Manga Museum and Aru Aru City
The Kitakyushu Manga Museum is located next to JR Kokura station. The museum is located
on the 6th floor of Aru Aru City, a multi-floored shopping mall devoted to products and
services for anime, manga, idol culture, and cosplay fans, a kind of Harajuku in miniature.
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The permanent exhibition area on the 6th floor concentrates on manga writers and artists who
have a connection with Kitakyushu; and while more than thirty are listed, the best known is Reiji
Matsumoto, who is also the honorary director of the museum.
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The rest of the Aru Aru City shopping mall is devoted to shops and services for Japan’s pop youth
culture. There are lots of shops selling manga, anime DVDs, J-Pop CDs, computer games, trading
cards, as well as related paraphernalia such posters and figurines. There are games arcades, an
internet cafe, model car racetrack, a karaoke bar, and several cafes and bars serving alcohol, as
well as a full maid cafe.
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There are numerous establishments offering services for otaku, including a rehearsal space with
a recording studio for budding musicians, an event space with a stage and lighting that can be rented,
and a cosplay studio where cosplayers can be photographed professionally in a variety of settings.
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General information
| Address | 2-14-5 Asano Kokura-kita, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
a short walk from JR Kokura Station 70 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city 100 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu 100 minutes by a vehicle from Yufuin |
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Kurogane Railway
Dedicated Railway for Yawata Steel Works. The railway connected between Yawata and
Tobata, construction work took three years, and completed in 1930. The most difficult
and hard work was making Miyatayama tunnel with a total length of 1180 m due to suffering
from floods. The gates of the Miyatayama tunnel are decorated with stately designs.
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The rail way crossing the road |
Miyatayama tunnel Yahata side |
Miyatayama tunnel Tobata side |
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General information
| Address | Connected between Higasida, Yahata-higasiku and Nalabaru, Tobota-ku, Kitakyushu-city |
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Mejiro Limestone Cave
It is the longest cave in Hiraodai Karst, over 2 km in length. The highlight of this cave
is the monolithic ceiling which is a very unique structure as a limestone caves.
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General information
| Address | 3-1-1 Horadai, Kokura-minamiku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
45 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station 80 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city 80 minutes by a vehicle from Usa 100 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu 100 minutes by a vehicle from Yufuin |
| Open hours |
10:00 to 17:00 |
| Admission fee | JPY 500 |
| Days closed | No regular closing days |
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Onga River Pump Station
Built in 1910 on the east bank of the Onga River. It served, and still serves, to deliver
industrial water to Yawata via an 11.4 km pipeline. This supply is integral to the steel
production process and was necessary to cope with the 1st phase expansion of the
Imperial Steel Works. The site has been registered on the UNESCO World Heritage,
Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution
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Onga River |
Onga River Pump Station |
Water piping to the Steel Works |
General information
| Address | 1-3-1 Dotenouchi, Nakana-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
40 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station 60 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city |
Yahata port
Japan’s Modern Steel Works history started here. Yawata was a rural village with a small
population of agriculture and fishing industry. And this place was decided in Parliament as
the Japan’s Modern Steel Works construction site in 1897.
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At that time, there were no construction machineries, the Steel Works was constructed
with human power in just 4 years.
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General information
| Address | Higasida, Yahata-higasiku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
10 minutes walk from JR Edamitsu station 20 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura station 70 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city 110 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu |
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Minami Kawachi-bashi bridge
This shape and color really harmonize with nature and become a symbol of the Iron town Yahata.
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General information
| Address | Kawachi, Yahata-higashi-ku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
30 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station |
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Ojika Limestone Cave
The cave is called footfall of dinosaurs. It is the very rare cave in Japan; the entrance
is vertical pit with 25 meter, when getting down to the bottom, you follow the underground
horizontal cave and you can see the hidden aspects of Hiraodai Karst.
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General information
| Address | 2-6-58 Horadai, Kokura-minamiku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
45 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station 80 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city 80 minutes by a vehicle from Usa 100 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu 100 minutes by a vehicle from Yufuin |
| Open hours |
10:00 to 17:00 |
| Admission fee | JPY 500 |
| Days closed | No regular closing days |
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Mojiko Retro
What Dr. Einstein acclaimed Moji. Dr. Albert Einstein awarded Nobel Prize in Physic
visited Moji in 1922, and he acclaimed that everything could see were ARTS.
Where to explore
It was built by the Mitsui Co., Ltd in 1921 as a reception centre and to provide accommodation for
VIP’s. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), one of the world’s most famous theoretical physicists, stayed
here during his visit to Japan with his wife in 1922.
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The shopping area in the Mojiko Retro district located by the sea. “Full of a romance market which
stir up forgetting contentment” is the direct translation of the concept Kaikyo Plaza is based on.
The area has a very romantic ambience and evokes feeling of nostalgia and contentment that will
never be forgotten.
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It is the only Station building that is designated as an Important National Cultural Property
together with Tokyo Station. Mojiko Station is a beautiful station built in the Renaissance
style and modeled on the Termini Station in Italy.
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Situated on the 31st floor of the high-rise apartment building “Retro Hi-Mart”. The 103 metre-high
observatory offers magnificent views of the Mojiko Retro district, the Kanmon-kyo Bridge over the
Kanmon Strait, as well as the Shimonoseki area.
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This bridge, made in 2003, is the only pedestrian draw bridge in Japan, and is one the
most popular photo spot in Mojiko Retro. The length of the bridge is 108 meters and
it is opened 6 times a day at 10h, 11h, 13h, 14h, 15h and 16h.
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It is a railway theme park organized by JR Kyushu, showing the history of Kyushu Railways.
The display of steam locomotives and old trains used by Kyushu Railway is fascinating and
always evokes feelings of nostalgia among visitors.
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The suspended bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan’s
four main islands. On the Honshu Island side of the bridge is Shimonoseki and on the Kyushu
Island side is Kitakyushu.
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From Mekari Observatory |
Kitakyushu, Kyushu Island |
Shimonoseki, Honshu Island |
Only the place in the world . You can cross the strait on foot. The Kanmon Strait, separating
Honshu and Kyushu, is a very beautiful and busy waterway with as many as 700 small and large
ships a day passing through it.
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Cross the strait on foot |
Shimonoseki, Honshu Island |
Local Cuisines
Kawara Sobe
Kawara soba is a local cuisine which Soba noodles and meat are cooked together on a Kawara
(stone roof tile) and dipped into a special sauce when eating it. It is said that the hints were
obtained from the time when during the Seinan civil war in 1877, soldiers of Satsuma who
surrounded the Kumamoto castle used kawara (stone roof tiles) to cook wild plants and meat.
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Yaki curry
Yaki curry latterly means baked curry and is local cuisine in Moji which is curry with rice
topped with cheese and/or egg heated in oven. The melted cheese and soft-boiled egg
combine with the spicy curry to enhance its flavor even more.
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| Address | Minato-machi, Moji-ku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
A short walk from JR Mojiko Station 25 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station 70 minutes by a vehicle from JR Fukuoka-city 80 minutes by a vehicle from JR Usa 100 minutes by a vehicle from JR Beppu 110 minutes by a vehicle from JR Yufuin |
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Higashida
Birth place of Steel Making Industry in Japan. Located at the food of Mt. Sarakura and
facing to Dokai Bay, which is used as a shipping port for the steel industry. The area has
various Industrial Heritages and Museums.
Only the Blast Furnace in the world which preserved as it was. The birth place where
Japan’s steel industry began in 1901. It contributed greatly to the development of the
Japanese steel industry and was used until 1972, and has been preserved just as it was.
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First Head Office of the Steel Works / UNESCO World Heritage
Built in 1899, ahead of production facilities. It is an architectural fusion of Japanese and
European design, a two story red brick building with bilateral symmetry and a central dome
set in a Japanese tile roof.
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Museum of Industrial Technology. In April 2007, based on this theme of “innovation, ” the Kitakyushu
Innovation Gallery & Studio (KIGS) opened in Yahata, Higashida, the first site of steel manufacturing
in Japan’s modern age. Various things related Industry technologies are exhibited.
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Kitakyushu is the dynamic city where one million people are living and working, is creating
the beautiful Night view which you have never seen before.
The area of Night view is the largest in the World ; about 40km east to west and 10km south
to north and also the number of lighting to create the night view is the largest in the World.
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Japan’s Modern Steel Works history started here. Yawata was a rural village with a small
population of agriculture and fishing industry. And this place was decided in Parliament as
the Japan’s Modern Steel Works construction site in 1897.At that time, there were no
construction machineries, the Steel Works was constructed with human power in just 4 years.
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Dedicated Railway for Yawata Steel Works. The railway connected between Yawata and Tobata,
construction work took three years, and completed in 1930. The most difficult and hard work was
making Miyatayama tunnel with a total length of 1180 m due to suffering from floods. The gates of
the Miyatayama tunnel are decorated with stately designs.
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| Address | Higasida, Yahata-higasiku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture |
| Access |
20 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station 70 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city 110 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu |
Kanmon Pedestrian tunnel
Only the place in the world ! You can cross the strait on foot. The Kanmon Strait, separating
Honshu and Kyushu, is a very beautiful and busy waterway with as many as 700 small and
large ships a day passing through it.
How to cross the strait on foot
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780m length tunnel start from Moji |
The boundary of Moji and Shimonoseki |
to Shimonoseki |
Moji, Kyushu Island side
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Shimonoseki, Honshu Island side
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General information
| Address |
Moji entrance : Moji, Moji-ku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-city Shimonoseki entrance : 22 Mimousogawa-cho, Yamaguchi-prefecture |
| Access |
20 minutes walk from JR Mojiko Station 5 minutes by a vehicle from JR Mojiko Station 30 minutes by a vehicle from JR Kokura Station |
| Open hours | 6:00 to 22:00 |
| Admission fee | No fee is required |
| Days closed | No closing days |
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