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Kitakyushu (北九州市; Kitakyushu-shi), literally "North Kyushu", is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai.

Together with Shimonoseki on Honshu the city is the major part of the Kanmon Straits area, which has a total population of about 1.3 million, and Kokura station in Kitakyushu is 20 minutes by shinkansen from the city of Fukuoka which also has a population of about 1.3 million.

The New Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. Kokura Station is Kyushu's second largest railway station, with 120,000 users daily.

Geography

Wards

Kitakyūshū has 7 wards (ku): Kokura Kita-ku (小倉北区) Area: 39.27 km² Kokura Minami-ku (小倉南区) Area: 170.25 km² Moji-ku (門司区) Area: 73.37 km² Tobata-ku (戸畑区) Area: 16.66 km² Yahata Higashi-ku (八幡東区) Area: 36.36 km² Yahata Nishi-ku (八幡西区) Area: 83.04 km² Wakamatsu-ku (若松区) Area: 67.86 km²

Nakama city was to become the eighth ward of Kitakyūshū in 2005, to be called Nakama-ku, Kitakyūshū. However, the planned merger was rejected on December 24, 2004 by Nakama city's councillors, despite having been initiated by Nakama city. The reason is that as part of the merger the 21 councillors would be reduced to just three in the enlarged Kitakyushu city.

History

The city's symbol mark is a flower with the kanji of "Kita" in the middle and five petals representing the five towns which came together to make the city in February 1963. The city was officially designated by government ordinance on April 1, 1963.

Kokura prefecture

Kokura prefecture was founded separately from Fukuoka prefecture in 1871 when the clan system was abolished. The old wooden-built Kokura prefectural office is still standing, though it needs a coat of paint, and it is now used as a medical clinic. It is opposite Riverwalk Kitakyushu. In 1876 Kokura prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka prefecture. The city of Kokura was founded in 1900.

Kitakyushu city

The city of Kitakyushu was founded on February 10, 1963 and was designated on April 1, 1963 by government ordinance. It resulted from the amalgamation of five cities, Moji, Kokura, Tobata, Yahata and Wakamatsu, centred around the ancient feudal city of Kokura.

Lucky Kokura

Kokura was the primary target of the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945, but since the city was obscured by clouds and Major Charles Sweeney of the Bockscar had orders to drop the bomb visually, they moved on to Nagasaki, the secondary target, where they dropped their lethal weapon. Consequently, the expression "Kokura's luck" became common in Japan for escaping a horrible situation without being aware of it.

Demographics

As of March 2005, the city has an estimated population of 998,999 and the total area is 484.18 km². The average population density is thus 2,063 persons per square kilometre. The population has steadily decreased in recent years.

The city has a much larger total area than that of Fukuoka which is only 340.03km².

Culture

Writers

The novelist Mori Ogai lived in Kokura for several years and his house is open to the public in Kokura Kita ward. He wrote Kokura Nikki (Kokura diary) here. It is a ten minute walk from Kokura Station.

The writer Matsumoto Seicho was born in Kokura. A [http://www.kid.ne.jp/seicho/html/ museum dedicated to him is located in the city centre near Kokura Castle.

The writer Hino Ashihei was born in Wakamatsu ward and his birthplace can be visited.

Festivals

There are several local festivals (matsuri) held in the summer in various parts of the city, including the beautiful Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival in Tobata ward and the Wasshoi Hyakuman matsuri which brings all the festivals together for a grand parade and finale near the City Hall in Kokura Kita ward.

Scenic spots

Hiraodai (平尾台) karst plateau and Mount Adachi （足立） in Kokura Minami ward; and Mount Sarakura (皿倉), and Kawachi (河内) reservoir in Yahata Higashi ward are all great walking areas with fine scenery.

Hiraodai includes the Shonyudo cave, where in summer you can walk for about one kilometre in freezing cold water.

Economy

Nippon Steel Corporation is still a major employer but the Yahata and Tobata plants are much reduced from the heyday of the 1960s. The Zenrin company known for its mapping and navigation software is based here, and so is TOTO, the biggest Japanese bathroom fixture manufacturer.

The major department stores in Kokura Kita ward are Kitakyushu-based Izutsuya by the Murasaki river and Isetan, in front of the South exit of Kokura Station in the former Sogo department store building.

A smaller scale shopping centre called Cha Cha Town has been created by Nishitetsu railroad and bus company next to the Sunatsu bus depot in Kokura Kita ward. It is of course easily accessible by bus and there are lots of free concerts on the stage in the middle of the complex. "Cha" is part of the local Kitakyūshū dialect, and Cha Cha Town is popular with all ages.

Riverwalk Kitakyushu is the newest shopping centre in Kokura. It contains many brand name shops, a Starbucks restaurant (note - there is another Starbucks near Kokura Station), the Kitakyūshū studios of NHK TV, two theatres, a multiplex cinema and a branch of the Kitakyushu city art museum. It is next to the castle and to Murasaki river which runs through the centre of Kokura Kita ward.

The Kitakyushu Science and Research Park is home to four universities and nine research organisations. It is aiming to become a centre for hi-tech research in Asia.

Transportation

Located at a strategic position on the south side of the Kanmon Straits, Kitakyūshū is an important transport hub for traffic between Honshū and Kyūshū and has a large port.

Planes

The new 24-hour New Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. It is much larger than the previous Kitakyushu Airport and offshore on an artificial island in the Suo Nada gulf in the Seto Inland Sea, near Kanda town. It will eventually be connected with Kokura Station by a new fast rail link. A new airline based in the city called StarFlyer began operations when the airport opened.

Trains

Kokura Station owned by JR Kyushu is the penultimate stop on the Sanyo Shinkansen before the Hakata Station terminus and all Shinkansen services stop here. It is also served by local and express trains on the Kagoshima and the Nippo main lines. Within the city transport is provided by buses and a monorail line.

Mojiko Station is the northern terminus of the Kagoshima Main Line (J: Kagoshima honsen) which is the most important line on the JR Kyushu network.

The Kitakyushu Monorail links Kokura station efficiently and cheaply with residents and commuters in Kokura Minami ward. There are not many monorails in Japan. (There is one between Haneda Airport and Hamamatsu-chō in Tōkyō. It is called the Tokyo Monorail.)

Boats

Kitakyūshū is the largest ferry port in Western Japan. Ferry services operate between Kitakyūshū and Shimonoseki, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kōbe, Ōsaka, Tōkyō, Ulsan (Korea), Busan (Korea) and city's isolated islands. The main ferry port is at Shin-Moji, but there are also ferries at Moji-ko and in Kokura near the station.

Within the Kanmon-Kitakyūshū area, there are three commuter lines: Trans-Dokaiwan (Waka-To) Ferry, The Kanmon Straits Ferry, and The Kanmon Straits Liner.

Bridges

There are several bridges in Kitakyūshū and between the city and other places. The largest ones are the Kanmon Straits bridge (J: Kanmon Kyo) between Kitakyūshū and Shimonoseki (on Kyūshū and Honshū respectively) and the Waka-To Ō-hashi bridge linking Tobata and Wakamatsu wards. But there are also bridges over the Onga river (J: Onga-gawa) on the western border of the city.

The present mayor Mr. Koichi Sueyoshi is very keen on building bridges and other major construction projects, having been formerly employed by the Construction ministry (Kensetsusho).

Image:Kanmonkyo bridge.jpg|Kanmon Straits bridge from the Moji-ku, Kitakyushu side Image:Tokiwa bashi.JPG|Tokiwa bashi in Kokura Kita ward Image:Waka-To O-hashi.JPG|Waka-To O-hashi bridge between Tobata and Wakamatsu wards from Well Tobata Image:Wakato Bridge KitaKyushu Japan.jpg|Waka-To O-hashi bridge at night from the Wakamatsu side

Miscellaneous

Reputation and Reality

Reality: A thoroughly modern city
Kitakyushu is now the most advanced city in Japan with regard to pollution control and recycling technology. In the 1960s it saw the birth of environmental protests in Japan, led by a group of housewives in Sanroku-cho, Tobata ward who were concerned that their washing always became dirty while drying on the lines. Now Kitakyushu advises sister cities such as Dalian on water purification etc.

Kitakyūshū has an international conference centre and is very active in holding and hosting international conferences of various kinds, especially on the environment and education. A theme park called Space World is in East Yahata ward. There is a training centre of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also.

The present Mayor (Koichi Sueyoshi) is the third since the city's foundation, and was elected in 1987. The Kitakyushu Renaissance * project began in December 1988 and is to finish in 2006.

Reputation: Outdated and inaccurate
Kitakyūshū has suffered unfairly from the unfortunate image and reputation - both domestically and overseas - of an industrial and heavily polluted city with many smokestacks, which it indeed was back in the 1960s when it was a major engine of the Japanese economy and local people took pride in the multi-coloured rainbows of smoke. As a result some superficial and ill-informed guidebooks have described the city as "hideous", "ugly" etc. - but nowadays this is becoming more and more outdated, and it was in any case never the whole story.

The city covers a vast area - it is the largest in Kyushu - and there are many unspoilt and beautiful areas which have never been touched by industry, especially in the southern part. It has some of the best sightseeing spots in Kyushu.

Radio

Cross FM started in Kitakyushu, and is now also in Fukuoka city.

Sister cities

See also

Universities:

Entertainment:

External links

Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture | Kitakyushu

Kitakjúšú | Kitakyūshū | Kitakiuŝuo | Kitakyūshū | 기타큐슈 시 | Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu | 北九州市 | Kitakyūshū | Kitakyushu | Китакјушу | 北九州市

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Kitakyushu, Fukuoka".

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