Kokura

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The gateway of Kyushu, Kokura station and the area around it is the largest busy district in Kitakyushu city. Kitakyushu city also has an airport and it has been an important point for a traffic that connects Kyushu and Honshu. In the Edo period, it flourished as a castle town of “Kokura Castle” which was built around the 13th century, and is now the symbol of Kokura. The beautiful Kokura garden is also well known. There are various interesting sightseeing spots in this suburban city including a Natural Monument “Hiraodai,” one of the three biggest Karst plateaus in Japan, and a large race course for horses, Kokura Race Course. In addition, the night view is also great here.

Symbol of Kokura: Kokura Castle

The most famous sightseeing spot in Kitakyushu, Kokura Castle was built around the 13th century. Its castle tower is built in a rare architectural style called “Karazukuri” in which the fifth floor of the tower is bigger than the fourth floor. It has a great view of cherry blossoms in spring and gathers a lot of people every year.

Hiraodai, a spacious plateau

Hiraodai is one of Japan’s three biggest Karst plateaus which is designated as a Natural Monument. It is an extensive ground that is covered with a lot of limestone rocks. You will see the scene called “Yogunbaru (sheep meadow)” where white limestone rocks scattered around and look like a flock of sheep. There are a number of limestone caves too.

Fantastic Limestone Caves: Senbutsu Limestone Cave

It is a large limestone cave located in the east of Hiraodai. The thousands of meters long cave has been formed by rain water in the Karst plateau through tens of millions of years. Visitors change their shoes to rubber boots after walking about 500 meters from the entrance and walk in a stream from there on. This limestone cave is popular among tourists for they can feel like an explorer.