Hakata or Fukuoka?
Name of Hakata is very famous for japanese people except people who live in Fukuoka prefecture.
I mean that there is the area named as Hakata, but it is actually one part of Fukuoka city at this time.
But I think "Hakata" is more popular than "Fukuoka" for Japanese people.
For example there is a Paddington in London, if British people called "paddington" instead of expression of London.
From wikitravel
Fukuoka is a modern city; most of its buildings are new. Historically, it was divided into Hakata (博多) and Fukuoka, two separate cities divided by the central river, and the main railway station and port are still known as Hakata Station and Hakata Port. The westernmost part of Fukuoka is also known as Sawara (早良).
The city really has two centres in Hakata and Tenjin. Most of the English information for foreign travellers is available on the 8th floor of the IMS building, just to the east of Tenjin Nishitetsu station.
The surrounding cities and towns make up the prefecture of Fukuoka.
Fukuoka is a good starting point to begin a vacation to Japan for first-timers. Compared to Tokyo, even New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles will seem sleepy and life appear slow. Beginning the trip at Fukuoka will help ease the transition. While still a big modern city, it's not hard to get around. The train station is already the loci of one of the city's two city centers (the other being Tenjin). When you're ready to head to the big cities up north, just board the "shinkansen" train line.
