Misumi West Port

Misumi West Port was opened in 1887 as an export point for coal sourced from Miike Coal Mine. It’s one of the 3 biggest ports built in the Meiji Era and the only one of which to still remain today in its original form since its building approximately 100 year ago. In 2015 it received UNESCO World Heritage status as of one of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.

The port was designed by Dutch architect A. Rouwenhorst Mulder and built by Amakusa stone masons. Stretching for 756 meters, the beautiful and stately stone coastline was made as the first of its kind, fusing Japanese and Western masonry techniques. However, a rail line was added just 12 years later in 1899 rendering the port unneeded, a short-lived tenure that lent to it’s old-world being able to survive to this day.

Around Misumi West Port you’ll find a number of preserved streetscapes and related facilities, making this retro spot a perfect spot for history-themed film sets or tourists looking for a step into the past. Lafcadio Hearn (aka Koizumi Yakumo) once made a trip here and stayed at the colonial style hotel Urashimaya, a veritable symbol of Misumi West Port.