Hakata Bay

Hakata Bay (博多湾, Hakata-wan) is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city, on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. It faces the Tsushima Strait, and features beaches and a port, though parts of the bay have been reclaimed in the expansion of the city of Fukuoka. The bay is near the site of the Mongol invasions of Japan of 1274 and 1281; both invasions are sometimes referred to as the "Battle of Hakata Bay." The Bay is defined by shoal Umi-no-nakamichi and tombolo Shika-no-shima (Shika Island) to the north, and Genkai-jima (Genkai Island) to the northwest, and the Itoshima Peninsula to the west. Five wards of Fukuoka city border on the bay, which is sometimes labeled "Fukuoka Bay" on maps. Sometimes, the bay is divided into Hakata, Fukuoka, and Imazu Bays, though for simplicity's sake, the term "Hakata Bay" is commonly used as a catch-all to refer to all three. The bay is roughly 10 km from north to south, and 20 km from east to west, covering an area of roughly 133 km. The coastline stretches 128 km. The mouth of the bay is only 7.7 km wide, shielding it to a great extent from the waves of the Strait. The bay is only 10 metres deep on average, 23 m at its deepest point, though the tides bring a two-metre change in the water level.