Kitakyushu General Tourist Information Center

This is a newly established tourist information center located within the public passageway of JR Kokura Station, the gateway to Kitakyushu City.
In order to improve the satisfaction of tourists, especially foreign tourists, whose numbers are expected to continue to increase, and to promote travel around the city, the existing information center, which was built approximately 15 years ago, will be closed and moved to a new, expanded location within the same station.


[Social issues/customer issues/requests]
The requests included creating a space that is easy for travelers to use and comfortable, providing both hardware and software for a digital signage system with updatable content so that travelers themselves can search for tourist information, a setup that takes into consideration the installation of facilities such as foreign currency exchange machines to accommodate foreign travelers, and an information center that meets the highest standard of "Category 3" *2 certified by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) *1.


[Solution]
In addition to meeting the above requests, we proposed a plan with the goal of creating an information center that would be usable even in the COVID-19 era.
Based on the concept of "a gateway to Kyushu where you can experience Japan," we proposed a design that expresses the progressive spirit of Kitakyushu, a mecca for manufacturing, while also incorporating the traditional concept design of the castle town of Kokura, and carefully selected interiors concept design maintain a safe and clean space.
The proposed functions include a contactless face-to-face system using monitors, a system that allows travelers to upload and publish travel information reviews on social media, and an arrangement in which the entire glass exterior wall is transformed into a signage display promoting the attractions of Kitakyushu City at night, which were all proposed and adopted.

The innovative concept design is characteristic of Kitakyushu City, and is unified in a clean white color, with a full glass exterior that creates a bright, open, and welcoming atmosphere. While concept design blends in with the modern station interior, which is based on gray, it also asserts itself as an information center by incorporating concept design inspired by Kokura-ori and elements of liveliness.
Located at JR Kokura Station, the gateway to Kitakyushu City, the iconic concept design communicates the charms of Kitakyushu to customers both in and outside the city, while raising expectations for their trip.


[Customer feedback]
The space that our city wanted to create as a tourist information center was specifically reflected in concept design, taking into account the services to be provided, and we were able to create a tourist information center worthy of being the "gateway to Kitakyushu City."
Despite the many constraints of being located inside a station, we were able to overcome many challenges thanks to our creative imagination and advanced technical skills.
We hope that this facility will become even more popular than before for the many tourists visiting our city.
 

<From the Japan National Tourism Organization HP>

<Our project members>
[Developer] Satoru Soeda
[Sales/Project Management] Satoru Soeda
[Planning, design, layout] Chieri Nishimura
[Production/ construction] Kazuya Higuro