Travel Guide of Scenic Byway Kyushu Q-❹ Kitakyushu Hospitality Roads Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Pref.－World Industrial Heritage in Meiji, Kokura Castle, and Nagasaki-kaido Road Kitakyushu City in the northeastern part of Kyushu faces the Hibikinada Sea (2) Monument of Kyushu and the Kanmon-kaikyo Straits, and its Survey by Mr. Tadataka Ino. peninsula in the eastern is Moji Ward, which is connected to Shimonoseki City at the southwestern end of Honshu Main Island by three tunnels and one bridge. As a result, the two are no longer one and play an important role in the formation and governance of the country as a whole (see Photo (1) and map). The scenic spot of “Kitakyushu Hospitality Roads” is the orange shaded areas displayed on the map from the Moji Ward to the Koyanose area of Yahata-nishi Ward, and the main route is the historic "Nagasaki Kaido" road. However, in the current road network, Kitakyushu City is developing as an industrial city with many national roads, so it has a complicated route. In other words, in the current road network, the major roads from Kanmon Bridge to the Koyanose district are given Q-❹ Kitakyushu Hospitality Roads by National Roads 2, 3, 200 and 211, and some prefecture roads have been developed to supplement them. In addition, National Road 199 (included Road No. 198) for port logistics are parallel to the National road 3 and can be used for this scenic sightseeing. [Access] The main access points to the scenic region are Kitakyushu Airport and Kokura Station on the Sanyo Shinkansen. And, there are many stations on the Kagoshima Main Line of JR Kyushu Company and the Chikuho Electric Railway, making it easy to access each scenic spot from them. On the other hand, the Kitakyushu Urban Expressway and Kyushu Expressway runs parallel to all scenery areas. Therefore, you can quickly drive to all the landscape spots from anywhere (see the map). [Scenic Resources] There are two themes in scenic spots of Kitakyushu Hospitality Road. One of them is the Nagasaki Kaido Road, that connected Nagasaki and Kitakyushu. Under the national isolation policy from the 17th century to the 19th century, only Nagasaki Port in Nagasaki City was able to trade with a limited number of foreign countries. For this reason, the section of Kitakyushu Hospitality Road at the entrance of Nagasaki Kaido Road was particularly significant as a national basic road. The Dutch trading company visited Edo via the Nagasaki Kaido, and many Japanese came to Nagasaki via the Kanmon Straits to study medicine and Western science. In addition, as Sankin-Kotai system of the Edo shogunate, Daimyos in the Kyushu region passed the (1) Kanmon Strait and Kanmon Kyo Bridge 1 (1) Pedestrian Tunnel in Kanmon Strait Tunnel (1) Mojiko Station of JR Kagoshima (1) Old Mitsui Club Building of Retro Town Line (2)-1 “Tanka Food Market” in Kokura-Kita-Ward (2)-2 Castle Tower of Kokura Castle (2)-2 Kokura Castle surrounded by City Area (2)-4 Tokiwa Bashi Bridge (Murasaki River) (2)-3 Yasaka Shrine in Kokura Castle (2)-3 Kokura Gion Drum (Yasaka Shrine festival Nagasaki Kaido every two years. From these, many branch roads and Shimonoseki Station of JR West Japan and almost all functions and post inn towns developed along the Nagasaki-kaido. of Moji Port were moved to another area. Along with this, the role of The other is that Kitakyushu City is the transportation center of Mojiko Station as the gateway to Kyushu became smaller, and the the Kyushu region and has developed as an industrial city. In function of port town has gradually declined. particular, in the Meiji period, the steel industry grew by utilizing Therefore, amenity facilities, commercial facilities, hotels, and coal produced in neighboring areas and the transportation system museums that transform the old port town into a retro town were for large-scale logistics, and today some related facilities are added while retaining the buildings of the Meiji and Taisho eras such registered as World Heritage Sites. Alternatively, while overcoming as the former Mitsui Club and the former Osaka Merchant Marine. environmental problems, we continue to perform excellent activities Today, it has been transformed into a leisure city where you can enjoy for the development of the new technology industry. Therefore, in the old port facilities, the Kanmon Straits, and the retro cityscape this scenic area, you can also stroll around the town with a factory (see photo (1)). tour on the theme of industry and port. The Mojiko Retro Sightseeing Train (Trocco Train) runs about 2km from Mojiko Station to Mekari Shrine at the tip of the peninsula. As shown on the map, the main landscape of the route can be From the train, you can see dramatic sceneries such as the Kanmon organized by a series of zones (1) to (6), where you can visit the Straits, the Kanmon Bridge, and Shimonoseki City on the other side industrial modernization and various historical heritage of each zone of the straits. Among them, the "Kanmon Straits Road Tunnel" as follows. (3461m, 1958) is a two-story tunnel for cars and pedestrians, and it (1) Mojiko Retro District takes about 15 minutes to cross the strait on foot one way. It will be a good memory to try it. Moji Port opened in the middle of Meiji era, and next to it, Moji Station of Kyushu Railway (current Mojiko Station of JR Kyushu (2) Kokura Castle and its Town Company) was built in 1891. As a result, many domestic and foreign As mentioned above, scenic spots (1) and (2) are connected by passenger ships entered the port, and the areas of Moji Port Area National Roads 199, including Road 198, and run parallel to Road 3, developed significantly as a modern city. However, half a century and are also connected to the ports of Moji, Kokura, Tobata, and later, the two single-line Kanmon strait tunnels (1942 and 1944) were constructed between the current Moji station of JR Kyushu 2 Wakamatsu. Since these roads are separated from each other, it is possible to use different roads according to traffic congestion. Going west from the port of Moji along these roads, you will find Kokura Station of the Sanyo Shinkansen, which is the hub of current transportation in Kitakyushu City. In the Edo period, Tokiwabashi Bridge near this station was the starting point for five major roads in Kyushu, making it a transportation hub. It was also this bridge that Tadataka Ino (3) Old Office of Yahata Ironworks Factory (World Heritage). started the survey of Kyushu maps in (3) Commemorative Park of Higashida first Blast Furnace. the 18th century. Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold, an in-house physician of the Dutch trading company, wrote in his diary; “Crossed the large wooden bridge (Tokiwabashi), advanced the square, and arrived at an inn not far away. January 15, 1826.” The front of the bridge is the commercial district of department store, arcade streets, and restaurants. In addition, Tanga Food Market in the center of Kitakyushu City is especially crowded as a typical citizen's kitchen (see Photo (2) -1). Kokura Castle, on the other hand, is located on the west side of the Murasaki River and is surrounded by the city hall, cultural facilities, and large commercial facilities. Photo (2)-2 shows the castle (4) Magarinosato-matsunamiki (line-up of Pine Trees) as seen from the roof deck of the city hall. Further outside of them are surrounded by many apartment buildings and factories, beyond which are landfills and harbors. Kokura Castle was built by Hosokawa Clan in the early 17th century. Since then, there have been frequent fires, but each time it was restored. The current castle tower was rebuilt in 1959 at the request of citizens. This is called "Tang-making structure", which has the feature that there is no eave between the 4th and 5th floors, and the 5th floor sticks out from the 4th floor. Besides, there is Yasaka Shrine founded by Hosokawa Clan in the Kokura Castle, and every summer, a famous Gion festival is held in the parade of Japanese drum and Mikoshi (portable (4) View of Kitakyushu City from Mt. Sarakura shrine). In addition to the road, cable car and slope car can be used to reach (3) Yahata Distirct and (4) Sarakura Mt. the top of Mt. Sarakura (622m). From the observatory on the summit, you can enjoy the wonderful views of Kitakyushu City, Block (3) is an industrial area developed in the direction of Dokai- Kanmon Straits, and Shimonoseki City, day and night (see Photo (4)). wan Bay in the backdrop of Sarakurayama Mountain. The land use of the urban areas consists of the factory zones of Nippon steel (5) Magarinosato Avenue of Nagasaki-Kaido company, commercial districts, and employee housing areas, as If you go further west from the Yawata district, you will find shown in Photo (4). Kurosaki Station on the JR Kagoshima Main Line, and if you walk The Yahata Steel Works was founded by the government in 1901, 500m south along the street in front of the station, you will find and some of the facilities at that time remain. Of them, the pumping Magarino-sato Park lined with pine tree. This is the old Nagasaki station of Onga River, the former head office building, the repair shop Kaido Road, that has kept since the Edo period (17th ~ 19th centuries). building, and the blacksmith factory are registered as World In the past, the row of pine trees was quite long from Koyanose to Cultural Heritage sites. Kurosaki, but now only this 600m section remains.