Kitakyushu

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**Kitakyushu City**
**北九州市**
Kitakyushu City's location in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Prefecture	Fukuoka prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	486.81 km²
Population (as of October 2005)
Total	993,483
Density	2,040.80/km²
Location	33°52′N 130°49′E
Symbols
Tree	Ichiigashi (Japanese beech)
Flower	Tsutsuji (Azalea) Himawari (Sunflower)
Symbol of Kitakyushu City
Kitakyushu City City Hall
Mayor	Koichi Sueyoshi
Address	〒803-8501 Kitakyushu-shi, Kokura Kita-ku, Jonai 1-1
Phone number	093-582-2236
Official website: Kitakyushu City Hall

Coordinates: 33°52′N 130°49′E

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

Kitakyushu has a population of just under one million. Together with Shimonoseki on Honshū 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 largest city in Kyushu, Fukuoka which has a population of about 1.4 million, or 2.33 million in the greater Fukuoka urban area (福岡都市圏).

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

[edit] Geography

Kokura Castle (Kokura-jō) in central Kokura.

[edit] Wards

The Kanmon Straits viewed from space, with Kitakyushu on the left and Shimonoseki on the right. The new airport is also visible.

Kitakyūshū has seven wards (ku):

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

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 twenty-one councillors would be reduced to just three in the enlarged Kitakyushu city.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Kokura prefecture

Kokura prefectural office (September 2005).

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Lucky Kokura

Kokura was the primary target of the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945. Major Charles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually, but the city was obscured by clouds. Hence Nagasaki, the secondary target, was where the bomb was dropped. The expression "Kokura's luck" thereafter became common in Japan to refer to occasions when someone avoids something unpleasant without their knowledge.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Writers

Mori Ogai's house in Kokura Kita ward.

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 [1] was born in Kokura. A 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.

[edit] Radio

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

[edit] Festivals

There are several local festivals (matsuri) held in the summer in various parts of the city and 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.

Hiraodai karst plateau in Kokura Minami ward

[edit] Scenic areas

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.

[edit] 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.

Isetan department store.

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 and Kokura castle moat.

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.)

The Trans-Dokaiwan ferry, usually called the Waka-To ferry, between Wakamatsu and Tobata

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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).

On August 1, 2006 ownership of the Waka-To Ō-hashi bridge was transferred to Kitakyushu city.

Kanmon Straits bridge from the Moji-ku, Kitakyushu side

Tokiwa bashi in Kokura Kita ward

Waka-To O-hashi bridge between Tobata and Wakamatsu wards from Well Tobata

Waka-To O-hashi bridge at night from the Wakamatsu side

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] A 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 [2] project began in December 1988 and is to finish in 2006.

[edit] An unfortunate reputation

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 Kyūshū - 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 Kyūshū.