Travel Notes | The blue sky and sea of Mojiko

During the National Day holiday in 2015, I went to northern Kyushu alone. When I came back, I wrote a travel diary about Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki and Kokura, but I didn’t mention my favorite Moji Port during this trip. Now I can’t see myself going there again. I don’t know when, so I found the crappy photos I took at that time to reminisce.

When you get off the train, you will see the clear blue sky and the deep sea.

There are many restaurants opened on the beach. Let’s have lunch first.

There is a Kyushu Railway Memorial Hall just a few steps away.

After all these years, I still remember how fun it was inside

The train model lists all Kyushu-limited trains!

Press the switch and each train will make a circle

An old train is on display, and the carriage can still be entered.

Now that I think about it, I could have made Internet celebrity-style soap films back then.

"Moji Port is located at the northernmost tip of Kyushu, Japan. It is an important port in Kitakyushu near the Kanmon Strait. From the Meiji to the Taisho period, it was a prosperous international trade port in Japan, connecting Japan's main state with Europe, China and the Kyushu region. The port opened in 1889 Later, many foreign shipping companies and trading companies built many Western-style buildings in the port. Now the local government has fully protected and utilized these old buildings and designated the Moji Port Nostalgic Area for tourists to visit.”

What is particularly eye-catching about the port is the tall building on the right side of the picture above.

The 31-story "Hometown Apartment" built in 1999

There is an observation deck on the top of the building, which costs 300 yen, but I didn’t go up.

It can be seen that there are many other fun places

In 1909, Moji Customs was established.

The brick-red building at the foot of the tall building is the old customs house built in 1912.

(Thanks to a blog called Gu Meibingzi~~I forgot about it)

Orange building built in 1917

Formerly the Moji branch of the old Osaka Merchant Ship

The old Moji Mitsui Club built in 1921

This is where Mitsui & Co., Ltd. receives distinguished guests.

Received Einstein and his wife in 1922

You can enter this building

I didn’t take any photos and completely forgot what it looked like inside😓

These two bananas seem to be a specialty of Mojiko

Looks like a real person at first glance

The beautiful building below was built to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of sister cities between Kitakyushu City and Dalian City. It was built after the Russian-style building "Dongqing Railway Company Office Building" preserved in Dalian City. . There is also Mr. Bo's inscription at the door, hmm. I think of the last time I went to Chongqing and met a taxi driver who talked endlessly about his memory of Mr. Bo. It made me burst into tears. Alas.

The building is very comfortable. I remember that I could sit down and order food and drinks.

The second floor is a library that collects Chinese and East Asian documents.

After wandering around the old building nostalgia area, the real highlight of Moji Port is: I didn’t know which guide I saw before coming here. You can rent bicycles to roam along the seaside, cross the bridge, and go to Shimonoseki on the other side. So I found a bicycle rental shop, and waited for a long time before someone came. His attitude was not very good. Maybe because of the language barrier, the other person was a little impatient. He didn't introduce me to the cycling route, and he didn't have a paper map. He pointed to the bicycles parked outside and asked me to choose one. I rented an electric bicycle for 1,000 yen (it only costs 500 yen if you don’t want to use it and ride it hard, but please look up at the cable-stayed suspension bridge), with no time limit. The so-called electric bicycles are not bulky. There is a button on the left hand side. After starting, the power is applied, so that you can easily go uphill and shoot commercials. Later, every time I rode a shared bicycle up and down the bridge in China, I missed electric bicycles so much!

This road seems to be several kilometers long

The warm sunshine of early October shines on me

The sea breeze can blow away all the chores

Occasionally stop and look into the distance

Eyes full of blue sky and sea

Everything is so leisurely and comfortable

In addition to cars, Kanmon Bridge also has tunnels for pedestrians and bicycles.

Follow the signs to the entrance and there will be a pay box

I forgot how much it cost, but adding a bicycle is probably only a few RMB.

Coin operation, the bicycle must be dismounted to proceed

It all depends on consciousness

Looking at Moji Port on the other side

Crossing the bridge has another meaning for me

I had never been to Honshu, Japan at that time

I have never been to Tokyo, Osaka, my trip to Japan

Went to Okinawa and Hokkaido first, then Kyushu

That was my first time setting foot in Honshu, Japan.

When I came to Xiaguan, there was one place I had to go to. I was able to find it easily by riding a bicycle. That was the place where Li Hongzhang negotiated and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Japan uses a "peace conference". In fact, it is For the Chinese, the Japanese built a small guild hall in a place that represents national humiliation. I have forgotten the content of the exhibition. There is a room that has restored the conference room at that time.

There were two things that particularly impressed me there. First, there was a group of middle school students from Northeast China at the main entrance of the memorial hall. They pulled up a banner, took a group photo, and shouted "Don't forget the national humiliation" while taking the photo. This made me feel special. Embarrassing, because this national humiliation is really so shameful that people can’t even shout out, not to mention that this is not their own territory. Other visiting Ito Hirobumi looked at this group of noisy children with surprised eyes, unable to understand the children’s shouting. What, I covered my face and ran as fast as Li Zhongtang.

Second, there is a small road behind the memorial hall. I parked my bicycle on the side of the road, locked it, and walked along "Li Hongzhang Road." This road is where Li Hongzhang was shot. For the specific story, please go to Baidu. What impressed me deeply was not the history, but that the small slope that slowly went up the mountain was particularly beautiful. It was narrow enough for only two or three people to pass. The road was spotless. There were small residential buildings on both sides, and beautiful plants were planted in front of the windows and doors. The flowers and green plants are flourishing in the sunshine, exuding a strong warmth of home. In my ears are the crisp chirping of birds and the sound of waves of the sea in the distance. As I walk, I feel the national humiliation and disgrace. .

I walked down the mountain from the memorial hall and rode around. There were obviously more people here than in Mojiko opposite, and the streets were lively, but I didn’t dare to ride too far because I had to go back and cross the bridge. On the way back, I suddenly saw the pier. You can take a boat back to Mojiko. It is a commuter ferry. It leaves every half an hour. You can bring bicycles. The place where you can buy tickets is an automatic coin machine. I happily bought one. The ticket costs about 700 yen.

Take photos of the "BMW" while you sit back and wait for the boat to leave

pier

There is a market next to it, but it's closed

It's almost time, push the cart and wait to board the ship

I just want to say that this "speedboat" doesn't drive very fast!

I have to hold on to the bike while making sure I don’t fall.

You also need to check in and take a video (see the beginning)

There was another passenger besides me on the boat, and he was very calm throughout the whole process.

Let the sea breeze blow his hair

Sometimes it blows into the shape of a straight line, and sometimes it blows into the shape of a human figure...

Back at Moji Port, it was almost dusk. The Strait Plaza Music Suspension Bridge opened and cruise ships passed by. The old building was transformed into a shopping mall where various small items were sold. I bought a palm-sized faceless male toy and a reusable bag. , I regretted buying a plastic bag to carry home, but I still carry it to buy groceries today. It is really durable in wind and rain!

The train back to Hakata is about to leave, and people are walking towards the train station. Mojiko is shining golden under the sunset, and the orange-red buildings are more colorful, calmer and warmer. Although I am a stranger, walking on the streets of a foreign land, I am tired and excited, and my heart is full of satisfaction and warmth.

The writers I like all like to "wander curiously," from Yu Dafu to Steinbeck to Zweig, who I recently read. Zweig wrote while wandering in Paris:

“My eyes Everything I touched was mysterious to me. I could spend hours watching the construction of roads. Just watching the workers using jackhammers to dig up pieces of asphalt made me so strong. He felt his work so intensely that every tremor of his shoulders was transmitted to I could stand endlessly in front of other people's windows, imagining what it would be like to live there or I could watch for hours the fate of a stranger who lived there; I followed him with a bored, magnetic curiosity. I was fully aware that my behavior would strike anyone who happened to notice me as Understandable and silly, but this fantasy and fun appeals to me more than any theater Perhaps this super Stimulation, this neurotic insight, has the most natural connection with the sudden change of location. system, which is caused by changes in air pressure and the resulting changes in blood composition. However, I have never attempted to ascertain the cause of this mysterious state of mental excitement. But every time it happens to me, my daily life seems to be gone. The pale dusk that fades away, the mediocre days are empty and boring. Only at such moments can I fully feel my own existence and the bizarre life. "