Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Moji

The Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Moji is a branch of the renowned Tokyo collection, housed in a contemporary geometric brick building in Kitakyushu's charming Moji Port Retro Area. The museum displays rotating selections from the parent collection's trove of Japanese and East Asian ceramics, paintings, and calligraphy, with a particular strength in Edo-period screen paintings and ancient Chinese porcelain. The intimate scale of the galleries allows for close, unhurried viewing that larger museums rarely permit. The surrounding Moji Port area, with its early-20th-century brick warehouses converted into restaurants and shops, makes for a delightful half-day outing, and the famous baked curry that is the district's signature dish is worth seeking out for lunch nearby.