(北九州市; ''Kitakyushu-shi''), literally "North Kyushu", is a
City located in
Fukuoka Prefecture ,
Kyushu ,
Japan .
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-jō) in central Kokura]]
viewed from space, with Kitakyushu on the left and
Shimonoseki on the right. The new airport is also visible.]]
Kitakyūshū has 7
Wards (''ku''):
:
Kokura Kita-ku (小倉北区) Area: 39.27 km&
2
:
Kokura Minami-ku (小倉南区) Area: 170.25 km&
2
:
Moji-ku (門司区) Area: 73.37 km&
2
:
Tobata-ku (戸畑区) Area: 16.66 km&
2
:
Yahata Higashi-ku (八幡東区) Area: 36.36 km&
2
:
Yahata Nishi-ku (八幡西区) Area: 83.04 km&
2
:
Wakamatsu-ku (若松区) Area: 67.86 km&
2
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
As of March 2005, the city has an estimated
Population of 998,999 and the total area is 484.18 km&
2. 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 340.03km&
2.
'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 .
The writer
Hino Ashihei was born in Wakamatsu ward and his birthplace can be visited.
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 .
ward]]
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
The new 24-hour
New Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. It is much larger than the previoud
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.
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.
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 .)
and
Tobata ]]
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.
There are several bridges in Kitakyūshū and between the city and other places. The largest ones are the 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).
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Kokura_Kita_ward" class="copylinks">Kokura Kita Ward
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Tobata" class="copylinks">Tobata and Wakamatsu wards from Well Tobata
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