Kokura Castle anchors the old town, where covered shopping streets serve some of Kyushu's best yakiudon. Kawachi Fujien's wisteria tunnels explode in purple every spring. The Kanmon Strait connects Kyushu to Honshu, and you can walk the undersea tunnel to Shimonoseki. A working city with genuine character.
What Kitakyūshū is known for
Top-rated in Kitakyūshū
TOTO Museum
4.5museum
TOTO is one of those names that might ring a bell, but can't quite be placed. That is, until you visit the bathroom.
Kawachi Fujien
4.4landmark
Private hillside garden with two 100-meter wisteria tunnels cascading in purple, white, and pink each spring.
Mojikō Station
4.5landmark
Since 1891, Mojikō Station has connected Kyushu to the Japanese mainland and the world at large.
Hikosan-jingu
4.4shrine
Mountain shrine center of yamabushi mountain asceticism, reached by a strenuous climb up 1,200 stone steps.
Hiraodai Karst
4.4park
Plateau scattered with white limestone rocks resembling sheep.
Kanmon Strait
4.4landmark
Like the Suez, Panama, Magellan, and Gibraltar, the Kanmon Strait is a vital waterway that has shaped the fate of a nation.
Satsuki Matsubara Promenade
4.5landmark
The Satsuki Matsubara Promenade is a paved walkway through a section of the Satsuki Matsubara pine grove along the Munakata coast.
Kokura Castle Japanese Garden
4.3castle
Exceptionally well-restored castle built on a plain that has become the symbol of Kitakyushu with night illumination.