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Area7 MIIKE

Miike Coal Mine, Railway and Port forms a Western-style linear coal mining landscape located in the southernmost part of Fukuoka Prefecture and the northernmost part of Kumamoto Prefecture, bordering the Ariake Sea to the west. The mines are situated in the relatively flat and low-lying area, to the south of Omuta City and the north of Arao City which developed as industrial cities centred on Miike Mine. Miike Coal Mine and transport infrastructure sites are physically linked and comprise: pit-heads (production shaft complexes) at Miyanohara Pit (headframe and shaft complex, 1901) and Manda Pit (headframe and extensive buildings, 1908); a linear route of the Miike Coal Railway (1905); and the historical core of Miike Port (1908). Misumi West Port is part of Japan's early - yet short-lived - history of coal export infrastructure development, in this case related to Miike Coal Mine. It was constructed with public funds in 1884-87 to the design of Dutch engineer A. Rouwenhorst Mulder (1845- 1901). The port consists of a 756 m-long quayside with channeled creeks running through it, an associated warehouse (1887), a shipping agent's office (Takada Kaisou-ten, 1886-1902), a number of other port-related buildings, sea walls and housing of varying age. Misumi West Port opened in 1887 and was one of three large port construction projects executed by the Government during the Meiji Era. Mitsui abandoned it in 1903.

  • Miike Coal Mine
  • Miike Port
  • Misumi West Port