Moon Phase Kitakyushu

Moon Phase Kitakyushu: New Moon

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the moon in Kitakyushu is a New Moon with 0% illumination. Moon age: 29.0 days.

Illumination
0%
Moon Age
29.0d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
5:45 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
5:28 PM

Kitakyushu, Japan-moon-phase-today-calculator

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Kitakyushu, Japan

Kitakyushu sits at roughly 33.88°N at the northern tip of Kyushu, on the Kanmon Strait facing Honshu, with around 898,000 residents. Formed in 1963 from a merger of five cities centred on historic Kokura, it grew into one of Japan's major industrial centres, and its night view — from a mountaintop above the city — has placed it at No. 1 in Japan's "New Three Most Spectacular Night Views," a recognition first awarded in 2018 and retained in later selections. Between that view, a restored Meiji-era port district, and a strait crossed by two very different bridges, Kitakyushu gives an unusually rich set of places to watch the moon.

1

Mt. Sarakura Observatory

A 622-metre summit reached by a combined cable car and slope car ride, its view nicknamed the "Ten-Billion-Dollar Night View" and holding the top spot in Japan's "New Three Most Spectacular Night Views" selections. Rail service runs from 10:00, with last ascent around 21:20 (April–November) or 19:20 (December–March), typically closed Tuesdays; the summit is noticeably windier and colder than the city below.

2

Mojiko Retro District

A restored Meiji- and Taisho-era port area, including the wooden Mojiko Station (its major preservation work completed in 2019), illuminated brick buildings, and the Blue Wing Moji pedestrian drawbridge, which opens on a set schedule worth checking in advance. The Mojiko Retro Highmart building has an observatory around 103 metres up, open into the evening, giving a panoramic view over the port at night.

3

Kanmon Bridge & Mekari Park

The suspension bridge linking Kyushu to Honshu across the Kanmon Strait, best viewed from Mekari Park's Observation Deck 2 for a wide angle, or from Mekari Shrine at water level for a closer view of ships passing through the strait below.

4

Kokura Castle & Japanese Garden

A distinctive reconstructed keep, rebuilt in 1959 at local residents' request, with an adjoining Japanese garden and samurai mansion open into the evening. Kokura carries a striking historical footnote: it was the primary target for the second atomic-bomb mission on August 9, 1945, and poor visibility over the city led the aircraft to Nagasaki instead.

5

Wakato Bridge

A red suspension bridge opened in 1962, roughly 2 kilometres in total length, connecting the Wakamatsu and Tobata districts across Dokai Bay and recognized as a Japan Nightscape Heritage site, illuminated from dusk until around 10pm. A historic pedestrian and cyclist ferry still operates alongside it, since the bridge itself now carries vehicle traffic only, with Tobata Shinsui Green Space at its foot offering a relaxed spot to watch it light up.

6

Hibikinada Green Park

Kitakyushu's largest urban park, known locally for a 163-metre swing recognized by Guinness as the world's longest. It's a genuinely open, quiet green space, though it's a daytime destination — current hours run 9:00 to 17:00, closed Tuesdays.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography

🌕 Full Moon ±1 day — Mt. Sarakura and Mekari Park both give a wide, elevated sightline over the strait and city
❄ Dec–Feb — cooler, generally drier winter weather typical of northern Kyushu
🌙 Mar–May & Oct–Nov — comfortable evenings for a walk through Mojiko Retro or Kokura Castle's garden
☀ Jun–Sep — warm, humid evenings, with a rainy season in June and typhoon risk from summer into early autumn
🥶 Winters are generally mild by international standards, with freezing temperatures possible on colder nights, especially at Sarakura's summit

📷 Quick Photography Tips

🎯A tripod helps at open, elevated spots like Mt. Sarakura and Mekari Park, both more exposed to wind than the streets below
🌉The Kanmon Bridge and Wakato Bridge, both illuminated when lighting is operating, give distinctive foregrounds for a moonrise shot over the water
🏯Kokura Castle's keep, illuminated in the evening, makes an easy, central option away from the bridges and mountain
🔋Humidity can affect lenses in summer — carry a cloth and let gear acclimate before shooting if you've come from an air-conditioned space
🕐 Timezone

Kitakyushu runs on Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) year-round — Japan does not observe daylight saving time, so the offset from UTC stays the same in every season.

🌐 Other Locations

For the moon phase in any other city worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator for instant lunar data tailored to wherever you are.

Enjoy the moon over Kitakyushu — a city on a strait crossed by two very different bridges, with a nationally recognized night view rising above it all.

The moon phase today in Kitakyushu, Japan is shown in detail above — complete with exact illumination percentage, moonrise/set times, and the best viewpoints to see it. For the moon phase today in any other city or location worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the home page.

◐ While Actually There

Kitakyushu's night-view rankings aren't just civic pride — the geography genuinely earns them. From Mt. Sarakura's summit, the city, the strait, and the bridge to Honshu all sit in view at once, industrial and maritime landscapes overlapping in a way few Japanese cities can match. Nightscape specialists voted it into Japan's "New Three Most Spectacular Night Views" in 2018, and it has held onto the top spot in later selections since.

Down at sea level, the city tells a quieter, more layered story. Mojiko Retro's restored port buildings sit a short distance from Kokura, whose castle carries an unusual historical footnote — the city that very nearly became the target of the second atomic bomb, spared only by cloud cover on the day. The Kanmon and Wakato bridges, one linking Kitakyushu to Honshu and the other joining two of its own districts, do the same essential job in two very different registers: one grand and international, the other local and industrial.

Mojiko Retro's waterfront and the bridges are straightforward for an ordinary evening, but check hours for indoor attractions like the castle keep and observation rooms, and for Mt. Sarakura's cable car, which runs on a seasonal schedule.

"Kitakyushu's night view has repeatedly topped Japan's specialist night-view rankings — and from Sarakura's summit, the reason is easy to see."

✓ Your Kitakyushu Moon Chase Checklist

Before You Go

  • Check the moonrise time and phase on this page for each night of your stay
  • Check current Mt. Sarakura cable car and slope car hours before planning an evening around it — they vary by season and it's typically closed on Tuesdays
  • Check current opening hours for Kokura Castle's keep and garden if you want to go inside, not just view the illuminated exterior
  • Check the Blue Wing Moji drawbridge's opening times if you want to see it in action
  • Check the forecast for typhoon activity if visiting in late summer or early autumn

What to Bring

  • An extra layer for Mt. Sarakura's summit, which is noticeably colder and windier than the city below
  • A tripod, useful at open, elevated spots like Mt. Sarakura and Mekari Park
  • Comfortable shoes for walking around Mojiko Retro's port district
  • A light rain layer, especially during the June rainy season
  • Spare camera batteries and a lens cloth for humid summer evenings

On the Night

  • Arrive 20–30 minutes before moonrise at open spots like Mekari Park or the Mojiko waterfront
  • Confirm last ascent times at Mt. Sarakura before planning a visit around moonrise
  • Shoot RAW and bracket exposures, especially where illuminated bridges or Kokura Castle mix with moonlight
  • Mind wind at exposed, elevated spots, particularly on Mt. Sarakura
  • Watch for typhoon-related weather changes if visiting between summer and early autumn
Mt. Sarakura's cable car schedule shifts seasonally and typically closes on Tuesdays, and Hibikinada Green Park closes at 17:00 — check current times before building an evening around either.
The moon over Kitakyushu shares the sky with a top-ranked night view, a restored port district from another era, and two bridges that tell very different stories about the same strait. Use the phase calendar on this page, check cable car and castle hours before you go, and take the ride up Sarakura if you have the time.

? Kitakyushu Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Kitakyushu?

The moon phase today in Kitakyushu is a New Moon with 0% illumination. The next full moon is in 17 days, on Oct 26. Moonrise is at 5:45 AM and moonset at 5:28 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Kitakyushu?

Mt. Sarakura, a 622-metre summit reached by cable car and slope car, has the city's famous night view and the widest elevated outlook over the city and the Kanmon Strait, though the summit is noticeably windier and colder than the city below. Mekari Park's Observation Deck 2 gives a wide angle over the Kanmon Bridge, while Mojiko Retro's waterfront and the Retro Highmart observatory, about 103 metres up, look over the port. The illuminated Wakato Bridge and Tobata Shinsui Green Space suit a moon-over-bridge composition, and Kokura Castle's illuminated keep is an easy central option. Hibikinada Green Park is a daytime destination.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Kitakyushu, and how high does it climb?

At about 33.9°N, Kitakyushu's moonrise and moonset points swing across the horizon each month, from roughly east-northeast to east-southeast for rising and west-northwest to west-southwest for setting. A winter full moon culminates high in the south, at roughly 80° above the horizon, while a summer full moon stays lower, peaking near 33°. The city sits on the northern tip of Kyushu facing Honshu across the Kanmon Strait, so viewpoints such as Mt. Sarakura and Mojiko look generally north over the water, and the moon's high southern path is behind you. Rising and setting moons appear off to the east and west, so a rising moon can come up over the eastern end of the strait and a setting moon can drop toward the western side. Check the azimuth for your date and exact spot.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Kitakyushu?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Kitakyushu, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Kitakyushu's industrial and port lighting is exactly what gives it a top-ranked night view, so it is a light-polluted site rather than a dark-sky one, best suited to moon-over-city and moon-over-strait compositions. Illuminated bridges and buildings can also reflect on the water and compete with the moon.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Kitakyushu?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the city and industrial night view, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the foreground lights. A waxing gibbous is useful for blue hour from Mt. Sarakura or Mekari Park while the foreground is still lit, and a full moon rises around sunset. A 200–400 mm lens helps isolate the moon against the Kanmon Bridge, with a tripod for bracketing and manual focus on the moon using magnified live view.

Q. How do summit wind, the rainy season and typhoons affect moon viewing in Kitakyushu?

Mt. Sarakura's summit is noticeably windier and colder than the city below, so bring an extra layer and a sturdy tripod, and mind wind at other exposed, elevated spots like Mekari Park. Winters are generally mild, though freezing temperatures are possible on colder nights, especially at the summit, and cold drains batteries. Summers are warm and humid, with a rainy season in June and typhoon risk from summer into early autumn, and humidity can leave condensation on lenses. Check local forecasts for cloud, wind, rain and typhoon activity before heading out.

Q. What time zone are Kitakyushu's moonrise and moonset times shown in?

Kitakyushu runs on Japan Standard Time, UTC+9, year-round. Japan does not observe daylight saving time, so moonrise and moonset times stay on the same local clock in every season and the offset from UTC never changes.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Kitakyushu's viewpoints after dark?

Access varies by site. The Mt. Sarakura cable car and slope car run from 10:00, with the last ascent around 21:20 from April to November or 19:20 from December to March, and are typically closed on Tuesdays, so check current times before planning a visit around moonrise. The Blue Wing Moji drawbridge opens on a set schedule, and Kokura Castle's keep, garden and samurai mansion keep their own evening hours. The Wakato Bridge is illuminated from dusk until around 10pm, and Hibikinada Green Park is open only 9:00 to 17:00, closed Tuesdays.

Q. Does this page work for cities besides Kitakyushu?

This page is set up specifically for Kitakyushu, Japan. For the moon phase in any other city or location worldwide, use the Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the moonphase.today home page.