Top 10 English Speaking/Foreigner Friendly Hair Salons in Fukuoka (Updated September 2024)

A Brief Introduction to Fukuoka

A gorgeous example of some of the terrain of Kyushu.

Fukuoka is the biggest city on the Kyushu Island, the southern most Island of the main 4 Islands in Japan. Kyushu, meaning 9 provinces, has about 10% of Japan’s population, and an interesting fact of Fukuoka is that it’s actually closer to Seoul than Tokyo! Fukuoka has historically been the gateway to Japan for mainland Asia, as well as being the only place in Japan the Mongols reached in the 13th century during their conquest of Eurasia. This rocky island has Japan’s most active volcano, Mt Aso, as well as the southern most areas having a sub-tropical climate. If you’ve been to Honshu, Kyushu gives off a much different atmosphere due to all of these unique factors.

Mt Aso, the most active volcano in the world right now!

Things To Do And See

Fukuoka was originally 2 cities, one being the originally named Fukuoka, and the other Hakata. Hakata is now a district in the city, but the old city was actually one of the oldest settlements in Japan before merging with Fukuoka in 1878. With a long history Fukuoka has some iconic spots and things to see, so let’s cover 3.

A Must-Go Festival in Japan

Firstly is one of the most famous festivals in all Japan, Gion Yamakasa. Held during the first half of July, this festival goes on for two weeks until the finale during the ides of July. On the 15th, the festival is ended with a race, where 7 neighborhoods from the Hakata district race beautifully decorated floats throughout the city. You’ll be able to get a taste of old Japanese traditions, and enjoy amazing food and company.

Participants gathering around their grand, decorated festival float.

Eating at the Yatai

Next up are Fukuoka’s iconic dining spots, the Yatai. These outdoor stalls seat about 8 or 9 people each in a traditional outdoor eating setting. The hardworking people who run these stalls get up early and head out to assemble the stalls and prepare for the day, bringing everything from the fridges to the gas ranges and disassemble everything and bring it home at the end of the night. You’ll find people waiting over an hour lined up for the most popular stalls and you’ll be able to find a variety of foods and drinks. Having tried these myself I can say that this is truly the heart of many peoples Fukuoka experiences, so definitely give this one a shot.

A Beautiful Walk in the Park

Finally we have Uminonakamichi Park, a long park located on one of the peninsulas of Kyushu. This park stretches for nearly 4 km, so walking the whole thing isn’t necessarily a quick task, however if you’d like to rent a bike, you can get a bike for the whole day with 700 yen, or just 3 hours is 500 yen. This is a great spot to see the cherry blossoms in Spring or the beautiful fall foliage during the late months of Fall.

A bird's eye view of the peninsula where Uminonakamichi Park is on.

Fukuoka's Salons

Alright now time to get down and into the salons in Fukuoka. Being a smaller city in Japan, not every salon in Fukuoka uses English. However Fukuoka is a city with many foreigners coming from Asia, so there is no problem walking in as a foreigner, and there are places that do use English regularly. Either way, try doing your best to communicate with pictures and google translate! Japanese salons are some of the most hospitable in the world, so don’t worry about the language barrier. Also as a mentioned earlier, Fukuoka is historically a diverse and international city, so it’s known for being open and accepting to foreigners.

After doing our research, we’ve found that many salons in Fukuoka are popular for hair dying, and also using many natural and organic treatments and ingredients. Today we are going to look at 5 of the most popular salons in Fukuoka. If you’re looking for a new color, or just a quick shape up, we have an option for you! Let’s dive in and look at our salons for today!

Nakamura Hair Salon

New York meets Japan

This is a hidden gem in Fukuoka and highly recommended for people who are worried about using Japanese. The owner Yasu lived and worked in New York before moving to back to Japan and opening his salon in Fukuoka. He talks about his amazing experience and all of the support he received in NYC, and now he tries to pay back that good energy to every customer who walks through the door. With an amazing demeanor and attitude towards life, Yasu’s skills are also just as outstanding. Having plenty of online reviews from a diverse group of foreigners moving through Fukuoka, Yasu’s ability is not in just one area for one type of hair, but he is able to facilitate any customers wishes and individual needs. With the hard work and great service here this salon is an absolute must try.

Great Pricing

Yasu also offers competitive pricing, and you’ll see that it can be difficult to make an appointment last minute as the books are always full. If you’re considering making a reservation check out the website (it’s in English, don’t worry) and there are clear instructions under the contact tab. If you’re having difficulty finding your hair stylist in Japan, go see Yasu!

Heaka Aveda Fukuoka

All-Natural Ingredients

All of the products here utilize natural ingredients. The idea is creating and using products that work well with your body rather than creating negative effects over time like many chemicals in hair products can do. With their natural hair dye line, containing 93% percent natural ingredients, the burden on your hair and scalp in minimized. This is excellent for people with sensitive skin and hair on the thinner side. With a wonderful head spa as well to balance sebum levels in your scalp, it leads to a healthier foundation for your scalp bring long lasting effect on healthy hair.

More Bang for your Buck

The cuts here are also quite reasonable. You can get a scalp massage, shampoo, cut, dry and style for only 5000 yen. This is a trustworthy chain of salons with many avid followers. Give this salon a shot!

Pure Wave

Unbeatable Hair Treatments

Pure Wave is a private salon that specializes in hair treatments. One of their most popular menus is their “flawless” hair dye line. Most hair dyes are alkaline. Over time the alkali builds up on your hair slowly damaging it and also promoting bleaching the more times you dye your hair. This damage can end up being irreversible. This line of hair dye does not utilize alkaline ingredients and actual is used in tandem with a special hair treatment. These two products together work amazingly well together and you will see your hair feeling stronger and smoother than before you got your hair dyed!

Here’s the process for the repair treatment

First the hair is thoroughly washed and striped of any impurities for an even treatments. Next an agent is applied to repair collagen in the hair as well as aid the next step, which is removing any alkali in the hair. A coloring agent is also used here to enforce the color of your hair to create a more uniform and rich color. Next an infrared heater fixes the treatment and process to really lock in the serums and additional color added. In the last step, washing everything out bringing us to the conclusion, beautifully smooth and shiny hair with a deeper richer color. You’ll find your hair feeling better than ever!

Vida Creative

Trendy and Stylish

This salon loves to stay up on the latest trends. With many younger customers coming in for the latest Instagram trend or new thing, these stylists are flexible and professional, able to execute on whatever the newest thing may be. After reading up on Vida’s blog, the most popular trend recently has been very ashy toned dyes. Moving away from blonde, ashy tones are a little darker and range from a dirty blonde to much grayer and purple tones. It’s actually quite difficult to achieve this as many times you won’t want to lift the hair to bleach blonde. Evenly lightening hair to less than a level 9 takes a professional, however this salon executes very well when it comes to dyes.

Strong Community

The owner has been a stylist for many years and has created an environment and community around his salon. While being versatile when it comes to trends this salon is versatile all around, specializing in men’s cuts and trends as well, for all the guys out there looking for a fashionable cut, this spot is for you as well.

Shiki Hair Salon

A Premiere Salon

Shiki is one of the premiere salons in Fukuoka area. With over 10 years experience working in the London hair scene, creative director Hiro is no stranger to the many types of hair in the world. After appearing in London fashion week and working at many other major international events, Hiro has returned to work in Japan. Working with the staff this salons style embodies Hiro’s expertise, utilizing his journey around the world.

Luxurious Products

Another strong point of this salon is the use of O-way, and all natural product line coming from Italy. Working with your bodies natural oils and chemistry these organic products are bio-dynamic, using fair trade ingredients. Carefully picking and harvesting oils from the best ingredients you’re sure to see your hair glow after these treatments. If you’re looking for a high quality luxury salon this is absolutely a must try in Fukuoka.

Pluss

An Amazing Atmosphere and Vibe

This is a cute salon with a warm atmosphere. The owner strives to create the feeling of a cafe or terrace rather than a beauty salon. Going to a salon can feel awkward or create pressure for some, so this salon strives to reach those people with it’s warm and friendly feeling, so put your worries to ease if you decide on this salon. After careful counseling taking into consideration big points like desired length and the over all desired image, the stylist will work with you to bring out the best results.

Unbeatable Service

If you are unsatisfied for any reason, this salon guarantees a 14 day warranty. Come back and they will do everything they can to get you a style that you actually like. The goal here is of course to create a great style, but also something easy to handle and manage at home. This salon promotes a simple and stress free life-style so your hair should fit that too. Spending hours styling your hair is too much, so ask for a style that’s easy to set this time! Come here and relax a bit!

RUST Hair Salon/Tea & Coffee

This Spot Does It All

You definitely won’t be able to find another spot like this easily. RUST is a hair salon, cafe, and also offers private English lessons as well, bringing together a bright community of all kinds of people. The owner is from Australia, and is really a jack of all trades. The cuts here are very affordable, and they offer a full range of services you’d expect from a normal hair salon. After your cut you can enjoy some coffee and a snack, or even look into signing up for an English lesson! Definitely check out the amazing spot in the city if you’re interested.

ROOTS hair salon

Professional and Friendly

This spot is a popular salon in an accessible area in Fukuoka. You’ll find locals and foreigners here at this salon, so please feel welcome no matter where you’re traveling from. Stylists here are all professional and friendly, and you’re sure to leave feeling refreshed and satisfied. They also accept reservations even on the day of so please feel free to try stopping by whenever there’s an opening.

Quality Coloring

This salon is quite popular with the Japanese for their coloring techniques. With an array of coloring options here, you’re sure to be able to pick a color you love and that also looks great on you. Make sure to consult with your stylists to get the best results that will compliment your complexion. There’s also a variety of hair treatment and head spa options which we definitely recommend trying if you’re interested.

Aratana (men's salon)

A Recommendation for my Guys Out There

We all love a good barber, myself included, but you can’t knock a classic salon. This spot near Higashi-hie Station is a must try if you’re in the area. There are 2 other stores by the same line so feel free to check to others out too!

There’s some things that salons just generally do better, and for all my guys out there I really recommend this spot. Not only will you get a fresh cut and a relaxing time, but you can get great advice on taking care of your hair, how to style your hair more effectively, and also you can just experience the wonderful atmosphere of a Japanese salon.

Low-key and Chill

What I really like about this salon is that there’s nothing to fancy or flashy here. I think a lot of men enjoy barbers more just because of the simplicity. But this place aims to be low-key and maintains a chill atmosphere while still keeping the great parts about a classic hair salon. Please give this place a shot.

Vicolo HAIR GARDEN

Outstanding Perms

Our next choice is a really popular salon located close to Tenjin station. One of the main draws to this great salon is the perms here. Whether it’s a straight perm or something more modern, they do such a good job here. Everyone leaves satisfied and loving their new look. One reason people might consider getting a perm isn’t always just to create a certain shape, but can also help people with more textured hair get a softer and more manageable hair texture. In the opposite sense, some people with really light and flat hair can get some volume from the right perm. Perming is really all the rage in Japan so consider looking into the options they have here.

Great With Kids

Another draw to the salon is their reputation with kids. A lot of people try and cut their kids hair at home, or go to cheaper, dodgier spots for kids, but kids deserve a great hair cut too. If you have kids and are looking to get their hair cut somewhere nice, definitely consider this spot.