Hotels in Kitakyushu, Japan

A little about Kitakyushu...

Kitakyūshū is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai. Within Japan it is the leading city in anti-pollution measures and recycling.

Kitakyūshū has a population of just under one million. Together with Shimonoseki on Honshū the city is the major part of the Kanmon Straits area which has a total population of about 1.5 million (Bureau of Statistics definition), statistics vary see below, and Kokura station in Kitakyūshū is 20 minutes by shinkansen from the largest city in Kyūshū, Fukuoka which has a population of about 1.4 million, or 2.6 million in the Greater Fukuoka urban area.

The New Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. Kokura Station is Kyūshū's second largest railway station, with 120,000 users daily.

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.

Scenic Areas: Hiraodai karst plateau and Mount Adachi in Kokura Minami ward; and Mount Sarakura, and Kawachi reservoir in Yahata Higashi ward are all great walking areas with fine scenery.

Hiraodai includes the Shonyudo cave, where in summer you can walk for about one kilometre in freezing cold water.

The major department stores in Kokura Kita ward are Kitakyūshū-based Izutsuya by the Murasaki river and Isetan, in front of the South exit of Kokura Station in the former Sogo department store building.

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 Kitakyūshū dialect, and Cha Cha Town is popular with all ages.

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 Kitakyūshū 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.

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