{"id":175993,"date":"2026-02-12T09:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T00:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=175993&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T00:55:04","slug":"kokura-castle-hits-10-million-visitors","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/kokura-castle-hits-10-million-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Kokura Castle Hits 10 Million Visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kokura Castle in Kitakyushu welcomed its 10 millionth visitor on February 11, marking a milestone for one of the city\u2019s best-known landmarks. Originally built in the early Edo period by Hosokawa Tadaoki, the castle\u2019s main keep was destroyed by fire and reconstructed in 1959. A ceremony was held at the keep to commemorate the occasion, with a Kitakyushu resident visiting with his family recognized as the milestone guest and presented with a certificate and a one-year free pass. Visitor numbers had fallen below 100,000 in fiscal 2005, but a 2019 renovation and new initiatives, including a bar and caf\u00e9 on the top floor, helped revive attendance. The site recorded more than 290,000 visitors last fiscal year and is expected to surpass 300,000 this year. <strong>Source<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.web.nhk\/newsweb\/na\/nb-5010031983\" target=\"_blank\">NHK News<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/kbc.co.jp\/news\/article.php?id=16919588&#038;ymd=2026-02-11\" target=\"_blank\">KBC News<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kokura-castle-news_2026_WEB.jpeg?resize=1400%2C1050&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-175994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kokura-castle-news_2026_WEB.jpeg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kokura-castle-news_2026_WEB.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kokura-castle-news_2026_WEB.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fnn_kokura-castle-news_2026_WEB.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Photo: Fukuoka Now<\/p>\n<p>Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &#038; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">free weekly newsletter<\/a> today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">The Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\">this <strong>form<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kokura Castle in Kitakyushu welcomed its 10 millionth visitor on February 11, marking a milestone for one of the city\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30292,"featured_media":175994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-175993","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-kitakyushu","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/175993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}