Kitakyushu

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 and is being restored. It is opposite Riverwalk Kitakyūshū. In 1876, Kokura Prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture. The city of Kokura was founded in 1900.

Yahata in Kitakyushu was the target for the beginning of the US bombing raids on the home islands on June 16, 1944, when 75 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses flew out from mainland China.[2]

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. All three attempts failed due to clouds and smoke from Yahata, which is only 7 km (4.3 mi) west of Kokura and had air raids on the previous day, preventing him from identifying the target clearly. Additionally, a smoke screen was created by industrial workers burning barrels of coal tar and/or electric plant workers releasing steam.[3][4] The bomb was ultimately dropped on the city of Nagasaki, the secondary target, at 11:02 JST.

The city of Kitakyushu was founded on February 10, 1963, and was designated on April 1, 1963, by government ordinance. The city was born from the merger of five municipalities (Moji, Kokura, Tobata, Yahata and Wakamatsu) centered around the ancient feudal city of Kokura. The city's symbol mark is a flower with the character "north" (北, kita) in the middle and five petals representing the towns that merged.

As of 1 October 2018, the city had an estimated population of 945,595 and a total area of 491.95 km² (189.94 sq mi).[5] The average population density is 1,922 persons /km² (4,980/sq mi). It is now the country's 15th most populated city.[5] It has a much larger total area than that of Fukuoka which is only 343.39 km² (132.58 sq mi).[5]

Kitakyushu has seven wards (ku):

Wards of Kitakyushu
	Place Name				Map of Kitakyushu
	Rōmaji	Kanji	Color	Land area in km2
1	Kokurakita-ku (administrative center)	小倉北区		39.27	Kitakyūshū wards
2	Kokuraminami-ku	小倉南区		170.25
3	Moji-ku	門司区		73.37
4	Tobata-ku	戸畑区		16.66
5	Yahatahigashi-ku	八幡東区		36.36
6	Yahatanishi-ku	八幡西区		83.04
7	Wakamatsu-ku	若松区		67.86

The city of Nakama, Fukuoka was to become the eighth ward of Kitakyushu in 2005 (to be called Nakama-ku). However, the merger was rejected on December 24, 2004 by Nakama's city council, despite having been initiated by Nakama City.

• 
  Skyline of Kokura (2021)
• 
  Kokura Station (2021)
• 
  West Japan Industrial Club (2020)
• 
  Port of Kitakyushu (2014)
• 
  Downtown of Kokura (2014)
• 
  Wakato Bridge (2008)

• Kyushu Institute of Technology

• Kyushu Dental University
• University of Kitakyushu

• Kyushu International University
• Kyushu Kyoritsu University
• Kyushu Nutrition Welfare University
• Kyushu Polytechnic College
• Kyushu Women's University
• Nishinippon Institute of Technology
• Seinan Women's University
• University of Occupational and Environmental Health

• Higashi Chikushi Junior College
• Kyushu Women's Junior College
• Orio Aishin Junior College
• Seinan Jo Gakuin University Junior College

• Kitakyushu National College of Technology

• Kyushu Medical Sports School

• Kitakyushu Science and Research Park
  • Graduate School of International Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu
  • Fukuoka University Institute for Recycling and Environmental Control Systems
  • Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology
  • Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems/Information, Production and Systems Research Center, Waseda University

The Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. It is larger than the previous Kokura Airport and supports 24-hour operations thanks to its location on an artificial island in the Seto Inland Sea. 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.

Kokura Station, the city's central train station, is the penultimate stop on the JR West Sanyō Shinkansen before the Fukuoka terminus and all Shinkansen services stop here. It is served by local and express trains on JR Kyushu's Kagoshima and Nippō Main Lines. In the city, transport is provided the Kitakyushu Monorail and buses.

Mojikō Station in Moji-ku is the northern terminus of the Kagoshima Main Line, the most important line in the JR Kyushu network.

A tram network operated by the Nishi-Nippon Railroad known as the Kitakyushu Line once operated in the city; after dwindling passenger numbers in the 1970s the line was shut down in stages between 1980 and 2000. A railway using tram cars, the Chikuhō Electric Railroad, runs between Kurosaki-Ekimae and Chikuhō-Nōgata stations, serving Yahatanishi-ku and the neighboring city of Nōgata.

The metropolitan area of Kitakyushu is covered by the Kitakyushu Expressway, which has five routes serving the city, totaling 53 kilometers of four-lane expressways. Some of these expressways are elevated, especially around the city center. Route 1 serves the city center, while route 2 serves the port area. Route 3 is a short connector between routes 1 and 2, and route 4 is the longest of the Kitakyushu Expressway network, serving most of the city from north to south. Route 5 is a short link serving the inner port area.

In addition, Kitakyushu is bypassed by the Kyushu Expressway, the main north–south route on the island of Kyushu. The new Higashikyushu Expressway begins in Kitakyushu and runs along the eastern coast of Kyushu. North of Kitakyushu, the Kyushu Expressway crosses the six-lane Kanmonkyo Bridge and turns into the Chūgoku Expressway, the second longest in Japan, serving western Honshu.

There are several bridges in Kitakyushu and between the city and other places. The largest ones are the Kanmonkyo Bridge linking Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki (on Kyushu and Honshū respectively) via the Kanmon Straits and the Wakato Bridge linking the wards of Tobata and Wakamatsu. There are smaller bridges over the Onga River on the western border of the city.

On September 30, 2005, ownership of the Wakato Bridge was transferred from Japan Highway Public Corporation to Kitakyushu; on April 1, 2006, the bridge was transferred to the control of the Kitakyushu City Road Public Corporation.

Kitakyushu is the largest ferry port in Kyushu, Chūgoku, and Shikoku. Ferry services operate between Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kōbe, Ōsaka, Tokyo, Ulsan (Korea), Busan (Korea) and isolated islands in the city limits. The main ferry port is at Shin-Moji, and there are ferries at Moji and near Kokura Station.

In the Kanmon-Kitakyushu area, there are three commuter lines: the Wakato Ferry, the Kanmon Straits Ferry, and the Kanmon Straits Liner.

There are festivals (matsuri) held in the summer in the city, including the Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival in Tobata-ku, Kitakyūshū.

Kurosaki Gion (July)

It has been designated as an intangible cultural asset of Fukuoka Prefecture. People spin highly decorated "battle floats" as they pull them through the streets.[17]

Tobata Gion (July)

People carry yamagasa (tiered floats decorated with flags by day and lanterns by night) on their shoulders.

Kokura Gion (July)

People pull yamagasa parade floats along the street.

All the Gion festivals date back about 400 years. They were instituted to celebrate surviving an epidemic.[18]

Moji Minato Festival (May)

This port-city festival involves colorfully costumed people pulling floats through the streets.[19]

Wakamatsu Minato Festival (July)

This port-city festival celebrates fire, drums, and kappa (mythical amphibious creatures who love cucumbers).[20]

Wasshoi Hyakuman Festival (August)

The Wasshoi Hyakuman Natsumatsuri brings all the festivals together for a grand parade and finale near City Hall in Kokura Kita ward. Kitakyushu was formed by the merging of Kokura, Yahata, Wakamatsu, Moji, and Tobata. As a result, the city began, on its tenth anniversary, to combine these local festivals into one. On the 25th anniversary, it was renamed Wasshoi Hyakuman because the city population had reached one million.

Green Park Flea Market (monthly, except August and December)

There are over 200 shops.[21]

The Center for Contemporary Art opened in May 1997 by former Japan Foundation chief curator Nobuo Nakamura and Akiko Miyake. The centre has shown works of internationally renowned artists such as Maurizio Cattelan and Anri Sala, and runs an internationally acclaimed studio programme for emerging artists.

Kitakyushu was selected as the host of the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, both of which will take place in October 2021. The artistic gymnastics championship will take place in Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium, while the rhythmic competition will be contested in the West Japan Exhibition Centre.[22]

• Giravanz Kitakyushu - Football, J3

Honjo stadium

• Anō Dome
• Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu - Home stadium for Giravanz Kitakyushu
• Honjō Athletic Stadium
• Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium
• Kitakyushu Media Dome - Indoor Keirin stadium
• Kitakyushu Municipal Baseball Stadium
• Kitakyushu Municipal Gymnasium
• JRA Kokura Racecourse
• Sayagatani Stadium
• Wakamatsu Kyōteijō - Wakamatsu Boat Races

• Miyamoto Musashi, samurai swordsman, author of The Book of Five Rings and founder of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū, famous for its use of two swords. He lived in the Kokura castle under the patronage of the Ogasawara and Hosokawa clans from 1633 until his death.

• The novelist Mori Ōgai lived in Kokura for 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 Seichō Matsumoto was born in Kokura. The Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum dedicated to his work is located in the city center near Kokura Castle.
• The writer Ashihei Hino was born in Wakamatsu ward and his birthplace can be visited.

• Professor Ted Fujita, popularly known as "Mr. Tornado" in America, was born in Kikugaoka in what is now Kokura Minami ward.

• Masanobu Fuchi, Japanese professional wrestler (All Japan Pro-Wrestling)

• 175R, a Japanese punk rock band[26]
• Ena Fujita, Japanese musician and gravure idol
• Ayaka Umeda, former Japanese idol and singer (AKB48, the subunit DiVA and NMB48)

• Yamazaki Tokujirō, director of Call of the Foghorn and the Jiken Kisha series
• Aoyama Shinji, director of Eureka and Sad Vacation
• Oda Motoyoshi, director of Godzilla Raids Again
• Hirayama Hideyuki, director of Forget me Not

• Kazuhisa Kawahara, Aibō, Initial D and Kamen Rider Decade
• Takahiro Fujimoto, Saka no Ue no Kumo, Jin and Segodon
• Saaya Irie, God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand
• Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ninja, Dirty Hearts, Letters from Iwo Jima and Samurai Hustle (real name: Yun Yu-gu, Hangul: 윤유구)
• Junichi Haruta, Dai Sentai Goggle-V, Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, Kamen Rider Blade, Kamen Rider W Returns and Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger