Kokura 小倉

Though the industrial legacy of Kokura is still dominant along the waterfront, modern Kokura has reinvented itself as the commercial, entertainment, and transportation centre of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, northern Kyushu.

The most important areas for visitors at Kokura are around Kokura Station, Kokura Castle (小倉城, Kokurajō) and the Riverwalk Complex, where the riverside has been redeveloped with new bridges, pedestrian walkways, and new restaurants and shops.

Kokura Castle (小倉城, Kokurajō), the only castle left standing in Fukuoka prefecture, which was first built in 1602 by Hosokawa Tadaoki. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1837. With parts of the castle being rebuilt in 1839.

Kokura Castle, now located in Kokura city in Kitakyushu was damaged again in the violent times leading up to the Meiji Restoration (to renovate/rebuild) in 1868, this time it is the fight between the pro-imperial forces of the Choshu clan and the Kokura clan in 1865.

Kokura Castle was rebuilt again in 1959 and the castle buildings was completely restored in 1991. The original Kokura Castle looked quite different to its modern reconstruction, with the design and details of the main keep being originally of a much simpler style. The design was changed to make the reconstruction more visually appealing.

Overshadowing Kokura Castle is the large Riverwalk Kitakyushu, a shopping and entertainment complex with a multiplex cinema, a food court and the Kitakyushu Performing Arts Centre.

There is only one shrine or temple of any note in Kokura, the Yasaka Shrine at the main entrance to the castle. Originally established in the 9th century, Kokura's Yasaka Shrine is a branch of the famous Yasaka Jinja in Gion in Kyoto and its Gion Matsuri held in July is considered one of the top three Gion matsuri in Japan.