Seeing Kokura Castle and Castle Park was at the top of my list in Kitakyushu.
It was finally a gorgeous, sunny day as we docked in Mojiko and took a short ride to the Castle Park. The park was small and the cherry trees late – so it was very disappointing. Seeing the castle, built in 1602 was interesting and had nice exhibits focused on Samuri culture and life in a castle town. Good news, we did not have to take off our shoes here and there was an elevator for those who needed one. The top floor, fifth, had a coffee shop – from the information in the brochure, on Saturday nights it becomes a “stylish bar” called Kokura Night Castle. Interesting.
Extra good news, there was a man performing a show with his monkey outside the castle entrance that was pretty interesting and unusual. There was also a woman walking her goat . . .
From the harbor area, we walked over to the Akama Jingu Shrine – one of the most dramatic I’ve seen. It’s dedicated to Emperor Antoku who died in the Battle of Dannoura in 1185, at age six.
The waterfront was scenic and had a nice promenade. It was nice to just hang out in the sunshine and fresh air.
I think I might have seen enough castles and shrines.
