Your Guide to Mojiko Retro

Mojiko always has plenty to do whether it's a festival in Kaikyo plaza, the train museum, the scenic train tour the goes from Mojiko to Shimonoseki, or the local market with plenty of fresh produce and amazing sweets shops. There's never a shortage of things to do in Mojiko. Even during the night they have a Jazz bar with Live music, and a Led Zepplin bar for those who are rock and roll fans like me. Plus, the view at night from Mojiko Retro Observatory is a sight to behold with the view of the water and of Shimonoseki and its ferris wheel lit up in every shade of red, blue, green, white, and more. During the rainy season, they have the Idemitsu Art Museum to hide out in if it starts to rain on you, and the Orgel music museum if you want to see some music boxes and maybe make your own and then wander the mall it's attached to.

Not to mention they are a port city so just near the station there is a ferry that will take you over to Shimonoseki where there is an aquarium.

My top place to visit in Mojiko is Kaikyo plaza. There are plenty of shops here, and during the weekends and sometimes even weekdays they have wonderful festivals where you can try different foods or drinks. One weekend they had a race going on and another they had a beer and sake festival. Mojiko has everything from museums, to shopping. They even have a Ghibli shop. No photos allowed of course.

I have spent many weekends at Kaikyo Plaza. They have a Ghibli shop, events throughout the weekend, a beautiful view of the water, and a souvenir shop that sells all manner of snacks. The Orgel Museum is also on the edge of the plaza and just near it is a boat tour that will take you around the ocean.

My favorite things to do there are the festivals. They have one almost every weekend. One weekend they had a marathon and the weekend just after they had a beer and sake festival.

This plaza also has an inexpensive tour of the waterway that is in between Mojiko and Shimonoseki. It's a good way to get a picture of the bridge connecting the two cities.

Finally, there is a boat restaurant parked on the waterway that plays music around the clock.

My favorite place to visit in Mojiko is the Orgel Art Museum. It's free and usually open until about 5:00 p.m. every day. They have all kinds of music boxes including several decorated Totoro music boxes and a Harry Potter music box on the first floor.

When you go upstairs where the main exhibit is you have an option to pay to make your own music box or you can wander around and view all the different music boxes they have up for show. They have all kinds of music boxes ranging from more modern ones that play Ghibli music to extremely ornate music boxes that I couldn't even begin to guess the age of. Some were more plain while others were in red lacquer boxes, or gilt with what looked like gold. There was a grandfather clock and all of the parts needed to make a music box. It was a small exhibit, but they managed to fit so much into a small space.

When you leave, the top floor of the museum also leads out to the main building of the mall so you can also go and view the surrounding shops there as well.

Just around the corner from the Orgel museum is the Ghibli store. The store is a bit small, but they were not short on Ghibli merchandise. The more popular things you will see are Totoro, Spirited Away, and Princess Monoke, but I also saw some things from Ponyo and Howl's Moving Castle. It's not the biggest Ghibli shop I have seen but it's a fun stop along the way if you're having a day of roaming Mojiko. It's also right next to a place that sells some amazing honey ice cream and an antiques shop.

Just a bit north of the Kaikyo Plaza is the Idemitsu Museum of Arts. They have gorgeous pottery in emerald greens and gilt with gold or porcelain white that is intricately carved with scenes like cherry blossoms.

The entrance fee is 700 yen for adults and the museum is open until about 5:00 p.m. and is closed on Mondays. It's an excellent place to go when you want to hide out of the rain. It's a very quiet museum so for those who like to avoid the crowds it's also a good place to go if you want to hide out from the rain. On the second floor they have a nice seating area that has free hot tea available.

The Mojiko retro observatory is an inexpensive place to visit and has gorgeous views. The observatory is about 30 stories tall and is easy to overlook if you aren't sure at first what you're looking for. The observatory offers a gorgeous view of the city and of Kanmon Strait and includes a lovely backdrop of the nearest mountain and of the bridge connecting Shimonoseki to Mojiko.

The observatory has several lookouts, a cafe that serves delicious sweets including cheesecake and coke floats and they have a variety of alcoholic beverages. For those that do not speak or read Japanese, they have an English menu available. Depending on the day you visit, they typically have some form of entertainment. Most often it's amazing live music.

The admission fee is only 300 yen so it's an excellent place to visit if you're travelling and on a budget but want to take in some breathtaking views.