We recently visited the waterfront town of Mojiko as part of our exploration of Japan’s fourth main island of Kyushu. We really didn’t know what to expect as we’d intended to stay in the much larger city of Fukuoka where Josephine’s father was born. However, after looking at a few photos of Mojiko, it piqued our interest, and we are glad we visited!
Mojiko is a small town with a big history sitting on the Kanmon Strait looking over at the main home island of Honshu. The Kanmon Strait is a vital shipping lane as it connects the Sea of Japan to the west and the Seto Inland Sea (and the Pacific) to the east. As a result, there is a nonstop parade of ships of all sizes coming and going right in front of the town’s waterfront.
The town is often called “Mojiko Retro” due to its revitalization and early turn of the century (that’s the 20th or last century) architecture which includes numerous preserved buildings of western style including former customs houses, bank buildings, government offices, etc. These are all situated around a small inner harbor which has a drawbridge allowing the small tour boats to come and go from the waterfront shops out over the water to the city of Shimonoseki on Honshu. You can stroll along the waterfront and stop for a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants or make purchases at the various stores.
There is a large plaza where we encountered an enormous gathering of dog lovers called “Me and My Dog”. It was a blast! The Japanese certainly love their dogs. We’ve never seen so many dogs in strollers and dogs dressed up so nicely. Photos were being taken every which way. There was a stage with music and numerous food trucks, creating a festive atmosphere. No loud barking. These dogs were well behaved. Most surprisingly, we didn’t see any “evidence” on the ground, if you know what I mean.
A short walk from the waterfront is the Kanmon Strait Museum which is an incredibly high quality four story museum showcasing the history of the strait and its geology. In the other direction is the Kanmon Strait Bridge which is a large suspension bridge, but most folks are unaware that nearly 200′ underground and under the water is a pedestrian tunnel allowing you to walk from one the Kyushu side to the Honshu side. When we made it to the surface on the Honshu side, we then took the Hinoyama Cable Car to the top of Hinoyama Mountain which gave us a sweeping view of the strait and island beyond.
One of the nicest things about our visit was that during our four days there, we saw fewer than five western tourists. Contrast that to Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka which are overrun. So if you want to experience a different side of Japan, you should definitely plan a visit to Mojiko!
