Summary of major buildings in the Mojiko Retro District from the era when it flourished due to foreign trade

Mojiko Retro is a sightseeing area that blends old and new buildings by utilizing buildings from the period when the area around JR Mojiko Station in Moji-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture prospered from foreign trade (late 19th to early 20th century) while developing hotels and commercial facilities with a Taisho Retro style. By the way, Taisho Roman is a culture that flourished during the Taisho era (1912-1926), a mixture of Japanese and Western styles. The following is an explanation of the major buildings in the Mojiko Retro District. These buildings are located within a 10-minute walk from JR Mojiko Station. An overview of Mojiko (Moji Port) is explained in the “Mojiko” section.

JR Mojiko Station

JR Mojiko Station is a two-story wooden station building built in 1914 (Taisho 3), designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1988, the first station building in Japan. Inside the station building, there is a bronze hand basin (Chozubachi) that has been there since the station’s establishment and was spared from metal offerings during the war, a tourist information center with an upscale atmosphere using the former first and second-class waiting rooms, a Starbucks coffee chain using the former third-class waiting room, and a “Zero Mile” monument that marks the starting point of the Kagoshima Main Line. More details are explained in the “Mojiko Station” section.

former Moji Mitsui Club

The former Moji Mitsui Club was built in 1921 (Taisho 10) as a guest house for Mitsui & Co. and was owned by the former Japanese National Railways after the war. With the privatization of the former Japanese National Railways, the former Moji Mitsui Club was transferred to Kitakyushu City free of charge; it was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1990 and moved from the mountainous district to the Mojiko Retro District in 1994. The former Mojiko Mitsui Club was a two-story wooden structure, and Dr. Einstein stayed there in 1922 (Taisho 11). The guest rooms have been preserved as they were and are displayed as the Einstein Memorial Room. On the first floor is the Mitsui Club restaurant, which serves Mojiko‘s local delicacies such as Yaki curry and Fugu (blowfish) Kaiseki cuisine.

Dalian Friendship Memorial

Until the first half of the 20th century (1945), there was an important shipping route for continental trade between Moji Port and Dalian, so Kitakyushu City and Dalian City, China have active exchanges, and the two cities became friendship cities in 1979. In 1995, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the friendship city agreement, the Dalian Friendship Memorial was built as a replica of the German-style building built by the Russian Empire in Dalian in 1902 (Meiji 25) as a symbol of friendship. The first floor is a Chinese restaurant, Dalian Akashia, and the second and third floors are tourist facilities with a social space and an introduction corner about Dalian City. In 1996, a replica of the same building was also constructed on the remains in Dalian as the Dalian Art Exhibition Hall. By the way, Dalian has long been called the “the acacia capital of the east”, and the acacia flowers bloom all at once every May.

The model for the Dalian Friendship Memorial is the former Eastern Qing Railway Steamship office building in Dalian. In 1898 (Meiji 22), in return for the Russian Empire preventing Japan from occupying the Liaodong Peninsula through the Triple Intervention, the Russian Empire obtained from the Qing Dynasty the lease of Liaodong Peninsula’s Lushun and Dalian and had the Eastern Qing Railway, established by the Russian Empire, develop the railroad line. Eastern Qing Railway Steamship is its subsidiary. After the Russo-Japanese War (1905), when Lushun and Dalian were transferred to Japan as leased land, the former Eastern Qing Railway Steamship office during the Japanese colonial period was used as a library. The Dalian Friendship Memorial was also a library when it first opened. The Dalian Friendship Memorial, with its beautiful contrast between the brown bricks and the white stones, and impressive triangular roof spire, is a popular spot for commemorative photos.

Kyushu Railway Memorial Museum

In 1888 (Meiji 21), the Kyushu Railway Company was established as Kyushu’s first railway company. The Kyushu Railway History Museum is a two-story brick building built in 1891 (Meiji 24) as the head office building of the Kyushu Railway Company, measuring 62 meters from east to west and 12 meters from north to south. In preparation for its opening as a railway history museum in 2003, large-scale renovations were carried out, including replacing the roof with metal sheets and building a steel frame inside, but the brick walls remained the same as when they were first built. This is a valuable building that conveys the technology of brick structures from the Meiji era. It is registered as a national tangible cultural property. Details are explained in the “Kyushu Railway Memorial Museum” section.

former O.S.K.Line Building

The former O.S.K.Line Building was built in 1917 (Taisho 6)as the Moji branch of Osaka Shosen Kaisha. This is a two-story wooden Western-style building with an impressive octagonal tower and exterior that harmonizes with orange tiles and white stone bands. At the time of its construction, during the Taisho era (1912-1926), Osaka Shosen Kaisha was the 8th largest shipping company in the world. At this time, Moji Port had 60 passenger ships sailing to Taiwan, China, India, and Europe in one month, so the first floor of the former O.S.K.Line Building was used as a waiting room for passenger ships on foreign routes and was crowded with passengers. The building was used until 1991, when it was purchased by Kitakyushu City and registered as a national registered tangible cultural property in 1999.

Currently, on the first floor there is a gallery of Mr. Seizou Watase, a famous illustrator from Kitakyushu City.

former Moji Customs House

In 1889 (Meiji 32), Moji Port was designated as the country’s special export port for coal, sulfur, rice, wheat, and flour, so Moji Customs was initially established as a branch office of Nagasaki Customs. In 1901 (Meiji 34), the transaction value of Moji Port exceeded that of Nagasaki Port, and it developed as one of Japan’s leading trading ports, ranking fourth in the country after Osaka Port, so in 1909 (Meiji 42), Moji Customs became independent from Nagasaki Customs and was established as Japan’s seventh customs. The former Moji Customs House is a two-story brick building with a tile roof. It was built in 1912 (Meiji 45) as the second generation building of the Moji Customs House, which was destroyed in a fire. It was used as a Customs building until the third-generation building was completed on the west coast in the early Showa era (1927), after which it was sold to the private sector and used as an office building. After the war (1945), it was used as a warehouse, but since it was a fine brick building from the Meiji era (1868-1912), Kitakyushu City purchased it with the aim of revitalizing the Mojiko area and promoting tourism. Restoration work was also carried out inside the building. The first floor has a spacious entrance hall with an atrium, a cafe, and a permanent exhibition room for Moji Customs, which is used as a place for residents and tourists to relax.

Moji Telecommunications Museum

The Moji Telecommunications Museum was built in 1924 (Taisho 13) as the Telephone Division building of the Moji Post Office of the Ministry of Communications, and was used as the Moji Telegraph Telephone Office and NTT West Japan Moji Office. The first three-story reinforced concrete building in Moji, it has a distinctive exterior with a combination of parabolic arches and vertical lines, and is sturdy enough to house a large number of heavy telephone exchanges. Currently, it is not used as a business office, but NTT West cooperates with Kitakyushu City’s Mojiko Retro Project to preserve the building and open it to the public free of charge as a museum exhibiting the evolution of telephones and exchanges. Inside the museum, you’ll find nostalgic telegraph and telephone equipment from the Taisho to Showa eras, including Morse telegraph equipment that was used from 1871 (Meiji 4), as well as a corner exhibiting the history of public telephones and mobile phones. You can also experience a “manual switchboard” from the days when telephone operators connected telephones, experience a rotary dial telephone, and experience the Morse code by striking a real electric key.

former Dalian Sea Route Warehouse

The former Dalian Sea Route Warehouse was built in 1929 as the Moji Customs No. 1 Shed, and its exterior is decorated a design with geometric patterns in the Art Deco style, which was very popular at the time. Inside the building, in addition to displaying maritime materials such as ports and passenger ships, there is also an exhibition room called Matsunaga Bunko, which collects nostalgic movies and entertainment materials. Incidentally, the building’s name comes from the fact that Moji Customs No. 1 Shed was an international terminal at the time, with about 40 shipping routes connecting to Dalian and Europe, etc. The Dalian route was particularly frequent, and thus the building was called the “Dalian Sea Route Warehouse.”

By the way, Moji Port developed around the No. 1 Funadamari (berth), where the old Moji Customs House was located, but as that facility became too small, a new wharf was built on the west coast in 1932 (Showa 7). Along with this, Moji Customs moved from the No. 1 Funadamari to the west coast, and a new five-story reinforced concrete building was completed in 1927 (Showa 2), and then in 1929 (Showa 4), the Moji Customs No. 1 Shed was completed for temporary storage of import/export cargo, cargo handling, and customs procedures. Moji Customs No. 1 Shed consists of a two-story passenger terminal and a one-story warehouse. The mooring post remains on the site of the Shed, but at the time, the quay on the west coast of Moji Port was right in front of the Shed, and ships could dock at the Shed. Passengers completed Departure inspections such as baggage inspection on the first floor and waited for the ship to depart on the second floor.

Later, as the volume of transactions increased, another Shed was added in 1938 (Showa 13). The continental sea route was booming, but it was cut off with the end of the war (1945). When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Shed was requisitioned by the US military and returned in 1972. After its return, it was used as a temporary building for Moji Customs and public warehouse until 2008. In recent years, it had become noticeably dilapidated, so as part of the Moji Port Retro Project, Kitakyushu City purchased it and decided to reuse it as a tourist facility, and after restoration work, opened it to the public as the “Former Dalian Sea Route Warehouse” in 2013.

Access to the Mojiko Retro District

It takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes from Haneda Airport (Tokyo) to Kitakyushu Airport. About 35 minutes by Nishitetsu bus from Kitakyushu Airport to JR Kokura Station.

It takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes by Shinkansen from JR Shin-Osaka Station (Osaka) to JR Kokura Station.

From JR Kokura Station, take the Kagoshima Main Line (bound for Mojiko Station) for about 15 minutes and get off at JR Mojiko Station.