Saga

Travel Guide

• Experience Japanese Tradition Hands-on

  

  08.03.2019

• Factory Tours in Japan - 5 of the best

  

  15.01.2019

• Japan’s 5 Most Beautiful Rice Terraces

  

  09.01.2019

• Getting Around Saga

  

  14.12.2018

• Saga Prefecture Overview

  

  14.12.2018

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Best Events

• Festivals

  

  • Karatsu Kunchi
  • Imari Ton-ten-ton Festival

• Cherry Blossom

  

  • Ogi Park

• Fireworks Festivals

  

  • Kyushu Fireworks Festival

Top Things to do

• Nakazato Tarouemon Tobo

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Chouda 3-6-29

  The Nakazato family is the only family to maintain the traditions of ancient Karatsu and today, this Karatsu ware ceramics studio continues to be operated by the 14th head. Visitors can tour the studio’s gallery where Karatsu ware is displayed and sold as well as the Tojin-machi Ochawangama kiln, a nationally designated Historic Site. From 1734 through the Taisho period, the Tojin-machi Ochawangama kiln was used for official purposes by the local government. An eight-minute walk from the South Exit of Karatsu Station.

• Karatsu Yaki Cooperatives Karatsu Pottery Gallery 

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Shinkoumachi 2881-1 Furusato Kaikan Arpino 2nd Floor

  An exhibition hall and shop on the second floor of Furusato Hall Arpino next to JR Karatsu Station. Visitors can see a variety of pottery works in one place and purchase some as well. The hall offers a variety of dishes and containers perfect for everyday use, making this a great place to pick up a souvenir. The hall also presents how Karatsu ware is made through informational panels and other means. Pottery painting workshops available.

• The Former Takatori Residence

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Kitajounai 5-40

  This is the mansion built as a home and for welcoming guests by the coal mine (including Kishima Coal Mine) baron, Koreyoshi Takatori. There are two large buildings on a vast plot of land of about 7613 square meters. It has modern Japanese-style building architecture with a combination of Western style rooms while also still having Japanese style as a keynote. A must-see is the reception hall for the Noh stage and 72 “Sugido-e” (painting on cedar-board doors) paintings by the painter of the Kyoto Shijyo Faction, Koho Mizuno. You can have a good tour of the mansion as there are also always tour guides stationed here. In 1998, it was designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

• Karatsu Castle (Maizuru-jo “Dancing Crane Castle”)

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Higashijounai 8-1

  This is a castle which could also be called a symbol of Karatsu, located in the northern part of Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. Terazawa Hirotaka, a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, spent seven years to build this castle. The inner citadel sits on Mt. Mitsushima which projects out into Karatsu Bay, while the outer citadel is on the west bank and the third citadel leads to a renkaku style flatland mountain castle. The inner citadel has now been turned into Maizuru Park, and also you can see the superb views of Matsuura Bay from that observation point, the current castle keep which was completed in 1966.

• Hikiyama Exhibition Hall

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Nishijounai 6-33

  This exhibition hall displays the 14 hikiyama festival floats used in the Karatsu Kunchi Festival, a harvest festival held each year from November 2 to 4. Each of the floats was dedicated sometime between the late Edo period and Meiji period. They were made by wrapping wooden frames with hundreds of sheets of Japanese washi paper and then applying and re-applying various colors of lacquer. Bold in design and modeled after themes such as a samurai helmet, Chinese lion, and sea bream, even when looked at through a protective case one can feel their power.

• Karatsu Burger Matsubara Main Shop

  Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture Rainbow Matsubara

  A local burger sold at the Nijinomatsubara parking area in Karatsu City. People love these hearty burgers slathered in a distinctive sweet sauce and sandwiched between a crisply toasted bun. The burgers are fresh-made inside a mobile kitchen car and brought to your vehicle or nearby bench when your order is cooked.

• Kawashima Tofu Shop

  Saga Pref. Karatsushi Kyoumachi 1775

  This tofu shop makes its tofu using high quality Kyushu soybeans. A small 10-seat restaurant adjoins the shop which opens four times a day at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. in line with when fresh batches of tofu are made. The zaru-dofu (fresh creamy tofu served in a draining basket) is particularly exquisite; the best times to order it are either 8 a.m. when its fresh and warm or at 12 p.m. when the flavor has really set in. During the evening, the restaurant only serves a traditional kaiseki course meal.

• Kakiemongama

  Saga Pref. Nishimatsuragunaritachou Nanzan Ding 352

  A pottery workshop which was once operated by Sakaida Kakiemon, a renowned potter from Arita Town in Saga Prefecture. The Kakiemon style is characterized by the use of red paint baked onto a beautiful milky-white pottery base called nigoshide. The workshop’s pieces began being exported around the world starting in the Edo period and remain popular to this day. The workshop is adjoined by a museum where visitors can learn about its 380 year history and view actual pieces from various time periods.

• Gen-emon Kiln

  Saga Pref. Nishimatsuragunaritachou Maruo Hino 2726

  A famous old Imari ware pottery workshop with some 260 years of history. Traditional old Imari ware is characterized by a modern functional beauty coupled with a distinctive decorative style. In the adjoining museum, visitors can view numerous pieces of old Imari ware gathered from throughout Japan and the world. Note that the museum is only open on weekdays as well as partially on Saturdays. Be sure to check the official website for business days.