoy using the bean-to-cup machine and its various settings.

Breakfast is served until 11am, a fairly late hour that's much appreciated while on vacation. Lunch and dinner set menus are also available.

Cocoon-like rooms with a window on the city

Spread across the upper floors of the building known in English as the Positive For Rice Field Fukuoka Building, the 255 rooms at The Royal Park Canvas Fukuoka Nakasu enjoy an elevated view over Fukuoka. The floor-to-ceiling windows create a kind of "natural television" that guests can take in at leisure from the platforms and built-in benches set up for that purpose. By day, the blue of Hakata Bay can be seen on the horizon, while at night, the city lights twinkle below.

The Standard category starts at around 20m² on average, while the 140 Superior rooms offer a total floor area of 26,6m², spacious enough to accommodate 2 to 3 people. There's no bathtub in these bathrooms, since the hotel has a large public bath reserved for guests.

Floors 10 through 14 (10F-14F) are known as the Sky Floor, with the top floor dedicated to the most upscale categories, called Premium and Deluxe. These include family rooms with a private bathtub for up to 4 guests, as well as suites with a living room and an outdoor balcony, spanning more than 85m².

The amenities are modern and blend well into the interior design—sometimes so well that they can be a bit hard to find. Careful attention has been paid to acoustics, with high-quality speakers installed in the rooms for an optimal music-listening experience.

Kyushu draws mostly international tourists of Asian origin, thanks to the many connections with neighboring countries such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Western travelers are encouraged to extend their exploration of Japan all the way down to its southern reaches, where overtourism isn't yet an issue and a relaxed pace of life is always on offer.