thumb|Location of Kokurakita-ku in Kitakyūshū

thumb|Kokurakita-ku Ward Office

is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the north part of what used to be Kokura City before the merger of five cities to create the new city of Kitakyūshū in 1963. JR Kyūshū's Kokura Station is the main rail hub of Kitakyūshū, and the Sanyō Shinkansen stops there.

It has a population of 184,545 persons as of the 2000 national census and an area of 39.27&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

Industry & Commerce

The largest commercial and shopping areas of Kitakyūshū, mainly in Uomachi (魚町 "fish town"), are clustered around Kokura Station.

The two main department stores are Colet (next to Kokura Station) and Izutsuya (next to the Murasaki River and opposite Riverwalk Kitakyūshū). The Tanga Market is a traditional open-air market where fresh fish, meat and vegetables are the main produce for sale.

thumb|The Shin Kokura Building in Kokurakita-ku formerly housed the [[StarFlyer headquarters]]

Headquarters of companies include

  • TOTO Ltd. - south of Riverwalk
  • Zenrin - in Riverwalk
  • Asahi Shimbun (West area) - in Riverwalk
  • The head office of StarFlyer Inc. was in the Shin Kokura Building in Kome-machi. In 2010 the airline announced that the headquarters will move to Kitakyushu Airport.

Tourism

Kokura Castle (built by the Hosokawa family in 1602) and the Riverwalk Kitakyūshū shopping complex (completed in 2003) are about a ten-minute walk from JR Kokura Station. So also is the house once inhabited by Mori Ōgai when he was a doctor to the Kokura garrison and wrote Kokura Nikki ("Kokura Diary").

The Kitakyūshū Monorail terminus is in Kokura Station and serves the commuters and residents living in Kokurakita and Kokuraminami Wards.

Crime and safety

The Kudo-kai yakuza syndicate is headquartered in Kokurakita. A designated yakuza group, the Kudo-kai is the largest yakuza syndicate in the Kitakyushu area.

Education

The ward has a North Korean kindergarten, Kokura Korean Kindergarten (小倉朝鮮幼稚園).

<gallery>

File:Riverwalk Kitakyushu.jpg|Riverwalk Kitakyūshū and Kokura Castle moat

File:Tokiwa bashi.JPG|Tokiwabashi

File:Kokura station.jpg|Kokura Station

File:Kokurakita Police Ofice.JPG|Kokura-kita Police Station

File:Isetan department store Kokura.jpg|COLET(former Kokura Isetan)

File:Kokura castle sakura.JPG|Cherry blossoms (sakura) and the keep of Kokura Castle, March 2002

File:140721 Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum Kitakyushu Japan01bs3.jpg|Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum

File:Mori Ogai house Kokura.jpg|Mori Ōgai house

File:Zenrin-Asahi building.JPG|Zenrin head office

File:Kokura Gion daiko.jpg|Kokura Gion Daiko statue at Kokura Station

File:Fukuju-ji - Buddha Hall.jpg|Fukuju-ji, an Ōbaku Zen temple

File:Tanga Ichiba.JPG|Tanga Market

</gallery>

See also

  • Kokura Prefecture

References

  • Kokura Kita Ward Office - official site in Japanese
  • Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum - near Kokura castle
  • Riverwalk Kitakyushu (Japanese)
  • Uomachi Shopping Arcade (Japanese, some English)