Kanmon Strait Museum

The narrow Kanmon Strait between Honshu and Kyushu has funnelled ships, armies and history through its currents for centuries, and the Kanmon Strait Museum in Mojiko tells that story from a prime seat on the waterfront. Samurai battles, whirlpool tides and the great age of steamships all pass through its galleries.

Stories of the strait

The museum’s heart is a soaring atrium screen that brings the strait’s dramas to life, from the medieval naval battle of Dannoura, where the Heike clan met its end, to the duel between swordsmen Musashi and Kojiro on a nearby islet. Dioramas and hands on displays cover the tides, the shipping that still streams past the windows, and the engineering feats that eventually stitched the two islands together by tunnel and bridge. A recreated retro street inside captures Mojiko in its early twentieth century heyday.

Mojiko Retro on your doorstep

Step outside and you are in the Mojiko Retro district, a pocket of preserved brick and timber buildings from the port’s golden era, now filled with cafes famous for baked curry. You can even walk to Kyushu’s edge and cross beneath the strait to Shimonoseki through the pedestrian tunnel.

Getting there

Mojiko Station, itself a beautifully restored heritage building, is the terminus of a JR Kagoshima Line spur about fifteen minutes from Kokura, which is a stop on the Sanyo Shinkansen. The museum is a short walk from the station along the waterfront.

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