Walking Back in Time
Kita-Kyushu is located around 60 kms to the north of Fukuoka and is overshadowed by the latter in terms of popularity. It is the southernmost of the 4 main islands that make up most of Japan, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The Okinawa islands are much smaller and further away and depending on whom you talk to are not considered the 5th main island.
Kitakyushu city was formed in 1963 as by merging 5 independent cities, Kokura, Moji, Yahata, Tobata and Wakamatsu. I traveled to Kita Kyushu on business so the blog is limited to Mojiko which is the port of Moji city.
It doesn’t mean Kitakyushu doesn’t have any tourist attractions, it has the Kokura castle, there is the riverwalk by the Murasaki river and has a mall aptly named as ‘Riverwalk Kitakyushu’.
I had been to Kitakyushu a few times, but since my meetings were with an airline company located at the airport, there wasn’t much opportunity to explore the Kokura town. The flight from Haneda takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes and there were days when I used to take the early morning flight in and be back in Tokyo by the afternoon.
Writing this blog close to a decade later, I wonder why I didn’t spend more time exploring the town. But those were different times with different pressures and priorities.
A Friday evening party to celebrate the launch of a project gave an opportunity for some exploration . The party was tame compared to what I was used to with customers . The only ironic fact was that the customer paid for my trip including accommodation but expected me to share the dinner cost.
Kokura town is around 25 kilometres from the KitaKyushu airport and the Mojiko station another 15 minutes train ride from Kokura. The JR Kagoshima line runs between the stations and is a short pleasant ride.The Mojiko Retro is an area near the port with 100 year old buildings, so a walk down the streets around the port is like walking back in time.
The JR Mojiko station was built in 1891, the period when Japan was opening up to the west. The station building is in European style and has been preserved to retain the old feeling.
There is a bit of irony on the nostalgia for the past. Taiwan has retained railway stations built in Japanese style as that has nostalgia for them but here in Mojiko, southern Japan, European style architecture has a relation to the past.
The Old Mitsui OSK building is the office of a shipping company, the bright orange colour of the buildings stands out.
The customs buildings is the next stop and was in use till 1920. The building now hosts an art gallery and also serves as a public rest space.
The Kitakyushu international friendship memorial library is another photogenic building. It houses the library and is probably the best looking building in the town.
I was pressed for time, having booked my return ticket to Tokyo on an evening flight and could not do other activities like a boat ride to Shimonoseki.
It was a fine early autumn day and the effort of walking with a laptop bag was tiring. Limited time means the sightseeing had to be squeezed into only the essentials.
But I had enough time for a lunch of the Mojiko Yaki curry, Curry Rice topped with cheese and egg. The toppings make the curry unique and the local restaurants promote the Curry Rice as a unique Mojiko dish.
A lunch and I was back to the Mojiko station, a short ride to Kokura, pick up my luggage and take the bus to the airport. Someday I will come back for a trip around Kyushu and Mojiko with its old fashioned appeal, an unhurried lifestyle(compared to Tokyo) and try to absorb the nostalgia that comes with the past.
