Kitakyushu

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Template:Infobox City Japan Kitakyushu (北九州市, Kitakyushu-shi, lit. "Northern Kyushu") is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai.

Geography

Demographics

See also Fukuoka-Kitakyushu.

Kitakyushu has a population of just under one million. Together with Shimonoseki on Honshū the city is the center of an area known as the Kitakyushu metropolitan area (北九州都市圏, Kitakyushu-toshiken) or Kanmon metropolitan area (関門都市圏, Kanmon-toshiken), which has a total population of about 1.5 million (Bureau of Statistics definition). {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

There are multiple metropolitan area definitions for this area, with population estimates ranging from 1.15 to 2.4 million people. Some estimates include the nearby cities of Shimonoseki and Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but most exclude Ōita in neighboring Ōita Prefecture. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

Wards

Kitakyushu has seven wards (ku):

Area (km²)
File:Kitakyushu wards.png Kokurakita-ku
(administrative center) 		小倉北区 39.27
Kokuraminami-ku 小倉南区 170.25
Moji-ku 門司区 73.37
Tobata-ku 戸畑区 16.66
Yahatahigashi-ku 八幡東区 36.36
Yahatanishi-ku 八幡西区 83.04
Wakamatsu-ku 若松区 67.86

The city of Nakama was to become the eighth ward of Kitakyushu in 2005 (to be called Nakama-ku). However, the planned merger was rejected on December 24, 2004 by Nakama's city council, despite having been initiated by Nakama city. The reason is that as part of the merger the twenty-one councillors would have been reduced to just three in the enlarged Kitakyushu. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

History

Kokura Prefecture

Kokura Prefecture was founded separately from Fukuoka Prefecture in 1871 when the clan system was abolished. The old wooden-built Kokura Prefectural Office is still standing, and is being restored. It is opposite Riverwalk Kitakyushu. In 1876 Kokura Prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture. The city of Kokura was founded in 1900.

World War II

Kokura was the primary target of the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945. Major Charles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually, but all three attempts failed due to clouds and smoke from Yahata, which is located only 7 km west of Kokura and had air raids on the previous day, preventing Sweeney from identifying the target clearly. The bomb was ultimately dropped on the city of Nagasaki, the secondary target, at 11:02 JST.

City of Kitakyushu

The city of Kitakyushu was founded on February 10, 1963 and was designated on April 1, 1963 by government ordinance. The city was born from the merger of five municipalities (Moji, Kokura, Tobata, Yahata and Wakamatsu) centered around the ancient feudal city of Kokura. The city's symbol mark is a flower with the character "north" (北, kita) in the middle and five petals representing the five towns which merged.

Demographics

As of October 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 1,014,608 and the total area is 483.15 km². The average population density is thus 2,063 persons per square kilometre. The population has steadily decreased in recent years.

The city has a much larger total area than that of Fukuoka which is only 340.03 km².

Notable Figures

Mori Ōgai's house in Kokura Kita ward.
Samurai
Writers
Scientists
  • Professor Ted Fujita was born in what is now Kokura Minami ward.
Radio
  • Cross FM started in Kitakyushu, and is now also in Fukuoka city.
Actors
  • Gravure idol/model Saaya Irie lives in Kitakyushu.

Culture

The 1986 family movie Koneko Monogatari was filmed here. The English version of the film, which is the story of the friendship of a kitten and a pug dog, was released in America in 1989 as The Adventures of Milo and Otis.

Festivals

There are several local festivals (matsuri) held in the summer in various parts of the city and including the beautiful Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival in Tobata ward and the Wasshoi Hyakuman matsuri which brings all the festivals together for a grand parade and finale near the City Hall in Kokura Kita ward.

Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) Kitakyushu

The Center for Contemporary Art opened in May 1997 and has during the past years shown works of internationallly renowned artists e.g. Maurizio Cattelan and Anri Sala.

Notable places

Kokura Castle in central Kokura.

Hiraodai (平尾台) karst plateau and Mount Adachi (足立山, adachi-san) in Kokura Minami ward and Mount Sarakura (皿倉山, sarakura-san) and Kawachi Dam (河内貯水池, kawachi-chosuichi) in Yahata Higashi ward are all noted walking areas with fine scenery. The area also contains the Sugao and Nanae Waterfalls. Sugao is about 20 meters. Nanae literally means Seven Stages Waterfalls. As you hike up the mountain, you reach the different stages of the waterfall.

Economy

Nippon Steel Corporation is still a major employer but the Yahata and Tobata plants are much reduced from the heyday of the 1960s. The Zenrin company known for its mapping and navigation software is based here, and so is TOTO, the biggest Japanese bathroom fixture manufacturer.[citation needed] StarFlyer, an airline, is headquartered on the grounds of Kitakyushu Airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu.[1] Previously the airline's headquarters were in the Shin Kokura Building (新小倉ビル, Shin Kokura Biru) in Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu.[2][3]

Colet Izutsuya department store (formerly Isetan and originally Sogo department store)

The major department stores in Kokura Kita ward are Kitakyushu-based Izutsuya by the Murasaki river and Colet Izutsuya, in front of the South exit of Kokura Station in the former Isetan department store building.[citation needed]

A smaller scale shopping centre called Cha Cha Town has been created by Nishitetsu railroad and bus company next to the Sunatsu bus depot in Kokura Kita ward. It is of course easily accessible by bus and there are lots of free concerts on the stage in the middle of the complex. "Cha" is part of the local Kitakyushu dialect, and Cha Cha Town is popular with all ages.[citation needed]

Riverwalk Kitakyushu and Kokura castle moat.

Riverwalk Kitakyushu is the newest shopping centre in Kokura. It contains many brand name shops, a Starbucks restaurant (note - there is another Starbucks near Kokura Station), the Kitakyushu studios of NHK TV, two theatres, a multiplex cinema and a branch of the Kitakyushu city art museum. It is next to the castle and to Murasaki River which runs through the centre of Kokura Kita ward.[citation needed]

The Kitakyushu Science and Research Park is home to four universities and nine research organisations. It is aiming to become a center for hi-tech research in Asia.[citation needed]

In 2009 Bridgestone Corporation opened a plant in Kitakyushu to produce large and ultralarge off-the-road radial tires for construction and mining vehicles.

Transportation

Main article: Transport in Fukuoka-Kitakyushu

Located at a strategic position on the south side of the Kanmon Straits, Kitakyushu is an important transport hub for traffic between Honshū and Kyushu and has a large port.

Rail

Kokura Station, the city's central train station, is the penultimate stop on the JR West Sanyō Shinkansen before the Fukuoka terminus and all Shinkansen services stop here. It is also served by local and express trains on JR Kyushu's Kagoshima and Nippō Main Lines. Within the city, transport is provided the Kitakyushu Monorail and buses.

Mojikō Station in Moji-ku is the northern terminus of the Kagoshima Main Line, the most important line in the JR Kyushu network.

A tram network operated by the Nishi-Nippon Railroad known as the Kitakyushu Line once operated within the city, but after dwindling passenger numbers in the 1970s the line was shut down in stages between 1980 and 2000. A railway using tram cars, the Chikuhō Electric Railroad, runs between Kurosaki and Chikuhō-Nōgata stations, serving Yahatanishi-ku and the neighboring city of Nōgata.

Air

The present Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. It is larger than the previous airport and supports 24-hour operations thanks to its location on an artificial island in the Seto Inland Sea. It will eventually be connected with Kokura Station by a new fast rail link. A new airline based in the city called StarFlyer began operations when the airport opened.

Sea

Wakato Ferry

Kitakyushu is the largest ferry port in Kyushu, Chūgoku, and Shikoku. Ferry services operate between Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kōbe, Ōsaka, Tokyo, Ulsan (Korea), Busan (Korea) and isolated islands within the city limits. The main ferry port is at Shin-Moji, but there are also ferries at Moji and near Kokura Station.

Within the Kanmon-Kitakyushu area, there are three commuter lines: the Wakato Ferry, the Kanmon Straits Ferry, and the Kanmon Straits Liner.

Roads

Expressways

The metropolitan area of Kitakyushu is covered by the Kitakyushu Expressway, which has 5 routes serving the city, totaling 53 kilometers of 4-lane expressways. Some of these expressways are elevated, especially around the city center. Route 1 serves the city center, while route 2 serves the port area. Route 3 is a short connector between routes 1 and 2, and route 4 is the longest of the Kitakyushu Expressway network, and serving most of the city from north to south. The final route 5 is a short link serving the inner port area. In addition, Kitakyushu is bypassed by the Kyushu Expressway, the main north-south route on the island of Kyushu. The new Higashikyushu Expressway begins in Kitakyushu and runs along the eastern coast of Kyushu. North of Kitakyushu, the Kyushu Expressway crosses the six-lane Kanmonkyo Bridge and turns into the Chugoku Expressway, the second longest expressway of Japan, serving western Honshu.

Bridges

Wakato Bridge

There are several bridges in Kitakyushu and between the city and other places. The largest ones are the Kanmonkyo Bridge linking Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki (on Kyushu and Honshū respectively) via the Kanmon Straits and the Wakato Bridge linking the wards of Tobata and Wakamatsu. There are smaller bridges over the Onga River on the western border of the city.

On September 30, 2005, ownership of the Wakato Bridge was transferred from Japan Highway Public Corporation to Kitakyushu; on April 1,　2006 the bridge was transferred to the control of the Kitakyushu City Road Public Corporation.

A modern city

Kitakyushu now considers itself to have the most advanced pollution control and recycling technology of any city in Japan.[citation needed] In the 1960s it saw the birth of environmental protests in Japan, led by a group of housewives in Sanroku-cho, Tobata ward who were concerned that their washing always became dirty while drying on the lines. Now Kitakyushu advises sister cities such as Dalian on water purification etc. In 1992, Kitakyushu was one of twelve world cities given a Local Government Honours Award at the United Nations Earth Summit to honour its environmental programs. Within Japan it is a leading city in anti-pollution measures and recycling with the Ecotown facility in Wakamatsu ward.

Kitakyushu is home to the West Japan Industry and Trade Convention Association, with its Kitakyushu International Conference Center and the West Japan General Exhibition Center, and is very active in holding and hosting international conferences of various kinds, especially on the environment and education. A theme park called Space World is in Yahata-Higashi ward. There is a training centre of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also.

An unfortunate reputation

Kitakyushu has suffered unfairly from an unfortunate image and reputation, both domestically and overseas, of a heavily polluted and industrial city with many smokestacks. Indeed, in the 1960s, rapid post-war development prompted the construction of many manufacturing plants which made it a major engine of the Japanese economy. As a result of this, pollution and smog associated with the factories began to pervade the city. Local people even took pride in the multi-coloured rainbows of smoke created by the reflection of sunlight on the smog. As a result, some guidebooks have described the city as "hideous" and "ugly," among other descriptions. However, this is becoming more and more outdated as, in the 1970s, the Municipality started adopting measures to decrease the pollution. Nowadays, Kitakyushu is making great efforts to show itself as an environmentally-friendly city.

Despite its past as a heavily industrialized city, Kitakyushu retains many unspoilt and beautiful areas which have never been touched by industry; this is especially true in the southern parts of the area, as it boasts some of the best sightseeing spots in Kyushu.

Sister cities

Education

Universities and colleges

National University
Public Universities
Private Universities
Junior Colleges
College of Technology

Research Institutes and graduate Schools

  • Kitakyushu Science and Research Park (北九州学術研究都市, Kitakyushu Gakujutsu Kenkyū Toshi)
    • Fukuoka University Institute for Recycling and Environmental Control Systems
    • Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology
    • Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems/Information, Production and Systems Research Center, Waseda University

Sports

Professional teams

Sporting venues

Honjo stadium.

References

  1. ^ "会社概要." StarFlyer. Retrieved on December 20, 2010. "本社 〒800-0306 福岡県北九州市小倉南区空港北町6番 北九州空港スターフライヤー本社ビル"
  2. ^ "Company Profile." StarFlyer. Retrieved on May 26, 2009. "Location Shin-Kokura Bldg.,2-2-1 Komemachi Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyusyu-shi Fukuoka 802-0003 JPN"
  3. ^ "会社概要." StarFlyer. March 24, 2008. Retrieved on December 20, 2010. "本社 〒802-0003 福岡県北九州市小倉北区米町二丁目2番1号　新小倉ビル JR小倉駅より徒歩10分."

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kitakyushu.
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