Moji
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Moji

Moji

Kyushu port district on the Kanmon Strait, known for preserved Meiji and Taisho brick buildings.

Moji is where Kyushu begins — or ends, depending on which way you're crossing. The Kanmon Strait is narrow here, just a few hundred metres between Kyushu and Honshu, bridged above and tunnelled below.

The main draw is Mojiko Retro, the old port district preserved with its Meiji and Taisho-era brick buildings largely intact. It's genuinely atmospheric: outdoor cafes around the harbour, the chateau-like Mojiko Station, the Blue Wing Moji drawbridge that rises six times a day, and the old Mitsui Club marking where Einstein stopped during his 1922 visit to Japan. The architecture here is a reminder that Moji was once a significant port, handling coal exports that fuelled Japan's industrial rise.

From Mojiko, a short ferry crosses to Shimonoseki on the Honshu side — or, more memorably, the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel lets you walk under the strait. Go for the fugu — blowfish — which Shimonoseki considers its speciality and serves in every form imaginable.

Guide

Eating Out

Moji's signature dish is yaki curry — Japanese curry rice topped with cheese and egg and baked in a small ceramic dish until the top browns. A dozen restaurants around Mojiko Retro serve it; Pre Mier and Berriini are reliable standbys. Expect to queue at weekends.

Fresh fugu (blowfish), the celebrated dish of Shimonoseki just across the strait, also appears on local menus in winter — the season runs October to March. Kaikyo Plaza at the harbour has several seafood restaurants worth trying.

For a quick lunch, the food court inside Kaikyo Plaza covers udon, ramen, and bento at modest prices.

Guide

Getting There

Moji's main station is Mojiko Station at the very tip of the Mojiko Retro district. From Kokura — the main rail hub for Kitakyushu — the JR Kagoshima Main Line runs to Moji in around 15 minutes. From Hakata (central Fukuoka) it's about an hour with one change at Kokura.

The Kanmon ferry runs every twenty minutes between Mojiko and Karato pier in Shimonoseki on Honshu — a five-minute crossing, fun in itself. There is also the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel for the determined walker.

Guide

Things to Do

Moji is mostly seen through the lens of Mojiko Retro — the historic port district preserved as a low-key open-air museum of Meiji and Taisho-era architecture. Add the ferry crossing to Shimonoseki on Honshu, the Kanmon Strait walk under the sea, and a couple of meals of local yaki curry, and you have a satisfying day trip from Kokura or Hakata.