Mercure Fukuoka Munakata Resort & Spa, a resort hotel overlooking the Genkai Sea with easy access from Hakata and Kokura, is running a season of cooling summer events from Wednesday, July 1 to Monday, August 31, 2026, centered on the opening of its outdoor pool.
At "Suzumi Chapel," a cool, calming space decorated with greenery and wind chimes, guests can relax with a chilled drink and a good book. A festival week brings a summer-matsuri atmosphere with games such as "Ice Omikuji," a fortune-telling game using ice-like cubes, and a vegetable-scooping game with prizes of locally grown produce from Munakata.
During the Obon holiday period, the hotel also opens a night pool with DJ events and a shaved ice fair, followed by a fireworks display in late August to close out the season.
For more on the summer lineup, see the hotel's official summer events page.
A Day and Night Pool for the Whole Family
Surrounded by a lush garden, the outdoor pool has two pools of different depths, making it easy for both small children and adults to enjoy. A range of pool floats is also available, which is convenient for travelers who want to pack light.
During the Obon period, the hotel also opens a night pool. Lit up for a fantastical evening atmosphere, the poolside area hosts DJ events and a shaved ice fair for a different kind of summer evening than during the day.
Day Pool
Dates: Wednesday, July 1 to Tuesday, September 1
*Closed from the afternoon of Monday, July 13 through Thursday, July 16 for a full property buyout.
Hours: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM / 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM
*On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the pool is open only from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and on Tuesday, September 1, it closes at 12:00 PM.
Price: Included in the all-inclusive rate
Night Pool
Dates: Saturday, August 8 to Saturday, August 15
Hours: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Price: Adults (junior high school age and up), ¥1,500 per person; ages 3 through elementary school age, ¥1,000 per person (tax and service charge included)
DJ Event
Dates: Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 15
Hours: 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
For more details, see the day and night pool page.
Shaved Ice Fair
A limited-time shaved ice made with a strawberry sauce using Munakata-grown amaou strawberries, combined with local Munakata honey and condensed milk, tops the lineup. It's finished with mint grown in-house at the hotel, balancing the strawberries' sweetness with the mint's refreshing aroma. Standard shaved ice flavors are also available, making it a treat for all ages.
Dates and hours: July 18 (Saturday) to July 20 (Monday), August 22 (Saturday), and August 29 (Saturday), 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM; August 13 (Thursday) to August 15 (Saturday), 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
*Hours are subject to change.
Location: Poolside
Price: Munakata honey and condensed milk strawberry shaved ice, ¥1,000 (tax and service charge included); standard shaved ice, ¥300 (tax and service charge included)
Cooling Events for the Five Senses
1. A Limited-Time "Suzumi Chapel" Filled With the Sound of Wind Chimes
Wind chimes ringing in the breeze
Books connected to the local area
Self-serve cooling drinks
This summer, the hotel's chapel is temporarily opened to guests as "Suzumi Chapel." Decorated with greenery, wind chimes, and other cooling touches, the space is designed to feel refreshing to look at as well. Amid the sound of wind chimes and healing music, guests can enjoy iced coffee and mint water made with mint grown in-house at the hotel.
The chapel is also stocked with books and photo collections on the history and culture of Kyushu, so guests can settle in with a cold drink and spend an unhurried afternoon reading.
Suzumi Chapel Overview
Open dates: July 25 (Saturday) to July 31 (Friday), and August 22 (Saturday) to August 31 (Monday)
Hours: 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Price: For hotel guests only; included in the all-inclusive rate
The chapel also hosts two summer-only events on separate dates from its regular opening days: a talk session on the history and culture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Munakata Taisha, and a bandoneon concert.
An Evening to Learn About the World Heritage Site Munakata Taisha
Motoyuki Ashizu, deputy chief priest of Munakata Taisha — a UNESCO World Heritage Site about a 10-minute drive from the hotel — leads an evening session on its history. Guests can learn about the worship of the three Munakata goddesses recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the maritime trade routes that once connected Japan with the continent, and the roughly 80,000 national treasures excavated from Okinoshima Island, tracing the history and culture that the sea and centuries of prayer have shaped in Munakata.
Dates: July 18 (Saturday) and August 8 (Saturday)
Time: From 4:30 PM; runs about 30 minutes
Bandoneon Night
Yukie Kawanami, an internationally renowned bandoneon player born in Munakata, performs a chapel concert to color a summer evening.
Dates: August 13 (Thursday) and August 29 (Saturday)
Time: From 8:30 PM; runs about 30 minutes
2. "Ice Omikuji," a Fortune-Telling Game With Prizes
"Ice Omikuji" is a limited-quantity, summer-only fortune-telling game that's cooling just to look at. Using clear, ice-like cubes, it's an interactive activity that pairs a refreshing light display with a chance to test your luck.
Prizes are centered on local souvenirs, including assortments of Munakata-grown vegetables and fruit, with a pair of hotel accommodation vouchers as the grand prize. Every draw wins something, making it an event the whole family can enjoy.
Dates: July 18, July 25, August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22, and August 29 (all Saturdays)
Hours: From 2:00 PM until supplies run out (limited quantities each day)
Price: ¥1,000 (tax and service charge included); ¥500 (tax and service charge included) with All member registration
A Festival Week With Vegetable Scooping and More
With cooperation from JA Munakata, the festival week features a vegetable-scooping game in which players use a ladle to scoop up seasonal vegetables grown in Munakata floating in water. Whatever vegetables players scoop up, they can take home.
Classic festival games such as shooting galleries and senbon-zuri, a prize string-pulling game, round out the lineup, alongside festival food like shaka-shaka popcorn.
Dates: August 8 (Saturday) to August 15 (Saturday)
Hours: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: Hotel's special event space
Fireworks to Close Out the Summer
To close out the summer, the hotel holds a fireworks display on two nights, August 22 and August 29. Handled by local fireworks specialists, the roughly three-minute shows fill the night sky with color to mark the end of summer.
Dates: August 22 (Saturday) and August 29 (Saturday)
Time: From around 9:00 PM
*Subject to change depending on weather and other conditions.
Buffet Menus to Enjoy This Summer
The concept is a street-corner marche full of local charm
The new signature "three burgers" breakfast menu
Tempura made with wild conger eel landed at Kanezaki fishing port, served at the live kitchen
Mercure Fukuoka Munakata Resort & Spa marked its second anniversary on April 1, 2026. Its buffet restaurant, Locavore, is introducing new signature menu items built around a "marche" concept. From May through October, two rotating themes — "Street Food of the World" and "Three Authentic Curries" — treat early summer, midsummer, and late summer as one continuous "summer season," offering dishes designed to keep guests feeling energized despite the heat.
The lineup also includes tempura made with wild conger eel landed at Kanezaki fishing port, one of the prefecture's leading fishing ports; a refreshingly tart amanatsu citrus somen made with local vegetables; and simmered beef tendon made with the lees left over from brewing craft sake with amanatsu citrus from Oshima Island — dishes that showcase the bounty of the region.
Through a buffet where flavors from around the world meet Munakata's local food culture, the hotel offers the taste of summer unique to this part of Japan.
About Mercure Fukuoka Munakata Resort & Spa
A pool the whole family can enjoy
A relaxing soak at Genkai Satsuki Onsen
A buffet built around local ingredients
Facing the Genkai Sea and looking out over Satsuki Matsubara pine grove and the islands offshore, this all-inclusive resort hotel serves buffet menus built around local ingredients. It sits in Munakata, home to the culture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Island Where Gods Dwell," and is about a 10-minute drive from Munakata Taisha, making it a convenient base for exploring the surrounding area. Its morning and evening buffets feature local ingredients such as seafood from the Genkai Sea and Munakata beef, and the all-inclusive rate covers dinner and lounge drinks throughout the stay. It's about an hour's drive from central Fukuoka City, making it easy to combine with sightseeing around the Munakata area.
Address: 1303 Tano, Munakata, Fukuoka 811-3514
Phone: 03-5539-2612 (reservation center)
Access: About 20 minutes by car from JR Togo Station, or about an hour by car from Fukuoka Airport
Official website: mercure-fukuokamunakata-resortandspa.jp
