Kitakyushu travel guide
Kitakyushu is the second largest city in Kyushu and World leading Environmental Future city,
and blessed with spectacular & stunning nature. The city is the Industrial Innovation city greatly
contributed to Japan’s Industrial modernization. Now Kitakyushu offers a lot of sightseeing spots
such as scenic beauty places, UNESCO World Heritage of Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial
Revolution , Industrial heritages, placed introduce cultures of people living there, and various
historic sites.
Where to Explore
Kokura area
Kokura Castle | |
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Kitakyushu’s landmark Kokura Castle. Fukuoka–prefecture only in Japan is selected by CNN Travel as one of the top 19 places to visit in 2019. And the Photo of Kokura Castle is used for introducing Fukuoka-prefecture. The Castle located within a walking distance of JR Kokura Station. |
Kokura Castle Garden | |
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Kokura Castle Garden made at the former site of lord’s guest house, located next to Kokura Castle. This garden consists of a Japanese garden and a lord’s house, a building of the style of Japanese domestic architecture. In this garden, you can see Japanese traditional architecture and enjoy the Tea Ceremony. |
Uomachi & Kyumachi downtown shopping street | |
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Uomachi and Kyomachi Ginteigai are the arcade downtown shopping streets connected from JR Kokura Station. The literal meaning of Gintengai is the Silver roof arcade shopping street and Uomachi Gintengai is the birth place of Japanese arcade shopping street constructed in 1991. |
Manga Museum and Aru Aru City | |
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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. |
Moji area
Dr. Albert Einstein awarded Nobel Prize in Physic visited Moji in 1922, and he acclaimed
that everything could see were Arts. The exotic district of Mojiko Retro is visited by more
than 2 million tourists a year. Moji-ko Port flourished following its 889 designation as a
Special National Port for exporting coal and other products.
Mitsui Club | |
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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. |
Kaikyo Plaza | |
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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. |
Mojiko Station | |
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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. |
Mojiko Retro Observatory | |
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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. |
Konamon Pedestrian tunnel | |
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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. the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel, which enables people to cross on foot, |
Higashida area
Japan’s modern steel industry was started as Yawata steel Works at Higashida district
in 1901. Since then, the Works greatly contributed to Japan’s industrial modernization.
The three sites in Higashida have been registered on UNESCO World Heritage as
Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.
Higashida No.1 Blast Furnace | |
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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. |
First Head Office of the Steel Works / UNESCO World Heritage | |
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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. |
Industrial Heritages
Kawachi Reservoir | |
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The first-class civil construction heritage completed in 1927, The Kawachi Reservoir was constructed for the industrial water supply to Yawata Steel Works. The dam was constructed at the Okura River and upper stream of the dam was expanded and making the 7milion cubic metre reservoir |
Minami Kawachi-bashi bridge | |
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The only remaining lenticular truss bridge in Japan
( lens type truss bridge), located at the south side of Kawachi
Reservoir and it was designed by Hisanori Numata. This shape
and color really harmonize with nature and become a symbol of
the Iron town Yahata.
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Onga River Pump Station / UNESCO World Heritage | |
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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. The site has been registered on the UNESCO World Heritage, |
Kurogane Railway | |
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Dedicated Railway for Yawata Steel Works. The railway connected between Yawata and Tobata, 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. |
Yahata port | |
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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. |
Mount Sarakura | |
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The height of the mountain is 622 meters level. At the top you are presented with a magnificent and spectacular view of Kitakyushu. In 10 minutes, you can reach the summit from the Cable Car Station using the Cable car and the Slope car. Three Major Night View of Japan from Mount Sarakura to be experienced. |
Hiraodai Karst Plateau & Caves | |
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One of the three largest Karst Plateau in Japan. It is located in southeastern part of Kitakyushu-city. At altitudes between 400 and 600 meters above sea level and stretching 6 km from north to south and 2 km from east to west. |
Kawachi Wisteria Garden | |
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Kawachi Wisteria Garden is a private garden at the Mountain foot of Sarakura and famous for its spectacularly presented, large numbers of wisteria flowers. The garden is opened to the public seasonally during the wisteria season which usually peaks around late April to middle of May. |
General information
Address |
City hall ; 1-1 Jonai Kokura-kitaku, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka-prefecture Cabinet designate city |
Access |
70 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka Airport in Fukuoka-city 100 minutes by a vehicle from Saga-city 160 minutes by a vehicle from Nagasaki-city 100 minutes by a vehicle from Beppu 100 minutes by a vehicle from Yufuin |
40 minutes by JR Express train from JR Hakata Station 19 minutes by JR Shinkansen (bullet train ) from JR Hakata Station |
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Population | 945,000 Population density : 1.920 / km2 |
Kitakyushu
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