REFLECTIONS ON NAKASU / Fukuoka City

NAKASU (中洲)

Nakasu (中洲) is the red-light district which exists between the neon-lit sandbank of the Naka River (那珂川) and the Hakata River (博多川) in Fukuoka City in southern Japan. It is named after a popular, but very short-lived, entertainment quarter which existed in Edo (now known as Tokyo) in the late 18th century. With smoke rising from the area’s food stalls, and neon flickering on the water, squint your eyes and you might just imagine yourself in a scene from Blade Runner.