Mitsui Minato Club
The Mitsui Minato Club was completed in 1908, the same year that Miike Port opened. It was owned by Mitsui Group, which also operated Miike Coal Mine. The club was located away from the hustle and bustle of the port in order that the captains and officers of foreign ships could relax and enjoy themselves. It was a social hub for the Mitsui Group and was used by politicians and businessmen as well. A Japanese-style building for Japanese guests once stood adjacent to the clubhouse.
The two-story, Western-style clubhouse originally had a sitting room, reception room, dining room, billiard room, butler’s pantry, lavatories, and bathing facilities on the first floor. The second floor had a hall, a parlor, and three bedrooms. The attic was the male servants’ quarters. The wooden structure, which was renovated in 1986, retains its vaulted ceilings, mantlepieces, and wrought iron gates and fencing.
After World War II, the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers took control of the building, and the back section of the garden was made into a tennis court. Today, it is an open lawn.
The clubhouse is currently owned by a company in the Mitsui Matsushima Group and is now used as a French restaurant and wedding venue. It has been designated a Tangible Cultural Property by the city of Ōmuta.
