Fukuoka - Hakata Traditional Craft and Design Museum and Hakatamachiya Folk Museum

The Hakata Traditional Craft and Design Museum is a free museum, with beautiful displays and exhibits, but photos are not allowed inside.  My favorite thing here was the Hakata Ori woven textile exhibit.  From the website: 

Approximately 770 years ago, a young Hakata merchant named Mitsuda Yasoemon visited China with a monk (later known as Shoichi Kokushi) and returned having learned techniques in weaving. This technique was passed down through the generations to the present. Improvements were made as time continued, and because Kuroda Nagamasa offered this textile to the feudal government of the Edo period, people began to call it “Kenjo (offering) Hakata Ori.” Not only obi sashes, but various items such as dresses and bags are made using Hakata Ori textiles these days.

I also visited the Hakatamachiya Folk Museum, which is only about two blocks from the Craft and Design Museum.  I arrived just  in time for the Hakata Hariko painting class.  The cost of the materials for the class was 800 yen and the entrance to the museum was 200 yen.  

This is my teacher, holding my finished fish.

I'm not such a good painter, but I always like to take part in local craft classes when I travel.  After my class, I visited the rest of the museum, where photos are allowed. 

I recommend visiting both of these museums in Fukuoka.