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Kitakyūshū (北九州市, Kitakyūshū-shi?, literally "Northern Kyūshū") is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai. Within Japan it is a leading city in anti-pollution measures and recycling with the Ecotown facility in Wakamatsu ward.
Kitakyūshū has a population of just under one million. Together with Shimonoseki on Honshū the city is the major part of the Kanmon Straits area (北九州都市圏, 関門都市圏) which has a total population of about 1.5 million (Bureau of Statistics definition). Kokura Station in Kitakyūshū is 20 minutes by shinkansen from the largest city in Kyūshū, Fukuoka which has a population of about 1.4 million, or 2.6 million in the Greater Fukuoka urban area (福岡都市圏). Kokura Station is Kyūshū's second largest railway station after Hakata station, with about 120,000 users daily. The New Kitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006 and has stimulated the local economy through tourism and business trips. |
