(Redirected from Kitakyushu, Fukuoka)
is a
city located in
Fukuoka prefecture,
Kyūshū,
Japan. It is midway between
Tokyo and
Shanghai. Within Japan it is the leading city in anti-pollution measures and recycling.
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.
Geography
Wards
Kitakyūshū has seven
wards (''ku''):
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.
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 prefectural office (September 2005).
was founded separately from
Fukuoka prefecture in 1871 when the clan system was abolished. The old wooden-built
Kokura prefectural office is still standing, and is being restored. 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. 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 his knowledge.
Demographics
As of October 1, 2005, the city has an estimated
population of 1,014,608 and the total area is 483.15 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 [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.
Lily Franky the illustrator was born in Kokura.
Scientists
Professor
Ted Fujita was born in Kokura Minami.
Radio
Cross FM started in Kitakyushu, and is now also in Fukuoka city.
Actors
Gravure idol/model
Saaya Irie lives in Kitakyushu
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.
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.
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 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.
The Trans-Dokaiwan ferry, usually called the Waka-To ferry, between
Wakamatsu and
TobataBoats
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'
Kanmonkyo 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 previous mayor Mr.
Koichi Sueyoshi was very keen on building bridges and other major construction projects, having been formerly employed by the Construction ministry (Kensetsusho).
On September 30, 2005 ownership of the
Waka-To Ō-hashi bridge was transferred from
Japan Highway Public Corporation to Kitakyushu city, and on April 1,2006 to the Kitakyushu City Road Public Corporation.
Miscellaneous
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. In 1992, Kitakyushu was one of twelve world cities given a Local Government Honours Award at the
United Nations Earth Summit to honour its environmental programs.
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.
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.
In the 1970s, the Municipality started adopting measures to decrease the pollution. Nowadays, Kitakyushu is making great efforts to show itself as an environmentally-friendly place.
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.
Sister cities
★
Incheon,
South Korea
★
Dalian,
China
★
Norfolk, Virginia,
United States
★
Tacoma, Washington,
United States
See also
Honjo stadium.
Universities
★
Kyushu Dental College
★
Kyushu Institute of Technology
★
Kyushu Kyoritsu University - Nakano Daisuke, the gymnast who won an Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 (team event), is a student here.
★
Kyushu Women's University (Kyūshū Joshi Daigaku)
★
Seinan Women's University (Seinan Jo Gakuin Daigaku)
★
The University of Environmental & Occupational Health
★
The University of Kitakyushu
Entertainment
★
Kokura Race course (Kokura keibajo)
★
Media Dome, Kokura
★
Honjo Stadium
External links
★
★
Official website in Japanese
★
Official website in English
★
Kitakyushu page of Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association website
★
Kitakyushu Science and Research Park
★
CCA Kitakyushu
★
Kitakyushu Film Commission
★
Kitakyushu International Association produces
Himawari - a monthly newsletter
★
Kitakyushu Kicks - an unofficial English language website about Kitakyushu
★
www.e-you.biz - a website for foreigners in Kitakyushu
★
Kitakyushu weather
★
Kitakyushu guide - some tourist maps about Kitakyushu
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