Discover unique experiences at curious local spots in the Wakamatsu North Coast Area

Try Something New in Kitakyushu: A Fun Experience Route

A wooden cutting board shaped like a rabbit with a chocolate bar and scattered cacao beans, surrounded by dried flowers and leaves on a wooden surface.

If you’re looking to try something a little different during your trip to Japan, this short and fun route in Kitakyushu is perfect.
Start with your very first boat race experience, enjoy a café run by a famous mentaiko (spicy cod roe) maker, and finish with a tasting of handcrafted, locally made chocolate.
It’s an easy, three-hour drive course filled with surprises—ideal for travelers who want to experience something new and memorable.

Duration : 3 hours

Transportation : Car

📍Places to visit on this course

  1. Boat Race Wakamatsu

  2. Maruya Recipe

  3. Chocolumbus

🚩START!

Kitakyushu Urban Expressway Wakato IC

By car (10 minutes)

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1. Boat Race Wakamatsu

Indoor children's play area with various slides, play structures, and children playing. Adults are supervising, and the area has a colorful and open design with natural light.

🚤 More Than Just Racing: Fun Experiences for Everyone

Boat Race Wakamatsu offers much more than watching races. Families can enjoy Wakawaku Land for young children, a bouldering park for elementary school kids, and even a VR attraction where you can experience boat racing virtually—all free of charge.
It’s a relaxed and entertaining spot where visitors of all ages can spend a pleasant day.

Note: Wakawaku Land and Red Rock are open only on weekends and holidays. Please check the official website for opening days.

📍 Basic Info

By car (3 minutes)

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2. Maruya Recipe

🍽️ A Mentaiko Specialist’s Café Serving Savory Dishes and Sweets

Plate of spaghetti pasta topped with shredded nori, chopped green herbs, and a brown condiment

This café is operated by Aji no Maruya, a long-established maker of additive-free mentaiko.
Here, you can enjoy unique dishes such as seafood doria generously topped with mentaiko and tasting sets that highlight the natural flavor of mentaiko.
Factory-direct mentaiko products and mentaiko pizza are also popular with visitors.

📍 Basic Info

By car (10 minutes)

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3. Chocolumbus

🍫 Discover the Rich World of Locally Made Craft Chocolate

Person wearing black gloves inspecting cacao beans on a table.

This craft chocolate shop sources cacao beans directly from trusted farms around the world and carefully turns them into high-quality chocolate in Kitakyushu.
One of the highlights is the free tasting—you can sample chocolates from seven different origins and experience how dramatically their flavors differ.
Their hot chocolate is also a favorite, perfect for a relaxing break.

📍 Basic Info

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By car (25 minutes)

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Kitakyushu Urban Expressway Kurosaki IC

🏁GOAL!

  • A bowl of udon noodle soup topped with green onions, tempura, beef, and a fish cake, served alongside onigiri rice balls wrapped in seaweed.
  • Display of packaged cookies with labels that feature a cartoon character holding a leaf, on a wooden surface.
  • A modern building with glass doors and windows, decorated with flags and signs, including a cartoon tiger mascot wearing a white hat and cape, outdoors on a sunny day with trees in the background.