KITAKYUSHU HOTELS

KITAKYUSHU HOTELS
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KITAKYUSHU ATTRACTIONS

Picture by Ian Ruxton

Kokura Castle

Kokura Castle (小倉城　 Kokura-jō), a ten-minute walk from JR Kyushu's Kokura Station. Built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602, it was the property of the Ogasawara clan which came from Harima (near Himeji) from 1632 to 1860. The castle was burnt down in 1865 in the war between the Kokura and Choshu clans. The keep was reconstructed in 1959, and the castle was fully restored in 1990. The Matsumoto Seicho museum and castle garden were opened in 1998. The keep contains a modern folkloric museum.

Inside the castle you can see a video show about what Kokura was like during the Edo period, a display of Kokura Castle and its surroundings during the Edo period which is made of many lifelike tiny paper dolls, and you can also ride inside a palanquin like the castle lord would have when traveling. The box rocks back and forth to recreate the motion. It's amusing and free, so enjoy being the daimyo for a minute. You can also see two beautiful paintings of tigers with gold leaf on display.

On one floor inside the castle there is a friendly older gentleman who is there to greet tourists. He makes scale models of Japan's castles out of toothpicks and his models are on display. If you can speak a little Japanese he is really kind and interesting to talk to. There is a gift shop and telescopes at the top floor (no ATM, bring your cash!) where you can buy souvenirs of the paintings inside the castle.

Admission is charged to the keep (¥350), Japanese garden (¥300 yen) and Matsumoto Seicho museum (¥400). A joint ticket to the three attractions costs ¥700.

Mori Ogai House

Mori Ogai house in Kokura. Literary giant Ogai wrote his Kokura Nikki (Kokura Diary) here. Ogai was based at the castle at the turn of the 19th-20th century when it was a military base. He was born in Tsuwano in Shimane prefecture.

Moji-ko Retro

Moji-ko Retro, a few minutes walk from from Moji-ko station, is also attractive, and aimed specifically at the tourist trade. You can hire a rickshaw, visit the old buildings (including the room where Albert Einstein stayed the night at the Mitsui Club in 1922) and shop for souvenirs. Also be sure to go up the Moji Port Retro Observation Deck - there is a great 180 degree view from the 31st floor on fine days. Moji-ko is linked by a small and rapid ferry with Shimonoseki on the other side of the Kanmon straits.

Moji-ko is famous for its Yakicurry, rice topped with Japanese curry, covered in cheese with an egg thrown in, and then baked. There are several restaurants in the area that serve variations of this specialty. The shabu shabu restaurant in Moji-ko station is also well worth a visit. Moji supposedly was a place where bananas were shipped to once and you can now buy banana soft-serve ice cream and other banana treats at touristy places there. For those with a little extra cash and an adventurous appetite, it is also famous for its Fugu (puffer fish).

Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel

Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel starts in Moji-ko, near Mekari Park. The tunnel runs underwater between the islands of Kyushu and Honshu. After about ten minutes' walk you have emerged in Shimonoseki in Honshu, where you can ride a cable car up Hinoyama and enjoy a nice view of the Kanmon straits and Kitakyushu. Best on a clear day!

Hiraodai

A rare karst plateau in Kokura Minami ward, 30-40 minutes by car from Kokura station. The grassy mountains are covered with large gray round rocks which the locals will tell you look like sheep grazing. Great for walks, hiking and camping. Caves can also be visited and the Shonyudo cave is not to be missed - wade through ice cold water in midsummer. There is no direct public transportation to Hiraodai, but a reasonably priced taxi service is available. The taxi leaves from the Nakatani Nishitetsu bus terminal (中谷車庫) and stops five minutes later at the JR Ishiharamachi Station (石原町駅) on the Hita-Hikosan Line (日田彦山線). It leaves the bus terminal twice a day on weekdays (9.40 and 16.05) and four times a day on weekends and holidays (9.40, 10.45, 13.40, 14.50). For more information about the taxi, call Hiraodai Kankou taxi at 451-0201, or ask at Kokura station information desk on the third floor.

Space World

A theme park created in 1990 by Nippon Steel when the company was downsizing its massive steel plant in the ward. This theme park offers a wide variety of enjoyable attractions for the whole family, a number of events held daily, and Space Camp, Japan’s first authentic educational space experience facility. Space Camp was created under a licensing agreement with the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, and provides a full curriculum, including special training using the same apparatus as NASA astronauts. The participants stay in the camp, and are given instruction by an expert staff. A variety of courses are available, catering to different age groups and length of course.

(Article based on Wikitravel article by  Jani Patokallio, Marc Heiden, KruMalee and Joichi Koizumi, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Tatatabot, Vidimian, Episteme and W66LinkBot, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.