Kitakyushu Manga Museum

The Kitakyushu Manga Museum celebrates the art form of manga and, in particular, the surprising number of influential comic artists connected to Kitakyushu. Opened in 2012 on the upper floors of the Aru Aru City building next to Kokura Station, it has become the city's answer to the manga-and-anime shopping-and-culture complexes found in larger cities, an accessible, family-friendly destination that combines exhibition, archive and reading library under one roof.

Pride of place goes to Leiji Matsumoto, the legendary creator of Galaxy Express 999, Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, who grew up in Kokura and whose sweeping space operas shaped generations of anime. The museum's exhibits trace his career and characters alongside those of other artists with local ties, using original artwork, figures and interactive displays to explain how manga is made, from storyboard to printed page. Bilingual elements help international visitors follow the story of the medium's development.

The single most popular feature, however, is the browsing library. With admission you gain access to a vast open collection of manga, tens of thousands of volumes, that you are free to sit and read for as long as you like. For manga fans this alone justifies the modest entry fee, and even visitors who cannot read Japanese enjoy the atmosphere of a room full of absorbed readers and the chance to leaf through the striking artwork of series they may know from anime adaptations.

The museum sits within Aru Aru City, a building often described as Kitakyushu's version of Akihabara, filled with anime goods shops, figure stores, hobby retailers and card-game spaces. That makes the whole complex a one-stop destination for pop-culture fans, easy to enjoy over a couple of hours regardless of the weather, which is a real advantage on a rainy Kyushu afternoon.

Admission is 480 yen, the museum is open from late morning to evening and closed on Tuesdays, and a comfortable visit runs about ninety minutes, more if you settle into the library. Best of all for travellers, it stands directly beside JR Kokura Station, one of the main shinkansen stops in northern Kyushu and only around fifteen minutes from Hakata, so it is remarkably easy to reach. For manga lovers, families and anyone curious about the roots of Japanese comics, the Kitakyushu Manga Museum is a friendly and rewarding stop.