From JR Mojiko Station, walk down the brightly lit, open boulevard with a view of the sea to your right, and you will see a glass-walled building that looks like a giant spaceship. This is the Kanmon Straits Museum.
The Kanmon Straits lie between the northern tip of Kyushu (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture) and the western tip of Honshu (Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). The straits connect two seas: the Sea of Japan and Hibikinada (open sea) to the west and the Seto Inland Sea and Suonada (inland sea) to the east.

The geography and nature of this meeting of Honshu and Kyushu, and of the Sea of Japan and the Seto Inland Sea, have made Moji a strategic point for sea and land transportation throughout history. This history has nurtured the diverse and complex cultures of not only Mojiko, but also of Japan and East Asia from ancient times to the present.
The concept of this museum is “an interactive museum where visitors can enjoy the entire Kanmon Straits” with all five senses, from exhibits, video, music, and food and beverages, to learning about the history, culture, and nature of the straits.

Upon entering the museum, visitors can take the elevator up to the observation deck on the 5th floor, where they can enjoy a panoramic view of the Straits.
Visitors can enjoy learning about the nature, history, and culture of the Kanmon Straits using the latest technology as they descend in a gentle spiral through the interior of the atrium to the fourth floor.
The indoor recreation of a townscape from the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras gives visitors the feeling of time-traveling back to Mojiko, which prospered as an international trading port.
Cute streetcars stop at “Kaikyo Retro Street” on the first and second floors, and you can hear the voices of banana sellers as you pass through the reproduced architecture. You will be able to imagine how people lived and felt in those days as the city is enveloped in a realistic atmosphere with the changing colors of the blue sky on the ceiling and the deep shadows of the evening and night skies.

Exhibits in the paid area are available in multiple languages (Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese). Visitors can also enjoy interactive exhibits with all five senses, including video and music.
The museum is also equipped with a play space “Kaikyo Children’s Square,” rest and nursing rooms, multipurpose restrooms, AED, and wheelchairs (available for rent), as well as parking for 180 standard-sized cars and 20 large buses, and coin lockers, making the Kanmon Kaikyo Museum a good base for sightseeing in Kitakyushu, including Mojiko Retro and other facilities.
With the Kanmon Kaikyo Museum as your base, we hope you will enjoy your visit to Kitakyushu to the fullest.

It takes about 1 hour from Hakata Station to Mojiko Station by train. About 10 minutes on foot from Mojiko Station.
From Kitakyushu Airport, take the Kitakyushu Airport Bus for a little over 30 minutes.

– Basic Information-

Kanmon Kaikyo Museum
Location: 1-3-3 Nishikaigan, Moji-ku, Mojiko, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka (9 min. walk from JR Mojiko Station)
phone number: 093-331-6700
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
Closed: 6 times a year for irregular holidays [Tuesday, March 5, 2024; Tuesday, June 11, 2024; Tuesday, September 10, 2024; Tuesday, November 12, 2024; Tuesday, January 14, 2025; Tuesday, March 11, 2025].
https://mojiko-retoro9.jp/spot/kanmon_kaikyo_museum/
https://www.kanmon-kaikyo-museum.jp/