Kitakyushu

Kitakyushu (北九州市, Kitakyushu-shi, lit. "Northern Kyushu") is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai. Kitakyushu has a population of just under one million. Together with Shimonoseki on Honshū the city is the center of an area known as the Kitakyushu metropolitan area (北九州都市圏, Kitakyushu-toshiken) or Kanmon metropolitan area (関門都市圏, Kanmon-toshiken), which has a total population of about 1.5 million (Bureau of Statistics definition).  There are multiple metropolitan area definitions for this area, with population estimates ranging from 1.15 to 2.4 million people. Some estimates include the nearby cities of Shimonoseki and Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but most exclude Ōita in...