Mojiko Retro

Moji was opened as a trading port in 1889 and boomed on coal, and the buildings from that period survive in a cluster by the water: the 1914 station, a wooden two-storey structure in Western style that is the only railway station in Japan designated an important cultural property, the former customs house of 1912, the Mitsui club of 1921 where Einstein stayed, and a shipping company office. They were restored and grouped as a district from the 1990s. Moji is at the narrowest point of the Kanmon Strait, seven hundred metres from Honshu, crossed by a bridge, a road tunnel and a pedestrian tunnel you can walk under the sea in about fifteen minutes. Bananas were landed here in bulk from Taiwan and the auction patter of the sellers - banana no tatakiuri - became a local tradition, still performed. Yaki curry, curry rice baked with cheese and egg, is the local dish.

What's there

• A 1914 wooden station - the only railway station designated an important cultural property.
• Meiji and Taisho offices - customs house, shipping office and club, restored as a district.
• A walkable undersea tunnel - a pedestrian crossing to Honshu in about fifteen minutes.
• Banana auction patter - the seller's chant from the fruit trade, still performed.

When to go

All year; evenings for the lit buildings and the strait. Half a day.

Before you go

The district is small and can be walked in an hour. Interiors of several buildings are museums with modest displays. Weekends are busy with day trippers. The pedestrian tunnel is functional rather than scenic.

Nearby

Shimonoseki is across the strait; Kokura and its castle are south.