Postcard from - Kokura, Fukuoka

I took the opportunity to jump off the shinkansen a stop early (I was heading to Hakata for work) and take a walk around Kokura Castle. It was not hard to find, only 10 minutes from the (very new) station.

I was very surprised to see loads & loads of cyclists around the entrance to the castle - they'd just finished stage one of the Tour de Kyushu, with media interviews and team selfies & groupies everywhere...I didn't recognise anyone! Probably impossible to get a room in town tonight - glad I didn't need to. The approach across the Riverwalk is enticing.

The castle itself is a rebuild, but on the original site of the castle first erected between 1602-8. It's been burnt down a couple of times, and was finally fully restored in 1990. Like most other castle sites, it was a military base in the first half of the 20th century; an important location at the neck of northern kyushu and the channel into the Seto Sea/Sea of Japan, and all points west to Korea. If the weather had been different on August 9th, 1945, Kokura would have been ground zero instead of Nagasaki.

There are historical artifacts & storylines inside the keep - as well as a lift & most disappointingly of all, a fancy cafe occupying the whole top floor. Nice views in all directions, and comfortable to sit & catch your breath with an expensive desinger coffee & pastry.

The gardens don't add up to much, but the shrines on the north side offer shade & loads of vending machines which don't help the vibe, as well as a view of the walls where the moat once was.

All-in-all, an attractive centrepiece, but not much context .