[Kitakyushu] Spring cherry blossom viewing season Mojiko Railway Memorial Museum Former Moji Mitsui Club Kawachi Fujien Kokura Castle Yasaka Shrine Kokura Castle Garden Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum

Moji Port, Kitakyushu First, let us introduce the commercial complex "Strait Plaza." Facing the sea, this open facility is lined with variety stores, souvenir shops, and restaurants with beautiful views, allowing you to enjoy shopping and dining.

Moji Port, Kitakyushu Mojiko Nostalgia Tourist Products Center (Minatoya) is also a great place for tourists to look for souvenirs. The building has a tourist market and a takeaway corner, selling a wide variety of seafood from the Kanmon Straits and Kyushu specialties.

Moji Port, Kitakyushu If you want to spend some time relaxing, you can visit cafes and restaurants built in the corners of historical buildings. Why not enjoy desserts, coffee, and meals in the atmosphere of a Western-style building, such as Cafe Mathière in the former Osaka Shosen building, Moon de Retro in the former Moji Customs House, or Mitsui Club in the former Moji Mitsui Club?

Kyushu Railway Museum This railway theme park was created by restoring the former Kyushu Railway Company headquarters building. In addition to passenger cars and various railway models from the Meiji period, it also exhibits railway-related items such as tickets and train emblems, as well as valuable original documents.

Kyushu Railway Museum In the driving simulation experience, you can drive a train on the actual line scenery between Mojiko and Orio, and experience what it's like to be a train driver. It's very popular! There is also a miniature railway outside, and you can travel a distance of 130 meters by yourself, using real equipment such as double-track railways and signals.

Kyushu Railway Museum The vehicle exhibition area, which is modeled after a station platform, features an impressive line-up of nine famous trains that once ran through Kyushu.

The former Moji Mitsui Club It was built in 1921 as a hotel and entertainment facility for Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Dr. Albert Einstein, famous for his theory of relativity, and his wife stayed here in 1922. It is a two-story wooden building, half wooden and half stone.

Mojiko Yaki Curry "Yaki curry" is rice topped with curry, cheese, and eggs and baked in an oven. There are various theories about the origin of yaki curry. One is that in the 1950s, a coffee shop used its oven to bake leftover curry into a gratin dish.

Mojiko Yaki Curry It was unexpectedly delicious, and as a result, baked curry was born, gradually becoming a local dish representative of Kokura.

Kawachi Fuji Garden It was also chosen as one of the "31 Most Beautiful Places in Japan" by the American news agency CNN, and has become a famous wisteria viewing spot attracting tourists from all over the world.

Kawachi Fuji Garden The best time to see the wisteria flowers is from late April to mid-May, when about 22 varieties bloom. The large wisteria trellis, covering an area of about 1,000 square meters, is very spectacular, with the entire wall covered with long wild wisteria. The most impressive features are the two kinds of rattan flower tunnels, which are 80 meters and 110 meters long, respectively.

Kawachi Fuji Garden The tunnel is filled with colorful flowers of lavender, white, and pink, creating a gorgeous change of color that is very attractive. The scent of the garden is intoxicating, and it will satisfy both your body and mind.

Yasaka Shrine Yasaka Shrine is located within the grounds of Kokura Castle and is said to have a history of nearly 400 years. The main deity enshrined there is Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

Yasaka Shrine Locals come here to pray for the removal of illness and disasters, family harmony, prosperity in business, and road safety.

Yasaka Shrine It is also said to be very effective for praying for love, making it a popular place among couples and women.

Kokura Castle Garden Kokura Castle not only has a castle tower but also a Japanese garden.

Kokura Castle Garden The exhibition hall has an exhibition corner that introduces the history of etiquette based on the Japanese spirit, as well as special exhibitions on the theme of traditional Japanese life that are open to the public. Why not come and experience Japanese culture at your own pace while feeling the atmosphere of the Edo period?

Karato Market Karato Market is located in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is about a 10-minute ferry ride from the Mojiko Retro Area. On weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays) and on public holidays, the first floor of Karato Market is transformed into a seafood street called "Vibrant Shimonoseki Street."

Karato Market The shopkeepers at Karato Market use fresh ingredients to prepare nigiri sushi, miso soup, fried dishes, etc. You can even enjoy puffer fish sashimi at a very reasonable price.