INTL_Hospitality University brochure

WHY KITAKYUSHU IS IDEAL PLACE FOR ESTABLISHING UW-STOUT JAPAN GLOBAL HOSPITALITY PROGRAM

A Major City in Western Japan Kitakyushu, facing the Kanmon channel, was developed as a gateway city to the western part of Japan and to the Kyushu. In the postwar period, the city lead the country’s economic growth with its steel industry. The city is administratively independent from the prefecture as one of the government-ordinance designated cities.

Advantageous Transportation System • The only 24-hour operated Airport in Kyushu

The Kitakyushu Airport is equipped with a 2500 meter runway, which is to be extended 3000 meter in the near future. It is located a 30-minute (approximately) drive from the city center. This is the only 24-hour operation in Kyushu, both for domestic and international flights to Korea, Taiwan, and China. • Every Shinkansen Service Stops at Kitakyushu Every Shinkansen (Bullet Train) stops at the Kokura Station, Kitakyushu’s terminal station. The Shinkansen takes two hours and a half to Osaka, and approximately five hours to Tokyo. • Well-Structured Road Network Three high-graded trunk roads run from Kitakyushu to destinations out of the Prefecture. Inside the city runs the Urban Express Way. Kitakyushu is one of the nation’s six cities that has urban express motorways besides Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka. Star Flyer Airline The air carrier Star Flyer is headquartered in Kitakyushu. Star Flyer’s fleet has the longest seat pitch among all the economy class airlines of the world. In Japan, Star Flyer has been awarded the highest passenger satisfaction airline for nine consecutive years.

Major National Corporations in Kitakyushu A number of Japan’s leading corporations are headquartered in

Kitakyushu, including TOTO Ltd., a ceramic product manufacturer, Yasukawa Electric Corp., an industrial robot manufacturer, Takagi, a water cleaner manufacturer, and Zenrin Co. Ltd., a map publisher, etc. Designated a FutureCity Kitakyushu has overcome a challenging problem regarding pollution resulting from a fall-out of heavy chemicals due to industrial development aggravated in 1960’s. This history made Kitakyushu an environment-conscious city and the government designated it as a FutureCity. It has made an aggressive commitment and technical assistance to other Asian countries; for instance, Kitakyushu assisted a water filtration plant project in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Ideal Living Environment Kitakyushu is a city with urban and rural features both of which are well-balanced. It is reputed for its state-of-the-art measures to environmental conservation. It has been ranked by NPO Egalite No. 1 as a governmental ordinance-designated city for generativity for eight consecutive years. The average rent is less than half of that in Tokyo and this makes Kitakyushu a student friendly city.