Higashida No.1 Blast Furnace, in Kitakyushu-city

Blast Furnace is a Steel plant for making the pig iron from iron ore and coke.

Higashida No.1 Blast Furnace is 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. The big signboard at the top of the Blast Furnace displaying “1901” indicates

the year in which the Blast Furnace commenced operation.

Equipment and tools which were actually used are exhibited in the square, and you can see

the iron-making process from the raw material （ore and coke）to production of pig iron.