Fukuoka is exceptionally well connected. Fukuoka Airport is one of Japan's most centrally located city airports — the subway from the terminal to Hakata Station takes 5 minutes and costs almost nothing. International flights serve Seoul (multiple daily), Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Bangkok among other Asian destinations, plus domestic services to Tokyo (Haneda and Narita), Osaka, and throughout Japan. The airport's proximity to the city centre makes Fukuoka a practical entry point for Japan from across East and Southeast Asia.
By shinkansen, Hakata Station is the main terminus of the Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen lines. Tokyo is about 5 hours on the fastest Nozomi (or 2 hours 15 minutes from Osaka). Kumamoto is 35 minutes; Nagasaki is about 1.5 hours by limited express. High-speed ferries run to Busan in South Korea from the Hakata international ferry terminal (about 3 hours by the fastest JR Beetle hydrofoil service). Fukuoka's position at the western end of Japan's main transport arteries and directly facing Korea makes it the Japanese city most naturally oriented toward the rest of Asia.