KITAKYUSHU -- Many modern architectural structures can be seen in the Mojiko Retro District around Moji Port in Kitakyushu. Moji Port, which faces the Kanmon Strait, was originally designated as a special port for the export of products, mainly coal, in the middle of the Meiji era (1868-1912), and it has since been established as an international trading port.
The opening of the Kyushu Railway made the district around the port a key area for both sea and ground traffic, thus trading companies and banks opened offices there one after another.
The Mojiko Retro District offers a glimpse into the ambience of the past.
The current building of Mojiko Station was completed in 1914. In spring last year, restoration work that lasted about 6-1/2 years ended, and the building fully reopened.
The building is one of only three train stations in the nation designated as national cultural assets. Of the three, only Tokyo Station and Mojiko Station are still in service.
Train stations nationwide were once categorized into five ranks according to factors such as their scale. Mojiko Station, located in a key area of traffic, was in the highest rank.
The building was designed by the engineering division of the management bureau of Kyushu Railway Tetsudo-in, a governmental authority that controlled the nation's railways at the time.
Its exterior walls appear to be stone-made and it is said that the central part of the station building was designed with the image of a gate in mind.
Keiichiro Takagi, 39, an official of the equipment division of Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu), said, "The double-height tower structures, the symmetric shape and decorations on the roof are standard designs of a first-rank train station."
I got together with Masako Uchiyama, 79, who is a member of Moji Kyodo-kai, an association of local residents dedicated to preserving cultural assets in the district near Mojiko Station.
Before the restoration, Mikado Shokudo, a high-end restaurant that served yoshoku Western-style dishes had been in service in the station until 1981. Uchiyama's father was once a chef in the restaurant.
She recalled those years, saying, "The curry my father cooked was so spicy and the ice cream had a distinctive granular texture, and a rich vanilla aroma that I can still vividly remember."
On the second floor of the restored station building, Mikado Shokudo was also reopened.
Uchiyama and I strolled around Moji Port.
The Former O.S.K. Line Building, completed in 1917, looks beautiful from the outside with its orange tiles and white belt-like areas made from stone. Also, its octagonal tower was once used as a lighthouse.
The Former Moji Mitsui Club building next to that is also an important cultural asset. The building was completed in 1921 as a facility to serve and accommodate guests of the trading company.
The Former Dalian Sea Route Warehouse was built in 1929 as a passenger terminal building for international shipping routes. Before areas around it were reclaimed, the building stood along a quay.
Its former deck on the second floor, through which passengers boarded ships, is about 130 meters long.
In the Mojiko Banana Data Room inside the Kanmon Strait Museum, I learned the history of tataki-uri -- selling bananas and other goods using comical sales pitches. Because Moji Port was a place where ships carrying bananas made port calls, it is believed to be the birthplace of tataki-uri.
While heading back to Mojiko Station along the seashore, a monument for soldiers who sailed through Mojiko comes into view. During World War II, more than 2 million soldiers departed to the battlefield from quays around the monument. It is said that half of them were unable to return.
Uchiyama told me, "There is history that we must not forget in Moji Port," and I'm sure her words are something that I'll always remember.
Baked curry with seafood
The Yaki Curry Map, issued by Mojiko Gurume-kai, a local group promoting the district's gourmet attractions, introduces 20 eating establishments in the district that serve ingenious and creative dishes.
It is said that yaki curry -- baked curry dishes -- was invented in a coffee shop near Moji Port in the third decade of the Showa era, between 1955 and 1964. Leftover curry was baked in an oven in the same way one would cook gratin, and the dish was found to be delicious. So much so that the cuisine was later served to customers.
Today's yaki curry generally consists of rice topped with curry roux, cheese, egg and more. Many restaurants serve yaki curry to customers who wait in long lines just to try it.
A popular dish at Curry-Honpo Mojiko Retro-ten restaurant is yaki curry with seafood. A regular-size serving is priced at 1,200 yen. The umami of shrimp, scallops and squid blends well with the rice, allowing customers to enjoy a variety of flavors.
Taisei Murayama, 63, an official of the restaurant's management company, said, "We want to make Mojiko district more popular as the town of yaki curry."
Access: About a 1-hour 50-minute flight from Haneda Airport to Kitakyushu Airport. From the airport, about a 40-minute bus ride to Kokura Station. From the station, a nearly 15-minute train ride on the Kagoshima Line to reach Mojiko Station. For more information, call the Mojiko Retro General Information at (093) 321-4151.
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