The Chikuho area once prospered from the Chikuho Coal Field, the largest coal mine in Japan. Numerous coal mine sites, including the already closed Mitsui Tagawa Coal Mine, are now tourist attractions.
Chikuho offers tourist attractions such as Shiraito Falls, Mt. Hidehiko, and Awashima Shrine; sightseeing events such as the Iizuka Yamakasa, Goshinko Festival, and Kanada Yamakasa Contest; and local delicacies such as Mizutaki, Manhattan, and Umakachan.
Chikuho is surrounded by rich nature in the mountains. The area used to be crowded with a large number of coal miners, mainly from the Chikuho Coal Field, which boasted the largest output in Japan, but in recent years it has become a bedroom community for Kitakyushu City.
The "Former Itoemon Residence," built by the mining magnate for his wife 25 years younger than him, is a large mansion with an eclectic mix of Japanese and Western styles that shows the prosperity of the time. The Kaho Theater, which preserves the kabuki style of the Edo period, offers not only kabuki performances but also concerts and movies.
Hiyoko, a famous confectionery often mistaken for a Tokyo specialty, is actually made in this area. The Hiyoko Honpo Yoshinodo Honami Factory is popular among children because it has a tour path that allows them to see the production process.
The Miyata Plant of Toyota Motor Kyushu and Misawa Factory Fukuoka, where visitors can experience the process of building a house, are also popular for factory tours, but both require advance reservations.
For art appreciation, the Nogata Tanao Art Museum, which is a Western-style building built in the early Showa period, the Tagawa City Museum of Art, which introduces local art, and the Nakamura Art Museum, which exhibits not only modern Japanese and Western-style paintings but also sculptures and inkstones.
After a day of fun and games, it is a good idea to take a refreshing dip in the Hojo Onsen hot springs. There are also several drop-in bathhouses, including Fuji no Yu no Sato, which offers a Japanese-style bath with a view of Fukuchiyama and a Scandinavian-style bath incorporating aromatherapy. Nichio no Yu" has an open-air bath and barrier-free facilities, making it safe even for those traveling with elderly family members.
Aka-mura is popular for its sightseeing trolley, and there is also a campsite "Genji-no-mori" with hot spring facilities, so outdoor enthusiasts are sure to be satisfied.
Visitors can also enjoy a variety of local B-class gourmet foods, such as "kahan rice," an omelet made with rice and eggs produced in Chikuho, "yakisoba," fried noodles made with pasta, and "curry yaki," curry-flavored meat and vegetables stuffed inside the skin of an Imagawa-yaki pancake.
From cozy old-fashioned restaurants to the "Trias," a large commercial facility the size of five Tokyo Domes, it is convenient to have a meal in a variety of situations.
Gyorakuen is a garden with a pond and a circular garden, designated by the national government as a place of scenic beauty, built in the 1470s by Sesshu, an ink painter and Zen monk active in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). It is also called Fujie-ji Fish Paradise because it is managed by the Fuji...»
The main fortress of this mountain castle is located on the top of Mt.It is said to have been built in 1158 by his vassal Kagechika Ohba at the order of Taira no Kiyomori. Although not so high in elevation, the castle was built on a mountain that was a training ground for mountain asceticism, and w...»