Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu
Encyclopedia
Wards of Japan
A is a subdivision of one of the cities of Japan that is large enough to have been designated by government ordinance. Wards are used to subdivide each city designated by government ordinance...
of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is the smallest ward of Kitakyūshū city at 16.66 km². The population was 64,330 as of the national census in 2000.
History and Geography
Part of Tobata ward faces the sea inlet or firth
Firth
Firth is the word in the Lowland Scots language and in English used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland and England. In mainland Scotland it is used to describe a large sea bay, or even a strait. In the Northern Isles it more usually refers to a smaller inlet...
(Scottish English) called Dokai wan, and the surrounding outer sea is called Hibiki nada. The red-painted bridge between Tobata and Wakamatsu wards is called the Waka-To Ohashi (Great Bridge of Waka-To) and was the first suspension bridge in Asia, completed in 1963. On September 30, 2005 it passed into the control of Kitakyushu city.
A new tunnel is being constructed in 2005-8 between Tobata and Wakamatsu wards to link the Hibiki container terminal with Kokura
Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu
is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the north part of what used to be Kokura City before the merger of five cities to create the new city of Kitakyūshū in 1963...
.
Much of this ward, especially the part facing the open sea, is taken up by the Nippon Steel
Nippon Steel
, also referred to as , was formed in 1970. Nippon Steel Corporation is the world's 4th largest steel producer by volume.-Early years:Nippon Steel was created by the merger of two giants, Yawata Iron & Steel and Fuji Iron & Steel...
(Shin Nihon Seitetsu) foundries, blast furnaces, coaling docks etc. though the numbers employed there are greatly reduced since the heyday of steelmaking in the 1960s, from about 25,000 to 8,000 employees.
The Congregation of Notre Dame
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada. This was one of the first non-cloistered communities. The community's motherhouse has continued to be based in Montreal...
has a community in Tobata.
Cultural Tobata
The West Japan Industrial ClubWest Japan Industrial Club
The West Japan Industrial Club is in Tobata ward, Kitakyushu. It was designed by Tatsuno Kingo and is his only surviving private house...
(Matsumoto-tei, a house originally built for and owned by Mr. Matsumoto), a large house and garden adjoining Yomiya park, was designed by Tatsuno Kingo
Tatsuno Kingo
was a Japanese architect born in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu.He studied in Japan at the Imperial College of Engineering where he was one of the first to graduate in 1879 under British architect Josiah Conder. He visited England and worked in the office of William Burges in 1881-2. He taught...
who also designed Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station
is a train station located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district....
as a monument to Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War. A scene from the 2003 movie "Spy Sorge" (director Masahiro Shinoda) about Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
was shot in the garden,
Nearby Kyushu Institute of Technology
Kyushu Institute of Technology
is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology...
(founded by Mr. Matsumoto in 1907) has its oldest campus (the faculty of engineering) in Tobata.
The most important annual folk-cultural event is the Tobata Gion festival designated a national intangible cultural asset, and the Kitakyushu city art museum is also here. There are standing exhibits of Western and Japanese art and regularly changing art exhibitions.
Sayagatani field and athletic stadium was built by Yahata steel workers and is still used for ball sports (rugby, soccer etc.) and athletics.
Notable people
The notable rugby player Takuro MiuchiTakuro Miuchi
Takuro Miuchi is a Japanese rugby union player, who plays number eight. He was captain of the Japan national rugby union team until relieved of that responsibility by Japan national team coach Jean-Pierre Elissalde in a surprise move during February 2006...
is from Tobata. There is a rugby ground at Astem no Mori, and another at Sayagatani. Miuchi first learned to play rugby at Sayagatani rugby school and later at Yahata High School.
Transport & Facilities
There are two JR Kyushu rail stations on the Kagoshima Main LineKagoshima Main Line
The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company between Mojikō in Kitakyūshū, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu...
(Kagoshima honsen): Tobata Station
Tobata Station
is a railway station on the Kagoshima Main Line operated by Kyushu Railway Company in Tobata-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japan. The station opened on December 27, 1902....
and Kyushu Koudaimae Station, named after Kyushu Institute of Technology
Kyushu Institute of Technology
is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology...
which is seven minutes walk from there. Buses are run by the Nishitetsu company.
A small shopping mall,Tobata Aeon, is located next to JR Tobata station. It is a kind of local and down-market department store, as compared with Isetan and Izutsuya in nearby Kokura Kita ward.
Wakato ferry is for passengers with bicycles. It is one of the shortest and cheapest ferries in Japan (three minutes, 100 yen one way).