英語で観光地を紹介するページです。ガイドの役に立つような文章を作りました。

九州・福岡を中心に、’22年の3月から実際に訪問したり、勉強会で報告があったものを中心に英語で説明しています。ですので、全てをここに書いているわけではありませんから、あしからずお願いします。

地区割・以下の地域名をクリックしたらジャンプします

  九州以外 関東 東海 関西 広島 山口
  九州 長崎 佐賀 大分 熊本 鹿児島 宮崎 沖縄
  福岡 福岡地区(東福岡地区(西)福岡地区(中)太宰府周辺
  福岡 北九州筑豊地区 筑後地区

また、補助的な説明のページもリンクを貼っています。ここに飛んで下さい。 →ここに飛んで下さい

関東

 (東京)

東京駅  Tokyo Station: It is one of JR stations, but its impressive building, made of bricks in a Renaissance style, is worth visiting to see.  It was designed by a famous architect, Kingo Tatsuno, and completely built in 1914.  Also, it is one of the busiest stations in Japan, where about 2,500 trains stop every day.  It functions as a starting station for Tokaido line, Tyuou line, Touhoku line and Sobu line.

浅草寺  Sensoji Tenmple:  This Buddhist temple is a popular sightseeing spot.  It is located in Asakura district, where an atmosphere of Tokyo of the past of 50 years or more.   First you see its popular gate with a big lantern scripted in big Chinese Characters meaning “Thunder Gate.”  And going through Nakamise shopping street, you get to the main gate with two big God Statues. In the precincts, you see the main pavilion, a *five-storied tower, and a big incense pot. Of course, *omikuji is there. *Buddha statues are there, and this temple features *Seven Lucky Gods.

浅草神社  Asakusa Shrine: The shrine is in the precincts of Sensoji temple, just next to the main pavilion.  This strange combination of Buddhism and Shinto owed to the mix of the two religions in the course of Japanese history.  The two religions have developed, influencing on each other.

雷門  Kaminari Gate:  There are two gates for Sensoji Temple, and this is the first one.   It is a symbol not only of Asakusa but also of Tokyo, so a lot of tourists both from the country and foreign counties visit the gate and take pictures. A big lantern hangs from the top.  It is scripted with big Kanji characters, meaning “Thunder-Storm Gate.”  On both sides are build a God statue.  One is Wind God, and the other is Thunder-Storm God.  The two can bring up a thunderstorm.

仲見世通り Nakamisedori: The shopping street in the precinct of Sensoji Temple.  From the Kaminarimon gate to the Main gate, a street runs about 250 meters with shops on both sides.  It is called Nakamisedori.   They sell souvenirs and Japanese sweets like *Ningyo Yaki and *Okoshi.  Always crowded with tourists.

隅田川 Sumida River: Sumida River Boat Cruises are very popular now.   Some are Yakatabune, old fashioned houseboats where you enjoy eating and drinking while viewing the scenery.  Sumida River is well-known for the fireworks show that began in the Edo period.   There are some Ukiyoe depicting the show in the Edo period.   It is said to have originated to repose the souls of the people that died of cholera and famines.  And the riversides are one of the best places in Tokyo to *watch sakura blossom in full bloom.

スカイツリー Tokyo SkyTree: It is located in Sumida Ward, Tokyo.  It is the tallest tower in the world with the height of 634 meters.  It functions as a broadcasting tower.  There are two observatory decks.   To the lower deck at the 250 meters point, you can get by the elevator, which costs 2100 yen.  From this to the higher deck at the 450 meters point, you can get by the elevator, which cost 1000 yen.  From the decks, you can enjoy the views of Tokyo in four directions and when it is clear, you can see Mt. Fuji.   At the lower floors of the tower, it is the place for entertainment like shopping, eating, and playing.  The number of the height of the tower, 634, is normally pronounced as “roppyaku-sannju-yon.” but it can be pronounced like “mu-sa-shi,” which also means the old name of Tokyo area. 

江戸前そば店  Soba in Edo style: Edo refers to the old name of Tokyo, used in the Edo period, or samurai period.  In that period, this type of soba noodles was invented and got very popular among the commoners.   The soba remaining this old style is called “Edo-Mae.”  When you eat soba, it is OK to make a slurping sound, and it is not considered impolite.  This is the way Japanese people eat noodles.  When you finish eating noodles, you are served “Soba-Yu,” meaning soba boiling water.  You put soba-yu into the dipping cup of the soup.

皇居  Kokyo, the Imperial Palace: It is the residence of the imperial family.  It was in Kyoto for about 1,000 years until the beginning of the Meiji period, when the capital of Japan changed to Edo, present Tokyo.  The family moved to Edo Castle in 1869.   Common visitors are not allowed to enter the palace except the outer areas of the stone walls and moats.

皇居外苑とランナー Runners on the road of the outer garden of Kokyo: Around the outer gardens of the Imperial palace a 5-kilometer road.  A lot of runners are seen running on the road.  Some are the runners who runs before or after working.  Kokyo is in the middle of the office district.

二重橋 Nijubasi: It is a bridge to the main gate over a moat, in a double arch stone bridge style.  It is one of the sightseeing spots in Tokyo.   This is the closest place where the visitors can approach Tenno’s residence.

桜田門  Sakurada mon: The Sakurada Gate.  It is located in the southwest of the Imperial Palace.  To Japanese people, the gate is familiar as a place as a top-ranking samurai of the Shogunate, Nosuke Ii, was assassinated.  The head office of Metropolitan Police is nearby the gate, so the police organization is sometimes called “Sakurada-mon.”

楠木正成像  The Statue of Masashige Kusunoki:  This big statue showing a samurai in the armor on a horse who is about to get into the battle is in the front-gate garden of the Imperial Palace.  He is one of the legendary samurai in the middle age.   He was loyal to the Tenno all through his life, so he is a symbol of loyalty in Japan.

明治神宮  Meiji Shrine: Meiji is the name of the historical period of one Tenno.  It is customary to put the year name on the name of the Tenno of that period after his death (during his living time it is normally called just “Tenno”).  Meiji Shrine is enshrined with this Tenno and his wife.  It shows Tenno has the same rank and dignity as Gods.   It is the most popular Shinto Shrine in Tokyo with big *Torri gates and a *sake shelf.  If you are lucky, you can see a *Shinto wedding ceremony.

東京タワー  Tokyo Tower: It was built as a broadcasting tower, and the highest tower in the world when it was completed.  Since then, it has been a symbol of Tokyo, attracting many people with its height and the color of red and white.  When you visit it, you can go up to the observatories, one at the height of 150 meters, the other 250 meters.  There you can enjoy the wonderful views to four directions.

成田空港  Narita International Airport: It is the biggest international airport in Japan, located in Narita City next to Tokyo.  There are three terminal buildings.  One of them is Terminal 3, which started to operate recently specially for the LCCs.  The airport has more than 300 shops such as high brand shops, souvenir shops and restaurants.

小石川後楽園 In the early Edo period, in 1929, Yorifusa Tokugawa, the youngest (eleventh) son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, ordered Sahei Tokudaiji, a famous gardener in Kyoto, to build the garden for the middle house (later ranked up to the upper house due to the former upper house being burned down by Meiwa Conflagration).  Mitsukuni, his son, completed it with some Chinese taste added and named it “Korakuen” in 1659.  It took thirty years to complete.  This garden was the first Daimyo garden and, it is said, made a great influence on the Daimyo gardens later built in every Domaim in Japan.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 日本酒樽奉納  神前結婚式 雷オコシ 人形焼き

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 観音菩薩 天皇 鳥居

小石川後楽園は見所を詳しく英文解説をしています。ここをクリック

 (日光)

日光 Nikko: Nikko is located in Tochigi Prefecture.  It is one  of the most popular sightseeing spots in Japan.  It has a lot of interesting things such as Tousyougu Srhine and Kegon Falls.   To express the excellence of this place, we use the phrase *“Nikko Wo Mizushite “Kekko” To Iuna.”   The specialty food there is *Yuba food. 

日光東照宮  Nikko Toshogu Srhine:  It is a Shinto Shrine built in the 17th century for the graveyard of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who is enshrined as a kind of God.  The area including this shrine, along with another shrine and temples, was designated as a World Heritage site.  In the precincts, there are a lot of buildings ornated with beautiful and elaborate scriptures, mainly depicting animals, plants and *imaginary creatures.

二荒山神社  Futarasan Shrine: It is a shrine of the Nikko area designated as a World Heritage site.  This shrine is often visited by the people who wish for *good marriage tie.

輪王寺  Rin-O-Ji Temple: It is a temple of the Nikko area designated as a World Heritage site.  It has the mausoleum of the third Shogunate of the Tokugawa Family.

陽明門  Yo-Mei-Mon:  It is one of the gates of Tosho-Gu shrine, Gate of Sun Light.  It is gorgeously and colorfully ornamented with scriptures and paintings.  It is so beautiful that it is called “Higurashi-Mon” meaning “the gate you can watch all day until sunset.”

三猿  Three Monkeys: One of the popular features in Tosho-Gu, maybe the most famous.  The shrine has a wooden scripture of these monkeys.   Three monkeys have each specific pause.  Each monkey covers one part of the body with both hands, respectively, eyes, ears and mouth.  They means “Don’t see, Don’t hear, Don’t speak,” pronounced as “Mizaru, Kikazru, Iwazaru.”  When this is spoken in Japanese, it makes the pun meaning “See monkey, Hear monkey, Speak monkey.”

眠りネコ  Sleeping Cat:  On the gate to the mausoleum of Ieyasu, you can see a scripture of a sleeping cat.  This was made by the master sculptor Hidari Jingoro in the 17th century.  He was a legendary man who appears in the stories such as Kabuki and Rakugo.   A sleeping cat represents the peacefulness of the place.

神橋  Sinkyo: It means God Bridge.  It is a red bridge in arch-style crossing over the River Daiya.  One of the three major strange bridges, along with Kintai Bridge and Kazura Bridge.  

中禅寺湖  Lake Cyuzenji: It is a lake located in Nikko City.  It is very transparent and beautiful with high mountains behind. This is a dammed lake formed by the lava from erupted Mt. Nantai.   The lakeshore used to be popular among the foreign embassies and have a lot of villas for them.

華厳の滝  The Iroha Slope: It is a slope road from Nikko Tosyogu to Lake Cyuzenji with 48 bends.  The number is the same as that of Japanese hiragana.  Instead of numbers, each curve is named after one hiragana in the old order.  The old order of hiragana is still sometimes used to count.  Driving on this road, you can enjoy good views, especially when trees turn red in fall.イロハ坂  Kegon Fall: It is listed as the three major water falls in Japan.  The water from Lake Cyuzenji falls down about 100 meters at this point.   You can get to the bottom by the elevator and look up at the dynamic waterfalls.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 東照宮の動物 縁結び 湯葉料理 日光けっこう

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 徳川家康

  (富士山・箱根)

富士山 Mt. Fuji: This volcano has an almost perfect beautiful figure: the symmetrical cone-shape, the highest mountain in Japan, no other mountains around, and top capped with snow.  The imposing view itself is worth seeing.  Always the object for art.  You can see it when you are on Shinkan-sen, but you should go to the Fuji Five Lakes area or Hakone if you want to appreciate it fully. However, it depends on weather.  It is very changeable.  Because of its dignified figure, it has been a sacred mountain since the ancient times.  It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, not for nature-related but culture-related reasons.   Climbing is open to public only during summer season.  At that time, it is crowded with climbers like city streets at rush hours.

富士五湖 The Fuji Five Lakes: These five lakes are Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Nish, Lake Shojin and Lake Motosu, and all were dammed lakes formed by the eruptions of Mt. Fuji.  This area has popular tourism spots for having a great view of Mt. Fuji or learning its cultural and historical side, and it also has good camping sites along the lakeshores.  There are other things you can enjoy.  The examples are *Hoto, *Shingen Mochi, I*nden, *Kachi Kachi Yama and *Udon in Yoshida styles.

箱根 Hakone: Hakone is one of the popular sightseeing spots.   It is close to Tokyo, so foreign visitors who come to Tokyo as the first tourism spot often choose this town as the next place to visit.   It is a hot spring area, with a lot of hot spring inns, with a good view of Mt. Fuji.  Visiting this town is recommendable if you want to experience Japanese ways of life.  This town is also known for the former *Sekisyo, *woodcrafts, *Ekiden race and, recently, the place staged in *Evangelion

大涌谷 Oowakudani Valley: It is a valley formed by the volcanic activities in the middle of Mt. Hakone.  Steam containing sulfur is erupting from several holes.  It gives you the bazar and desolate impression Japanese people often associate with the scene of hell.  You can get there by cable car.  And you can eat boiled black eggs.

関所 Checking Station, Sekisyo:  The important Sekisyo was in Hakone, checking the passers on the major route to and from Kyoto in the Edo period.  It was close to Edo, the center place of Shognate.  It had a duty to check the passers for the safety purpose.  “Iri-Deppo-ni-De-Onnna.(Guns In and Women Out)” is often said when talking about Hakone Sekisyo.  As this saying suggests they had to prevent guns from coming into Edo and war lord wives from going out of Edo (war lord wives were kept as a kind of hostages).   Hakone has this Sekisyo place recreated for tourism purposes, like showing the displays of *Daimyo procession.

芦ノ湖 Lake Ashinoko: It is a dammed lake formed by the eruption of a volcano about three thousand years ago.   The lake itself is beautiful, but it is close to Mt. Fuji and hot springs.  One of the major touring spots for the people in Kanto district.  Pleasure boats are sailing every day and Some of them have a shape of a Viking ship.   A Viking ship on the water of the lake is a symbol image of Lake Ashinoko.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 ほうとう、信玄餅、印伝、カチカチヤマ、吉田のうどん、黒玉子、寄せ木細工、大名行列、箱根駅伝、エヴァンゲリオン

東海

尾張 Owari: This is the old name for the province in the Samurai period, today’s western Aichi Prefecture.  During the Age of Civil Wars, its ruler Nobunaga Oda, one of the historic samurai heroes, enlarged the territory beyond Owari and, later on the way to the unity of the whole country, he died due to the betrayal of a subordinate, Mitsuhide Akechi.  After the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it was ruled by one of the three parent clans of Tokugawa.  For the history fans, especially, of the Age of Civil Wars, Owari is definitely the center of their attention.

名古屋  Nagoya: Nagoya is the prefectural capital of Aichi.  There are a lot of things to see here, such as Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Shrine.   Another fun here is eating foods, and there are a lot of *Nagoya specialty foods.

名古屋城 Nagoya Castle: It was the castle resided by one of the three parent clans of Tokugawa Family.  It was burned down by bombings in WWII and reconstructed after the war.  It has a magnificent imposing figure, as they say “the castle makes Nagoya what she is.”  The symbol of the castle is the golden twin *Syachihoko on the roof top.

熱田神宮   Atsuta Shrine: It is located in Nagoya City.  It is enshrined with Five Gods, including Amaterasu, Sun Goddess.  The main object of worships enshrined in this shrine is the *Japanese katana named “Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi,” one of the *three sacred imperial treasures.  The myth says the holder of this sward Susanao-no-mikoto got married with a daughter in Owari and after his death, she enshrined it in Atsuta.  And, strangely enough, the shrine says this was the place where *Yang Gui Fei came from China.

信長壁  Nobunaga Walls: A samurai hero and province ruler, Oda Nobunaga came to Atsuta Shrine and made a prayer for winning an unfavorable battle.  But he won the battle and as a sign of his gratitude he offered the building of the walls. Since then, the walls have been called “Nobunaga-Bey.” Bey means “wall.”   At the completion, they were 400 meters wide, but now 120 meters.

名古屋大通り Wide Streets:  Nagoya City has two very wide streets, Wakamiya and Hisaya.  They are more than 100 meters wide, including center dividers.  In Japan, there are only three streets with the width of more than 100 meters, among which Nagoya has two ones. 

浜名湖 Lake Hamanako: It is located in southwest of Shizuoka Prefecture.  It is a brackish water lake.  The aquaculture of eels is thriving.  Nest to the lake is Hamamatsu City, well known for eel dish, gyoza dumplings and Unagi Pai.

浜松城  Hamamatsu Castle:  The castle was built by Ieyasu Tokugawa.   It was broken down at the Meiji Restoration.  But the castle keep was reconstructed in the Syowa era.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 シャチホコ 楊貴妃  名古屋飯   ウナギパイ

〈補助説明・全国共通〉日本刀  三種の神器 ウナギ 餃子

関西

姫路城 Himeji Castle: It is one of the 12 existing *castle keeps that remain as when they were built.   Himeji Castle is said to be the most beautiful castle in Japan.   The white-colored imposing figure is called “White Heron Castle.” It contains a lot of National Treasures and Important Cultural Assets.  It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It was also a stage for the famous horror story “*The Dish House.”

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 皿屋敷(お菊)、姫路おでん

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 日本の城

広島

宮島 Miyajima Island: Miyajima, located offshore from Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, is one of the three major beautiful sceneries in Japan, especially in autumn with *red leaves.  It has Mt. Misen and Itsukushima Shrine.  *Deer are walking around freely on the island.  The popular souvenir is *syamoji, rice-scooper.  *Anago meshi, *oysters and *Momiji Manju are popular but the newly popular food there is *fried Momiji Manju.

厳島神社 Itsukushima Shrine: The shrine remains the old style of construction for the imperial palace in the Heian period.  The scarlet wooden building with the sea under the floors at high tide is a very unique and beautiful view.  And the big torii gate is also above sea surface and is a symbol of the shrine.  At low tide, we can walk to the gate.

大鳥居 The Big Torii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine: It is 16.6 meters high and 24.2 meters wide.  Its foundations are under the sea and the gate stands by its own weight.  The present gate is the eighth reconstruction in history.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 あなご飯  紅葉饅頭  牡蠣  しゃもじ  揚げモミジ饅頭  鹿

〈補助説明・全国共通〉

山口

山口県  Yamaguchi Prefecture: This prefecture is in the west end of Honsyu Island.   This place was governed by Chosyu Province, which greatly contributed to Meiji Ishin, the Revolution for changing samurai Japan into a modernized country.  A lot of people from this Chosyu helped to build the modern Japan, and this led Chyosyu statesmen to the higher political position where eight prime ministers came from this prefecture.  It has a lot of historic places worth visiting like historic places, onsen, scenic beauties and food.  When you drive in the country, you will notice *red roof tiles and *orange color guradrails.

宇部市とエヴァンゲリオン  Ube City with Evangelion:  The popular series of animation, Evangelion, is directed by Hideaki Anno, who was born and raised in Ube City until the high school graduation.  Apparently for this reason, he used the scenery of Ube-Shinkawa Station, animated and real, to show the ending of the fourth and last animation movies of the series.   After the release, a lot of fans of this animation came visit this station, as what is called a sacred place.  Ube City is taking advantage of this situation to promote the tourism industry by holding several events.

長州藩  Chosyu Province: This “han,” province, became outstanding in the late Edo period.  Chosyu was vehemently active in overthrowing the Shogunate and had violent conflicts with the Shogunate side.  A lot of revolution-oriented samurai like Shoin Yoshida, Shinsaku Takasugi and Kogoro Katsura appeared in this province, until, with Satsuma Han, they succeeded in changing the sovereign from the Shogunate to the Tenno family (Meiji Ishin).

萩  Hagi: It is located in the northern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture, facing Japan Sea.  The well-known industries here are fishery processing and Nats-mikan.  It used to be the castle town of the Mouri Family. There are some areas to remain the atmosphere of that age.  In the Meiji Ishin, it produced a lot of patriotic samurai with the intention to change Japan.  It is also famous for Hagi ware.  

松下村塾  Syokason-juku: Juku means “private small school.”  This juku was founded by Shyoin Yoshida. He taught the people who later would be the great people to accomplish the Meiji Ishin and to lead the successive Meiji government to modernization.  The house of this juku is preserved as a historic spot in the precincts of Syoin Shrine (he was punished to death by the Shogunate, but he became a God in Hagi).  It is designated as one item of a UNESCO world heritage site.

下関  Shimonoseki: This is at the west end of Honsyu Island. Historically, this is famous for two events.  One is *Dannoura Battle, which was the final one leading the ruling Taira family to be totally overthrown by the Minamoto family.  The other is a duel on *Ganryu Island between Musashi Miyamoto and Kojiro Sasaki.  The nationally famous specialty food there is Fuku fish, blowfish.  You can eat fuku dish at a reasonable price at *Karato Market.  And Kawara soba noodles is another local favorite. 

関門トンネル Kanmon Tunnel: Actually, there are three Kanmon tunnels between Shimonoseki and Moji.  The first one is the tunnel for trains.  It was completed in 1944.  It is the first undersea tunnel in Japan.  The second one is the paid tunnel for the traffic on the national route (#2).  The lower side of this tunnel is for the pedestrians.  It was completed in 1958.  The third and newest one is for the bullet trains on the Sanyo Line.

関門橋 Kanmon Bridge: It was the suspension bridge on the Expressway between Shimonoseki and Moji.  This was built to alleviate the heavy traffic of Kanmon Tunnel.  It took five years and five months to build it and was completed in 1968.  It is 1068 meters long and 61 meters high above the sea.  When it was completed, it was the longest bridge in Japan.

壇ノ浦  Dannoura Battle: This was the final battle between the Takira and Genji families, in the sea east from Shimonoseki.  After a severe battle, the Genji family won and almost all the people of the Heike family including the very young Ten-no Antoku died here.   Yoshitsune Miyamoto led the Minamoto force to victory, and he himself got engaged in the battle.  The legend says he hopped over to eight boats.

巌流島  Ganryujima Island: This is the place where the most famous duel was fought in Japan.  It was like the match to clarify which was the number one sword master in Japan, Musahi Miyamoto and Kojiro Sasaki.  The former won the duel.  The story about Musashi has been popular since the Edo period, and it was changed into a lot of books, dramas and movies.   On this island, there is a monument for this duel. 

角島  Tsunoshima Island: Recently, the bridge going over to the island got very famous as a photogenic instagrammable place through social media.  The view is very beautiful with white sand beaches and *emerald-green sea like a southern island.

仙崎センザキッチン Senza-kitchen: This is a Michinoeki, roadside shopping station in Senzaki, Yamaguchi.  It sells a lot of local productions, and *kamaboko, fish cake, is the popular Senzaki specialty.

風力発電の風車  Windmills for Power Generation:  When you drive on the road around Nagato, northwest of Yamaguchi Prefecture, you will see a lot of big windmills on the hills.  It depends on individuals whether it might be an impressive view or a destruction of a good scenery, but I had an image of a lot of Evangelions on the hill.

元乃隅神社  Motonosumi Shrine: This shrine is famous for its line of red Torri gates.  They are on the slope to the sea, and from the top, it looks like a big red snake.  It is so photogenic that it got very popular once an US TV station CNN chose and showed it as one of 31 Japanese beautiful sceneries.

青海島  Omi Island: It is a tourist spot in Nagano.  It is a good view of eroded cliffs and caves.  A cruise boat sails around the island.  

長門湯本温泉  Nagato Yumoto Hot Spring: It was just one of the ordinary hot spring places, but recently it was renovated with the help of Hoshino Resort Company, which revitalizes onsen inns and resort facilities in financial difficulties.   It is gaining popularity.

周南コンビナート Syunan Industrial Complex: Syunan City is a place for the gigantic petrochemical complex.  *The lit-up complex is a good night view.

瑠璃光寺  Rurikoji Temple: It is located in Yamaguchi City.  It is the Zen temple of the Soto sect.  The main god is Yakushi-Nyorai, the Buddha of healing.  It is well known for its *five-storied pagoda, which is designated as a National Treasure.  Rurikou means “azure (lapis lazuli) light,” but no beautiful blue color is seen in any parts of the temple.  Probably, pious believers only can see this light.  

山口と雪舟  Sessyu: He was a Zen monk and painter over 500 years ago, and he is considered to be the greatest painter of India ink paintings.  In his later life, he lived and worked in Yamaguchi under the patronage of the ruler, *Oouchi Family.  His six works are designated as National Treasures.  

However, Sessyu reminds most Japanese of a story as a young boy rather than his paintings.   He was a discipline in a Zen temple as a young boy.  He liked painting and neglected practicing trainings.  The master monk punished him by tying him around a big pillar in the hall.   A while after, the master returned to him and saw a big rat in front of the boy.  The master tried to scare it away, but the rat wouldn’t move at all.  It was not a living creature but a picture drawn by a foot toe of the young boy.  So good as to be like a real one.   The master was so impressed that he allowed the young monk to paint.  Maybe not a real story, but when we think of Sessyu, this story comes up to mind. 

山口とザビエル  Xavier: He was the Catholic missionary who introduced Christianity to Japan.  He stayed and did mission duties in Japan about two years and half.  For some months, he stayed in Yamaguchi and under the permission of the ruler Oouchi Family he taught Christianity to the people there and he was even given a demolished Buddhism temple as the missionary place.  Later, this church was burned down in a battle.   In memory of this missionary, a cathedral was built in Yamaguchi City and the name is Yamaguchi Xavier Memorial Hall.

秋吉台 Akiyoshidai: It is the largest karst plateau in Japan.  As far as you can see, green sloped fields spread with white limestone rocks scattered here and there.  The view may remind you of flocks of sheet grazing grass.  One long slightly winding road goes through the height.  It is a fantastic driveway.

秋芳洞 Akiyoshi-do Cave: The cave is 100 meters beneath Akiyoshi-dai quasi-national park.  One kilometer out of the total 12.2-kilometer length is open to the visitors.  The temperature keeps 17 degrees Celsius all through the year, so you can enjoy the walk comfortably.  You can appreciate unique and wonderful nature’s creations like Koganebasira, 15 meters tall limestone column, and Hyakumaizara, a terraced water-filled field.  This cave space is thought to have been made by a million year’s erosion, the lowering of the underwater, the piling of sand and pebbles and the chemical formation by elements of limestone.

大正洞 Taisyo-do Cave: It is one of the numerous Akiyoshidai caves, listed as an important national Natural Monument.  It is called so because it was found in the Taisyo Era about 100 years ago.  You can enjoy the walk in the cave, seeing strange and interesting cave features, but you have to be careful because some ceilings are low and all the steps are slippery.

カルストロード Karst Road: It is the common name of the 8-kilometer prefectural route #242 going through Akiyoshidai Plateau.  There are no other things in sight but green fields, white rocks and blue sky.  You can drive on the road with a comfortable sense of openness or freedom.  

秋吉台サファリランド Akiyoshidai Safari Land: It is a safari land in Akiyoshidai Plateau.  This is one of the only two safari parks in Western Japan beyond Kansai District.  Safari parks are the zoos in a safari type where the visitors, riding on a zoo bus or driving their own car, can see the animals in the open fields.

宇部興産道路 Ube-kosan Private Road: This is owned by Ube-kosan, cement manufacturer.  It is a 30-kilometer road, connecting Mine City and Ube City.  Because of a private road, no traffic laws apply to this road.  (The traffic rules are severely regulated by the company). The feature is a gigantic truck running there.  It is a double 40-ton trailer in connection, running only on this private road. 

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 赤瓦  オレンジ色のガードレール  フグ  瓦そば  唐戸市場 海が青の理由 大内氏

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 明治維新 世界遺産 道の駅 コンビナート夜景  五重塔 

長崎

長崎 Nagasaki: Nagasaki City is the top sightseeing place in Kyusyu.  It has a unique history as a trade port in the Edo period, and it remains some foreign features of China and Holland.  And it is one of the two cities in the world that have ever experienced *Atomic-bomb droppings.   And the foods there popular among the tourists are *Whale dish, *Castella, Champon noodles and *Toruko rice.   You will see a lot of students walking on syugaku-ryoko, school trips.

平和公園 Peace Park: On the hill to the hypocenter of the Atomic Bomb, this park was built to vow that we will never repeat any tragic wars again and to pray for the world peace.  In the park, there are a lot of monuments to pray for peace, including Heiwakinenzo, Peace Statute, Peace spring, and orgami crane tower and the remains of Nagasaki prison.  You may feel the blessings and prayers of Christianity rather than of Buddhism or Shinto.  It shows Nagasaki is a Christian place.

平和祈念像 Peace Statute: This big bronze statute is the center of the monuments in Peace Park.  The statute is about 9.7 meters high, formed in a sitting position with its right hand pointing upward and its left hand pointing levelly sideways.  The Nagasaki-native sculptor of this statute, Seibo Kitamura, has written on the pedestal that the right hand pointing to the Atomic bomb, the left hand to Peace and its face praying for appeasement of the souls of the deceased by the A bomb.  Every year on April 9. the Peace Ceremony is held every year. 

如克堂と永井博士 Nyokodo Hut: This hut preserved by the city near Peace Park was an office and study of Doctor Nagai, who made great contribution to helping the people suffering from the effects or aftereffects of the A bomb, although he was the victim of the bombs and passed away several years after the dropping.  The word Nyoko was taken from the phrase of “Love them like you love yourself.”

浦上天主堂 Urakami Cathedral: The former cathedral, being near the hypocenter, was blown away by the A bomb.  This had been the biggest cathedral in the Orient, built by the efforts of Christian believers whose families survived the persecution of the samurai government.  It has been reconstructed.   

原爆資料館 Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum: The displays are well arranged in the way to make the visitors interested.  As a matter of course, the center theme is how terrible the result of the dropping was.  You will first see the broken clock, showing the time of the dropping.  Everything stopped then in Nagasaki.   Besides the displays of the disastrous scenes and remains, it provides those about the process for the attack, the reconstruction of Nagasaki, the development of the atomic bomb, and the true wish for world peace.

興福寺 Kofukuji Temple: This temple in Nagasaki is unique in that this is for Chinese people residing in Nagasaki. One of the *kara-dera in Nagasaki.  So, you feel the temple doesn’t look like ordinary Japanese temples.  Here and there, you see Chinese features.  Color red is used in many places.  It belongs to the Oubaku sect founded by *Master Ingen.

亀山社中 Kameyama Shatyu: Syatyu means “company.”  It was a trading company toward the end of the Edo period.  This company’s head was Ryoma Sakamoto, a samurai hero in Japan.  He made great contribution to the Meiji Reformation.   Its office is preserved as the museum on the hill side in Tera-machi in Nagasaki.  

眼鏡橋 Megane Bashi, Spectacle Bridge: It is considered to be one of the three major beautiful bridges.  It is the oldest stone arch bridge.  With its reflection, the bridge shows its figure like a pair of glasses.  

崇福寺  Sofukuji Temple: This temple was built for the people who came from Fujian Province, China.  It was one of the Kara (Chinese) temples in Nagasaki.  You will see a lot of Chinese features about this temple.  The main hall and the first gate are designated as National Treasures.   

出島  Dejima, artificial island for foreigners: In the period where foreign trades are strictly limited in the Edo period, Dejima was the only place open to the trade to Europe.  Only Hollanders from Europe were allowed to trade with Japan. But they were confined in this Dejima.  Now this Dejima was reconstructed in accordance with historical facts.  It is open to the public.  You can learn what the European influence on Japan was like at that time. 

オランダ坂 Hollander Slope: Exoticism is the word for Nagasaki, the port town which Chinese and European cultures made a great influence on.   One of the places you can enjoy this atmosphere is Hollander Slope.  The district with this slope used to be the resident areas for foreigners.  Even now it is lined with European style houses, overviewing Nagasaki Bay.  It is said that more beauty and elegance are added to the slope on a drizzling wet day.  

大浦天主堂 Oura Cathedral: This cathedral is the oldest church of the remaining ones in Japan. It was built for the foreign residents in Nagasaki at the end of the Edo period. It has a Gothic-style, typical medieval European architect style.

It is a place where hidden Christians appeared in the church after the completion of the construction in 1864 and showed their faith openly for the first time in about 250 years. (Christianity was banned in 1612 by the Shogunate.) This news was reported to the Western World as “discovery of the faithful.”  

It was designated a National Treasure, and it is also one of the components of the UNESCO World Heritage “Nagasaki and Amakusa Region Heritage Related to Submerged Christians.”

グラバー園  Glover Garden: It is located on the height overviewing Nagasaki Bay. It is made up of the former Glover Residence, Ringer Residence, Alt Residence and the six Western constructions which were relocated and restored from the city. You can feel the exotic atmosphere of the age of foreign residence area. And this place remind some opera fans of  ‘Madam Butterfly,’ which was staged in Nagasaki. On the stone paths, there are heart shaped stones, and if you can find out and them, it is said, your love can be achieved. Every visitor tried to search for them. It is one of the most popular sightseeing places in Nagasaki.      

四海楼 Shikai-Rou: This is a restaurant for Chinese cuisine, especially known as champon noodles, Nagasaki specialty.   The cook there first served champon dishes.  The taste is good itself, but what is distinctive about the restaurant is that it is a five-storied building in a Chinese style.  The top three floors are for dining, and the second for the museum for champon.  It is imposing at the foot of the path to Glover Garden and Ooura Cathedral.

長崎湾の世界遺産 World Heritages in Nagasaki Bay Area: There are eight industrial items in this area designated as World Heritage Sites. From the beginning of the Meiji era to the second world war, Japan developed its industries with a big emphasis on shipbuilding, steelmaking and coal mining.  These eight greatly contributed to the advancement of the industry in Japan.  The eight is as follows

(1) the former wood frame factory  (2) the guest house of the shipbuilding company  (3) Giant Crane (4) The third Dock  (5) repairment dock  (6) the former Glove house  (7) Hashima coal mine  (8) Takashima coal mine

軍艦島 Gunkan jima, Gunkan Island: The real name is Hashima, but it is called so because it looks like a warship, gunkan.  Now it is a ghost town/island of a modern *coal mine industry.  The island on the whole gives us a weird, spooky impression and also, we can feel the sadness in the lost glory of the most advanced area at the peak of coal industry.  It is said to have been as advanced as Tokyo.  But with the downfall on the industry, the coal mine was closed in 1974.  Since that, it has never been inhabited.  All the things, company building, apartment houses, shops and schools, on the island, are on the downslope to total destruction.  This fact may move some people, especially those who value the Buddhism transientness of the world, sentimentally.

九十九島と展望台 Kujuku Islands:Kujuku literally means “99,” but it generally means “numerous.”  The islands spread off the west coast of Nagasaki Prefecture, and they show us a beautiful seascape of numerous islands and the blues seas.   It is also designated as a National Park.  The observatories on the hills behind Sasebo City like Ten-Kai-Ho and Ishizaki are good places to command this magnificent view.  

佐世保重工業 Sasebo Heavy Industry Corporation: It is a shipyard company in Sasebo, and you can see a lot of gigantic cranes from the road along this company’s doc. 

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 鯨料理 修学旅行  隠元、唐寺  カステラ、トルコライス

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 原爆 核兵器条約 炭鉱 

佐賀

大興善寺 Daikozenji Temple: This is a Tendai Sect temple located at the food of Mt. Chigiri in Kiyama Town, Saga.  It is well known for azaleas in spring and red leaves in autumn.  The points to see here are “*Ten Thousand Azaleas in One Veiw,” *Chigiri Shrine as Lover’s Sanctury, “*Sitting one hundred years on a stone,””*Shishi-odoshi,” and “*Water-wheel.” Sometimes a *monkey show is performed.  You can get a talisman picture of *Tsuno-taishi.

一目一万本 Ten Thousand Azaleas in One View: The best viewing spot for azaleas in the walk path in Daikozenji Temple.  One area of a slope is covered with red, pink and white colors of azalea flowers.

契山 Lover’s Sancturary Project and Mt. Chigiri: Out of sightseeing spots, an NPO has selected more than 100 places suitable for popping the question as lover’s sanctuary.  Each selected place has its own events to promote the popularity.  One shrine place of Mt, Chigiri in Daikozenji Temple Park is.

基山 Kiyama Town: This town in Saga spreads at the foot of Mt. Kiyama, on whose top you can enjoy grass sledding.

鳥栖 Tosu City : Tosu is at the intersection of the two major highways in Kyushu, so it plays an important role as a hub city of transportation and it has a lot of storage facilities.  And it is the hometown for Sagan Tosu, a professional soccer team of *J League.

ゾンビランドサガとマンホールの絵 Zombie Land Saga and Picture Manholes: It is an anime staged in Saga Prefecture.  Seven young girls, actually zombie, are working hard to make their group known to the world.   This anime was a big hit, and Saga Prefecture has taken advantage of the success of this anime to promote the prefecture.  There are a lot of commodities in Saga which collaborate with the anime using the images of the characters as eye-catchers.   Now many manholes with a picture of one character in the anime are installed all over Saga Prefecture to attract this anime fans to Saga.

駅前不動産スタジアム Ekimae Fudosan Stadium: The real estate company, “fudosan,” has bought the naming right to the football stadium in front of Saga Station.   It is the home stadium for Sagan Tosu, a professional football team of *J League.

鳥栖プレミアムモール  Tosu Premium Mall: It is one of the largest malls in Japan.  More than 150 top brand shops, domestic and foreign, are put together in this mall, which has some impression of a sunny town in Sothern California.

嬉野温泉 Ureshino Hot Spring: It is known as one of the three major hot springs for beautiful skins (along with Hinokami, shimane and Kitsuregawa, Tochigi).  The hot water there is said to make your skin very smooth and beautiful.  *It is also known for Specilty Onsen Yu-Dofu.

豊玉姫神社とナマズ Toyotamahime Shrine and a Catfish: It is a shrine in Ureshino spa area.  It worships a catfish.  This cat fish is said to get your skins beautiful.  The visitors who want to get smooth skins not only pray in front of the main hall, but also for the stone statue of a catfish next to the main hall. 

武雄市図書館 Takeo City Library: This library has been renovated to be like a Tsutaya Book Store or a real Tsutaya Book store. When it was reopened, it was a nationwide piece of news.  The interior impression is not that of a public library anymore but that of an urban stylish bookstore with a café.  It is for the local people, indeed, but it is more than that, one of the sightseeing spots in the city.  

武雄温泉 Takeo Hot Spring: The feature is its clear hot water, good for keeping the smoothness of your skin.  The word “Bijin-no-yu,” hot spring for the beauty, applies to this Takeo Onsen.  It has a history of 1300 years.  The big red high gate welcomes the visitors to this Onsen area. 

浜野浦の棚田 Terraced Rice Paddies at Hamanoura: The area is located in Genkai Town, Saga.  They give us a beautiful scenery of terraced fields on the slop extending to the cove.  In the time of shirokaki, that is, the stage of irrigating water before planting rice, at the sunny sunset, the water of each rice paddy shines in colors of red and orange, and the view is the utmost beauty.

有田ポーセリンパーク Arita Porcelain Park: It is a small theme park located in Arita Town.  This park is a reproduction of a traditional German village.  The main theme topic is porcelain, which Arita is famous for, and Japanese alcohol.  The attractive center building is a duplication of Zwinger Palace in Dresden, Germany.

九州陶磁文化館 Kyusyu Ceramic Museum: It is the Prefectural Museum specially displaying porcelains in Arita Town.  It shows a lot of Arita Ware (some are of utmost beauty) and the displays explaining its history and making process.   When you are interested in Arita Ware and other ceramic, you must visit this museum to enrich your knowledge of Arita Ware, like *Kakienmon style, *Kinrante and *Nabeshima style. 

三重津海軍所跡  Mietsu Naval Dock: Its historic traces are preserved in Saga City.  It was the fiscality on the bank of a branch river of the Chikugo built by Saga Province toward the end of the Edo Period.  At that time, Japan was facing the issue of promoting the naval power to protest Big Powers.  In this dock, a navy education was done by using a Western Style ship, and it was the port and repairing dock for the ships of the province. 

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 猿回し 石の上にも百年 鹿威し 角大師 Jリーグ 柿右衛門様式 金襴手 鍋島様式 温泉湯豆腐

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 恋人の聖地  天台宗 

大分

日田市と進撃の巨人  Hita City and Attack on Titan: Hita City is promoting the tourism industry by collaborating with the manga and animation of Attack on Titan.  Hita is the hometown of its comic artist, Hajime Isayama. They built a display museum for this world-famous manga.  Three-children statue looking up at the dam in Hita, impressing us as those looking up at a giant appearing over the high wall, attracts this manga fans. This town is also known for *fried noodles of its own style.

湯布院温泉  Yufuin Hot Spring: This is, as many agree, the best and most fashionable Onsen area in Kyushu.   It has uniquely developed to the place which can attract the women’s interest.  It can be said Yufuin is lady’s Onsen town.  It has not put any stress on night life entertainments that may attract male adults like those in other Onsen towns.   There are no tall and big hotels, and every Onsen inn is hidden in a quiet and green place.  From almost everywhere, the imposing figure of Mt. Yufu can be seen.  The route from Yufuin station to Lake Kinrin-ko is lined on both sides with attractive shops selling sweets, snacks, and kawaii goods.  The food features you can enjoy there are *Toriten,*Kabosu, *Croquette, *Bungo-mabushi and *Yuzu pepper.   Kawaii and serenity is well mixed in this area, and this is why Yufuin is very popular, especially among ladies.

金鱗湖  Kinrin-ko Lake: It is a symbol image of Yufuin Onsen area.  In the early morning, the surface is often covered with mist, which makes the lake fantastic scenery.

由布岳  Mt. Yufu: It is a dead volcano.  The beautiful cone-shaped figure is seen from everywhere around.   It is an imposing backdrop of Yufuin Onsen.Floral Village  Yufuin Floral Village: It is one step aside from Yunotsubo-Kaido, the crowded street for tourists.  It mocks a town in Cotswolds.  It is a kind of miniature theme park of fairy tales.  You can enjoy stone cottages of shops, popular fictional characters and adorable small animals.

別府地獄巡り Jigoku Meguri “Hells Tour”: Beppu has a numerous number of hot springs, some of which have their own unique features like steaming ponds, colored water pools, guizers and bubbling mud. These places with rough rocks and steaming hot water associate us with the images of Hell in the Buddhism world. This is why it is called Hell. This tour picks up seven distinctive hells among them and provide us with an enjoyable chance to explore in another world of the Hell Regions. 

The seven jigiku are these. Click here.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 日田やきそば とり天  かぼす  豊後牛まぶし  金賞コロッケ  ゆずこしょう

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 温泉

熊本

八代  Yatsushiro: This is a rural garden city located in Kumamoto Prefecture.  About 80 percent of igusa reed, material for tatami mats, is produced here.

黒川温泉と温泉手形  Kurokawa Hot Spring and its Onsen Pass: Kurokawa Onsen, located in the northern side of Mt. Aso, is one of the popular *onsen places in Japan.  Kurokawa is a small town with more than twenty onsen inns along a river stream.  The town sells a onsen pass in a shape of a round cross-cut tree, made of wood.  With this pass, you can take a bath in three onsen inns of your choice.  Some are wearing yukata and *seta while walking around for onsen inns.  There are some shops selling *Kumamon and *Rirakkuma souvenirs and some food like *‘soft cream.’ and *‘lamune.’  You can eat *dagojiru or *takana fried rice.

小国町と北里柴三郎  Oguni Town and Sibasaburo Kitazato:  Oguni Town is promoting the tourism by advertising it as the hometown of Shibasaubro Kitazato.  He was one of the greatest medical scholars in history.  He specialized in inflectional diseases.  Due to his great contribution to the field, he has been chosen as a portrait on the new 1,000-yen bill.

鍋ヶ滝  Nabegatake Waterfall:It is located in Oguni Town close to Kurokawa Onsen.  It is one of the scenic waterfalls, but what is unique about this waterfall is that you can go behind the waterfall and view the dropping flow there.  It was formed by the big eruption that happened about 90 thousand years ago.

阿蘇ジオパーク  Aso Geopark: Geo Park means scientifically important area having precious geographical features and providing the chances to learn Nature and Geography.  The area centering Mt. Aso is unique enough to be designated as this.  These features have been formed by the volcanic activities that started about 270 thousand years ago.  Nabegatake Waterflass is one of the distinguished features.

熊本 Kumamoto City :Kumamoto City is a major city in the center of Kyusyu.  It is well-known for the castle built by *Kiyomasa Kato.  Street cars run in the city.  There are some Kumamoto specialty foods like *basahi, *Ramen, *Ikinari-dango, *mustard lotus roots and *Tai-pi-en.  *Yakumo Koizumi lived here.

熊本城  Kumamoto Castle: It is one of the most popular castles in Japan.  Imposing and beautiful.  It was greatly damaged by the big earthquake in 2016, but the main keep has been repaired and open to the public.  You can get to the top floor by going up the staircases.  On every floor on the way to the top, historic things and pictures and others are displayed, so the main keep itself is a history museum.  It is also known as the beautiful slopes of stone walls called “Musyagaeshi.”

In more details about Kumamto Castle, click here.

首掛石  Kubikake-ishi: One episode and its monument about Kumamoto Castle.   A big U-shaped stone is placed in the castle.  The legend says that, in building the castle, a powerful laborer, Goro Yokote carried this big type of stone by putting it around his neck (kubikake).  But this is a tragedy. He was a son of the samurai, who was killed by Kiyomasa Kato.  He disguised himself as a laborer to avenge his father’s death.   But his scheme came to light, and he was dropped into a well while working for its construction.  Then a lot of big rocks were thrown at him, but he caught all of them.   Finally, sand was thrown down to bury him to death.

水前寺公園 Suizenji Park: It is a beautiful Japanese garden built by a daimyo lord of Hosokawa Family.  A typical daimyo garden with a pond, paths, rocks, mounds and pine trees.  And somewhere Kumamon.

加藤神社  Kato Shrine: It is the shrine founded inside Kumamoto Castle, enshrining the samurai lord Kiyomasa Kato.  It is affectionately called “Seisyoko-san.”  From this shrine, you can have an excellent view of Kumamoto Castle.

ルフィ像  Luffy Statue: Under the Kumamoto restoration project, the statue of Luffy, the main character of the manga “One Piece,” was placed in front of Kumamoto prefectural office.  This was done with the aid of the author Eiichiro Oda, who comes from Kumamoto City, for the purpose of helping restore Kumamoto seriously damaged by the big earthquakes.  After this statue, one character after another was placed all around Kumamoto Prefecture.  Now ten statues are there.

阿蘇山 Mt. Aso: It usually refers to the region consisting of five volcanos, the field surrounding them and the outer rim.  It is a double volcano.  And it functions as the center of the tourism in Kyusyu.  The area provides amazingly impressive nature views.  It is an ideal place for motorbike and automobile fans.

阿蘇・草千里ヶ浜 Kusasenri-ga-hama Green Field: This grassお field spreads about one kilometer in diameter at the north skirt of Eboshi Peak. In a wet season, a pond is formed in the center.  It is the remain of the double volcanic crater. It has a pond in the center with several mounds around. It is enjoyable to stroll in the field with a nice view of smoking Nakadake Peak. Also, they have a short horse-back ride tour pulled by a walking person. Opposite to the field is the parking lot with several commercial facilities like restaurants and souvenir shops.

阿蘇・白川水源 Shirakawa Water Source: There are a lot of water sources in the Southern part of Aso district. This water source, located in the precincts of Yoshimi Shrine, has the greatest amount of water spring of them all. It gives 90,000 tons every day, and the water temperature is 14℃ throughout the year. Through the clean transparent water, you can see the water gushing up from the bottom with the great force flipping up the sand.  

阿蘇中岳火口  Naka Peak Crater: Naka peak is active. Around the rim of the smoking crater, you can have a great view of the rough ground made of lava. You will get there by the toll-road or on foot, unless the regulation to ban approaching is enforced because of the condition of the gas given off from the crater.

阿蘇・高森湧水トンネル Takamori Spring Water Tunnel: It is a tunnel and park with a water spring producing 32 ton every minutes. A lot of events are held throughout the year. The inside of the tunnel is very fantastic with photo spots for Social Network and The Water Pearls (water drop production device).

阿蘇・大観峰  Daikan-bo: This is the highest point on the outer rim of Mt. Aso, 936 meters above sea level. You can enjoy the splendid view of the five peaks of Mt. Aso, which is compared to the image of the Buddha Nehan (entering nirvana).

菊池渓谷 Kikuchi Gorge: It is a beautiful glen with a one-hour pathway.  The visitors enjoy walking there and watching various interesting views of rocks, the river and waterfalls.  A lot of photograph fans come visit this gorge to take shots of the beautiful scenery, which changes seasonally.

山鹿温泉 Yamaga Hot Spring: An old document written more than 1000 years ago refers to this Onsen place.  Some guy noticed a injured deer taking a hot spring bath, and this was the origin of Yamaga Onsen.  Yamaga literally means Mountain Deer.  Yamaga is also known for *Yamaga lanterns.

八千代座  Yachiyo-za, Play Theater: It was built in Yamaga in 1910, a kabuki theater being as a model.  Once it was closed due to the drop in the popularity in play theaters and got totally dilapidated, but city people repaired and renovated it into the present beautiful theater house.  It has worked as a real play theater since the 13th year of the Reiwa era.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 雪駄  くまもん  だご汁  高菜めし 馬刺し 熊本ラーメン 路面電車 加藤清正 いきなり団子 辛子蓮根 武者返し 太平燕 小泉八雲  山鹿灯籠

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 刺身料理 温泉と入れ墨   温泉の水質(9,10種) ソフトクリーム   リラックマ ラムネ 天守閣 路面電車 野焼き

鹿児島

開聞岳  Mt. Kaimondake: This is a volcano located at the southern edge of Satsuma Peninsula with a height of 924 m.  Its shape is a beautiful cone, and it is called “Satsuma Fuji.”

指宿温泉  Ibusuki hot spring: You can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the big sea and Mt. Kaimondake. You can also enjoy a *sand steamed hot bath.

知覧  Chiran: Chiran town is located in Minami-Kyusyu City, Kagoshima Prefecture.  It has historical places such as the samurai residential area and peace museum for *kamikaze pilots.  It is an agricultural town well known for tea production.

鹿児島 Kagoshima: It is a historical place where the samurai there made great contributions to the Meiji Reform.  You can visit a lot of historic sites.  The symbol is Mt. Sakurajima, a volcano.   And you can enjoy eating *Kagoshima foods and drinking * shouchu spirits.  *Karukan is a Kagoshima sweets.

西郷隆盛像  Statue of Takamori Saigo: This Statue represents Takamori Saigo in military clothes.  He was an army general in the19th century.  It is 8 meters high, and its back-straight standing pose is very impressive with Shiroya Hill as a backdrop.

桜島 Mt. Sakurajima: It is an active volcano in Kagoshima Bay.  The mountain smoking from the top can be seen across the bay from Kagoshima City.  The magnificent figure can be associated with the pride and dignity of samurai spirits.  Since the samurai age, it has been the symbol of Kagoshima.                                                   

仙巌園 Sengan Garden: It used to be the villa of *the Shimazu, the Daimyo lord family of Satsuma providence.  It is one of the most typical Daimyo gardens.  It provides the visitors with a great view of Mt. Sakurajima, old houses where the lords stayed and Kagoshima food specialties including *Jumbo Yaki.  Annexed with this garden are the museum displaying the items from the old factories of producing Western things and the factory for showing the way of making Satsuma glassware.

九州南部の薩摩弥五郎どん Yagoro-don: This is a Giant in the legend passed down in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.  It says he sat down the mountain and washed his face with the sea or that his footsteps changed into ponds and valleys.  In some towns, towns people hold the yearly festival or rituals featuring Yagoro-don.

霧島神宮  Kirishima Shrine: This shrine is one of the best “Power Spot,” meaning “spiritual place giving good luck.” in Sothern Kyusyu.  Including this shrine, this area, which also is designated *Geo Paark, was staged in Japanese Mythology as a place where a God’s grandson first landed.  The main pavilion is designated as a National Treasure.   Sakamoto Ryoma, a legendary Samurai Hero and his wife visited this shrine after getting married, and the trip including this visit is thought to be the first honeymoon trip ever in Japan.  This shrine gives the visitors nine kinds of good blessings called *“Kumenmamori.”

曽木の滝  Sogi Water Falls: This impressive area is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Kagoshima Prefecture.  It is located in Northern Kagoshima.    It is 12 meters high and 210 meters wide.  The view is just like a miniature of Niagara Falls.  It is called “Niagara of the Orient.”

〈補助説明・地区限定〉砂蒸し風呂 特攻隊 鹿児島料理 焼酎 西郷隆盛 ジャンボ焼き 殖産興業 軽羹 霧島ジオパーク 九面守 

〈補助説明・全国共通〉明治維新 殖産興業 世界遺産 国立公園

宮崎

椰子の木道路 Palm Trees Street:  Mostly in southern Kyushu, palm trees grow.  They were transplanted.  Especially In Miyazaki, Roads with palm trees lined on both sides are everywhere.   When you see these roads, you will surely feel you are in a southern warm area in Japan.

都井岬 Toi Cape: It is located at the southernmost tip of Nichinan Seashore Quasi-National Park.  There is a white light house first designated as a tangible cultural property in Kyusyu.  The light house is the only one which interior is open to the public.  The area is inhabited by *wild horses of native breed, designated as a national monument.   They are called “Misaki Uma” literally meaning “Cape Horse.” 

日南海岸  Nichinan Seashore: Along the sealine, there is a main road from Miyazaki city stretched south to Toi Cape.  It is a popular route for car driving fans.   Under the southern-area atmosphere of specific flowers and the beautiful sea, it is spotted with a lot of sightseeing places such as good viewpoints of seascape and Shinto shrines.  One of the most pleasing driving routes in Kyusyu.

鬼の洗濯板 Oni-no-sentakuita, Demon’s Washing Board: Washing boards were used before electric washing machines.  The board has a serrated surface with lines of narrow ditches from side to side, on which clothes are rubbed to clean.  When you drive a car along the Nichinan road, you can see some serrated rock constructions in the seashore, which look like a washing board.  It is much bigger than a real one, so the name is called with some exaggerating expression “Oni,” Japanese imaginary ogre-like monster.

鵜戸神宮 Udo Shrine: It is located on the rock cliff in the Nichinan Seashore.  The main pavilion is in a cave.  To get here, you should go down the slope from the parking lot, and you can see a great view of the Pacific Ocean.  Under the cave of the main pavilion, tens of meters away in the sea, there is a big rock with a shallow square hole on the flat top.  This is called “Kameishi,” meaning “turtle stone.”  Visitors can throw small clay balls at the hole for the luck trial.

宮崎 Miyazki:Miyazaki is a warm prefecture with a lot of beautiful sceneries.  The good weather and good sceneries once make it the most popular honey place.  Now it is a good camping placet for professional baseball teams.  *Miyazaki foods attracts a lot of visitors.

えびの市の田の神さぁ Tanokansa, Guardian Gods in rice fields: These are stone figures of Gods that people built to pray for good harvest. The farmers in Sothern Kyushu believed in them in old times.  Its figure varies.  Mostly, small stone is carved into a person figure, painted in a childish way.  Maybe cute.  Ebino City is a good place to see them. 

高千穂峡  Takachiho Gorge: This gorge is located in Gokase River, listed as a national beautiful scenery and as a natural monument. The big eruption of Mt. Aso 120,000 years ago formed this gorge. The pyroclastic flow went through the river and stopped and solidified here in the form of pillars. Then the river water eroded these solidified rocks and a new gorge appeared again. You can see most bizarre and unique geographical features, including the beautiful water fall and the Takachiho symbol, “Manai Waterfalls.” You can rent a boat to enjoy this gorge.   

高千穂神社と神楽  Takachiho Shrine & Holy Dance: Takachiho is the place where several mythological stories are staged like Amano-Iwato and Holy Granson Landing on Earth. Because of this, each area in Takachio district has a yearly holy dance performance in its sacred place. Takachiho shrine is one of the places, but it shows the visitors this Kagura holy dance every evening. The dance is based on stories of the myth.  

高千穂あまてらす鉄道  Takachiho Amaterasu Railway: It used to a national railway, but one big typhoon destroyed it and it couldn’t be restored because of the shortage of budget. Instead, though it is just a two-station distance, it has been changed into a tourism open trolley line.  It is just a thirty minutes’ ride, but it runs through the two short tunnels with illumination on the ceilings and get to the middle point of the high iron bridge over the river. From the bridge, you can have a all-direction landscape in Takachiho area.

天岩戸神社と天野安河原  Amano-Iwato Shrine & Amano-Yasukawara Riverside: These places are based on the following mythical story:

Amaterasu-Oumikai, the sun goddess, is the ruler of Heaven called Takaagama-Hara. She ruled there peacefully until her son appeared. He is violent and wild, doing his own way and causing a lot of troubles. She asked him not to, but he didn’t obey her orders. Finally, he killed her weaving girls, and she got extremely angry. She hid herself in the rock cave named “Amano-Iwato.” She was the sun goddess, so the world got into the darkness and evil things began to happen. All the deities gathered up in the riverbed named “Amano-Yasukawara,” and talked over the solution. The plan was that they would have a party in front of the cave, making exciting and merry atmosphere led by the dance goddess. If she would hear the noise, she would be interested and surely open the door a bit to see what was going on. At that moment, the strongest god opened the door and pulled her out of the cave. This plan worked and the world got bright again.

The shrine worships and guards the cave “Amano-Iwato.” And the hollow place on the cliff along the river has been changed into the sacred place of Amano-Yasukawara. Here you will see a lot of piles of small rocks.  

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 野生の馬 鵜戸神宮の運試し 宮崎飯

沖縄

GG22会の角田さんのプレセンの英文をまとめています。

やんばるの森 Yambaru Forest: Since Okinawa Island is isolated from mainland Japan and the Eurasia continent, Yambaru forest has many endemic, rare and endangered species, including the Okinawa rail (yanbarukuina) and the Okinawa woodpecker (noguchigera). “Yambaru” mean the mother nature such as mountains in the northern part of Okinawa. It is the Okinawa dialect. Yambaru Forest located in the northern part of Okinawa is one of the largest subtropical rainforests in Japan, which was designated as the 33rd National Park in 2016 and as a World Natural Heritage in July, 2021.

沖縄の概要 Okinawa :Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture in Japan, has the population of about 1.4 million and enjoys the reputation as one of the most popular resorts in Japan. Okinawa has beautiful coral reefs off the coasts, and you can find wonderful beaches everywhere. It is warm throughout the year with the average temperature of 25 degrees C.

前田高地 Maeda Escarpment, Hacksaw Ridge: It was the severest battlefield in Okinawa military battles between America and Japan, which began in April, 1946. This is where Urasoe Castle used to be in the kingdom age. It was called “Maeda Escarpment (Steep cliff)” by the Japanese army and “Hacksaw Ridge” by the Americans. 

ひめゆりの塔 Himeuri Monument: Himeyuri-no-tou is the monument to the victims of girl students called “Himeyuri” in Itoman City. During the war, the female students were forced to be engaged in nursing activities. While Himeyuri girls were doing their duty in a shelter near Army Hospital, they got involved in the attack by the US force and most of them lost their lives there. The monument was built at the very place.

黎明の塔 Reimei no Tou: Reimei Monument was built at Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, Itoman City for the memory of General Mitsuru Ushijima and Lieutenant General Isamu Cho, both of whom had tried hard to defend Okinawa but killed themselves at the last moment of the Okinawa battles in 1945.

米軍基地 US Army Base: Okinawa prefecture has 31 US army-and-navy related facilities, which occupy almost 15% of the island area, and they also account for about 70% of the US military bases all over Japan. 

座間味島  Zamami island: Zamami island is located in the center of the Kerama islands, about 40 kilometers west from Naha City, with the population of about 600. This island is famous for the fact that it was the first island that the US force landed in the battles of Okinawa, which started in 1945, and it is now a popular place every diver all over the world wants to visit once in a lifetime.

福岡・福岡地区

 (福岡市東~宗像糟屋)

宗像大社  Munakata Shrine: Munakata Shrine is one of the oldest *Shinto shrines and is referred to in Japanese mythology.  Located close to Korean Peninsula, it was an important staging point in ancient times.  Since then, it has been worshiped as a sacred place for safety trips both in the sea and on the land.  Nowadays, people in the local area think it is a shrine mainly for safety driving.  A lot of people visit this shrine to buy an Omamori lucky charm for safety driving or to have *a new car purified by a Shinto priest.  It was a UNESCO World Heritage as Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region.

沖ノ島  Okinoshima Island: This island is to the north 60 km away from Fukuoka Prefecture.  It belongs to Munakata shrine.  Since ancient times, religious rituals, originated from nature worships, have been held.  Even now, one priest from Munakata shrine comes and stays to hold rituals.  A lot of various things have been excavated and about eighty thousand items are listed as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.  It’s called “Shosoin in the sea” (Shosoin is the treasure house in Nara, the ancient capital).

南蔵院  Nanzoin Temple: This is the temple of the Shingon sect located in Sasaguri Town, Fukuoka Prefecture.  It is one of the prestigious temples of the sect and the head temple for the visiting-48-temples pilgrim in Sasaguri sacred area.  It has one of the biggest bronze *Buddha lying statues in the world.  About 1.3 million people visit the temple every year.

筥崎宮 Hakozaki Shrine: One of the three major *Hachiman shrines.  In the crisis of the *Mongol Invasions, Kameyama Emperor Emeritus prayed here for “Enemy Surrender.”  (His big statue is there.)  Since the success in protecting Japan against the Mongolians, the shrine has been believed to guard the sailing in the sea and protecting against the invasions from overseas.  It holds a Hojoya festival every September.  

香椎宮 Kashii Shrine: Located in Kashii, East Ward, Fukuoka. It enshrines Chugai Ten-no Emperor and Jingu Empress.  It originated in ancient ages as an altar the empress built for the burial place of Chugai Emperor, who died there on his way to attack Kumaso, a strong Kyusyu ruling people.

In the approaching way, you see a Komainu shutting its mouth.  You should touch this Komainu called “Un.” and turn around and walk back onto the white stone of pavement.  Standing there and looking back to the wooden gate, you will see the Kanji letter “開“ pronounced as Kai, formed by the shape of gate and that of a Torii gate beyond.  Un and Kai goes to Kai Un, which means “Good Luck.”

鶏石神宮  Keiseki Shrine: In the precincts of Kashii Shrine. Keiseki means “Chicken and Stone.”  It is a very rare shrine worshiping chickens.  The legend says that a chicken died and turned into a stone and a Buddhist monk felt a pity for it and built an altar.  Chickens never cry during the night, so this shrine is said to be good for preventing a baby from crying at night.  A praying picture board is egg-shaped and somewhat cute.

宮地嶽神社  It is a shrine located in Fukutsu City, Fukuoka.  It is well known for *Light Road.   It has the biggest *Shimenawa, straw festoon.

篠栗九大の森 Sasaguri Kyusyu University Woods: It is a private woods area for the university, but the pathway is open to the public for free.  It is a 30 minutes’ walk around a small lake, and you can enjoy rambling around in the serene atmosphere.  One point on the walkway is “Mizube-no-mori,” where you can see the trees with the stems covered with the water.

志免鉱業所竪坑櫓 Tower for Coalmine Shaft in Shime: This is the industrial heritage building in Shime Town, constructed in 1943 for Shime coal mine.  It is an over 47 meters tower in high quadratic prism made in concrete, with the down half in a skeleton frame.  This bizarre image pops up in the town area in Shime Town.  It is preserved as a National Important Cultural Property.

宇美八幡宮 Umi Shrine: It is one of the Hachiman sect Shinto shires.  The legend says Empress Jingu gave birth to Emperor Oujin in this place in the prehistoric age.  The word “Umi” comes from the word with the same pronunciation meaning “Giving Birth.”  So, people come visit this shrine to pray for safe birth.  

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 涅槃像 元寇 放生会 光の道 

〈補助説明・全国共通〉神道 お祓い 古墳 仏像の顔 仏像のランク 観音菩薩 八幡宮 注連縄

  (福岡市西~糸島)

糸島  Itoshima: It is located to the west of Fukuoka City.  Recently, it’s been getting more and more popular as a tourism place with a lot of scenic points (or instagrammable spots).   It WAS popular because it has some good sceneries on the seashores and in the mountain areas.  Nowadays, one stylish shop after another opens on the seaside roads, and attracts a lot of people, especially young ladies.   Only one hour drive from the busiest and crowded districts of Fukuoka City leads us to this beautiful area.

櫻井神社  Sakurai Shrine: It is just one of small common Shinto shrines, located in Itoshima, but its name ‘Sakurai’led it to a popular place among some people.  Sakurai is the same name as one of the members of *ARASHI, Syo Sakurai.  It has become a sacred place for ARASHI fans.  During their active time, it was very hard to get a ticket for their concerts, so many fans visited this shrine to pray for the success in getting one by hanging a praying board.   Anyway, due to this, or due to the trend of visiting spiritual spots, it has got a position as a Power Spot in Fukuoka.

二見ヶ浦の夫婦岩  Meoto Iwa at Futamiga-Ura Beach: Meoto Iwa means Mariried Couple Rocks.  Two rocks side by side above the sea surface are sometimes made to take a role as a symbol of a good married couple.  The larger represents the husband and the smaller the wife.  Between the two rocks hangs a Shimenawa, Shinto holy rope.  The one in Ise’s Futamiga-ura is the one nationally well-known, but the one in Itoshima’s Futamigaura is popular with the local people.

牡蠣小屋  Kaki-Goya, Oyster Hut: Itoshima has a lot of oyster huts, serving oysters and other marine food.   The customers grill them over charcoals for themselves.

芥屋の大門  Keya-No-Oto: It is a sea cave located in the seashore in Itoshima.  It was formed by wave erosion, and it got a strange scenery.   It is one of the tourist spots, and you can see it by the pleasure boat sailed from the nearby port.

白糸の滝  Shiraito-No-Taki: It is one the popular tourist spots in the mountain area in Itoshima.  It is a waterfall looking like a white string, ‘Shiraito.’  Nearby, there are some small restaurants serving dishes of yamame, a species of landlocked salmon.

猿田彦神社  Sarutahiko Shrine: This is located in Sawara Ward, Fukuoka City.  It shrines *Sarutahiko God.   It is well known for its *monkey-face lucky charm on *Koushin days.

福岡タワー  Fukuoka Tower:  It is a broadcasting tower, 234 meters high.  It was built for the Asia Pacific Exhibition held in Fukuoka in 1989.  It is a high construction with mirror walls in a modern style.   It has an observatory deck where you can view Fukuoka City in all the directions.  

福岡市博物館  Fukuoka Municipal Museum: It is a city museum founded in 1990.  It displays Gold Seal.

シーサイド百道 Seaside Momochi: It is a development area formed by reclaiming the seashores on Hakata Bay, to the north of Nishijin Area, an old residential area.  It is the most advanced area in Fukuoka with a lot of newly built modern budlings such as tall apartment houses, museums, malls and hospitals.  The two major symbolic figures are Fukuoka Tower and Paypay Dome.  Also, you can see some monuments about Sazae-san, a popular cartoon as the place which its original manga staged.

BOSS E ZO FUKUOKA  BOSS E ZO FUKUOKA: It is an entertainment facility next to PayPay Dome.  This seven-story building provides two theaters, some restaurants, VR arcades, tube sliders and one digital visual experimental zone by *TeamLab.  It is a near-futuristic place stimulating all of your five senses.

PayPayドーム  PayPay Dome: It is a dome-style baseball park for the Softbank Hawks.  It was built in 1993 as the second Dome stadium in Japan.  The stadium’s roof can be opened and shut.  The first name was Fukuoka Dome, and it changed to Fukuoka Yafuoku Dome and then to the present name Fukuoka PayPay Dome.  It is also used as a concert venue or a commercial fair.

三重津海軍所跡  Mietsu Naval Dock: Its historic traces are preserved in Saga City.  It was the fiscality on the bank of a branch river of the Chikugo built by Saga Province toward the end of the Edo Period.  At that time, Japan was facing the issue of promoting the naval power to protest Big Powers.  In this dock, a navy education was done by using a Western Style ship, and it was the port and repairing dock for the ships of the province. 

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 嵐ARASHI  猿田彦  猿面  庚申信仰  金印 TeamLab 吉本興業

〈補助説明・全国共通〉

  (福岡市中央~旧筑紫郡)

福博であい橋 Fukuhaku-Deai-Bashi: It means “a bridge where Fukuoka and Hakaka meets.  Fukuoka City has two major districts, Fukuoka the town of samurai and Hakata the town of merchants.  The bridge is rather new and pretty beautiful, and the view from the bridge is also good, especially the night view of illuminated Nakasu.  It is thought a good dating spot.

中洲 Nakasu: Nakasu area is a sandbank (this is Nakasu in Japanese) in Naka River, which divides Fukuoka and Hakata.  It is a night town in the city.  There are a lot of restaurants and bars and whatever adults can enjoy.   And on the riverside, yatai, food stands, are lined.  At yatai, you can eat the famous Hakata Tonkotsu *ramen noodles.

水鏡神社 Suikyo Shrine: This is a Tenmangu, shrine for Michizane Sugawara. The legend says this place is where he saw his face on the river surface as a mirror when he was carried to Dazaifu.  He saw a sad and haggard face and cried, it says. It is located in Tenjin, which is the god name of Michizane Sugawara.

住吉神社 Sumiyoshi Shrine: This is one of the Sumiyoshi-sect shrines that spread all over Japan and this is one of the major three Sumiyoshi ones.  This type of shrine enshrines the three Sea Gods guarding the safety of voyage.  A lot visit this shrine surrounded by the green trees in a big city as a ‘Power Spot.’   What attracts the attention of the visitors most is a big statue of a *sumo wrestler in ancient time, placed near the main hall.  This shrine has long had a close relation to sumo.  Touch the right palm with yours, and this may bring you some power, because that palm has wrinkle lines showing the kanji letter ‘力’meaning power.

十日恵比須神社 Tooka Ebisu Shine: It is close to the prefectural office.  Ebisu is a god for commercial success or big fish catches.  His image is always with a fishing rod and a *red snapper.  This shrine is well known for the *geisha parade on New Year.

ララポート福岡 Lalaport Fukuoka: Lalaport is a chain shopping complex.   Lalaport Fukuoka began the operation in April, 2022.  The actual size Gundam robot attracts the attention of Fukuoka people and Japan’s Gundam fans. 

キッザニア Kidzania: It is an indoor theme amusement place where kids can experience a variety of jobs in each simulation room.  This is in Lalaport Fukuoka.  

博多街 Hakata Old District: It is an old district remaining the age of the merchants town thriving. There are a lot of temples there, and it is the place for Hakata Yamakasa race-running.

博多千年門  Hakata One Thousand Gate:It is a big gate built recently located in the gateway to the temple district of Hakata Town.  It is a remodel of the real gate that existed as a welcome gate to Hakata in the main route from Dazaifu in the Edo period. 

キャナルシティ Canal City: It is a popular commercial facility close to Hakata Station.

不思議博物館 Hushigi Wonder Museum: It is located in a hill in Nakagawa city, open only once a month.  It displays the big works created only by one man, the owner.  The works are creepy, strange and unique like a gigantic tardigrade and an imaginary creature.  You may feel as if you were in another world.  

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 博多豚骨ラーメン 相撲の始まり 芸者 鯛 ガンダム 

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 天満宮

博多街地区は別ベージで詳しく解説 ここに飛んで下さい →ここに説明

キャナルシティは別ベージで詳しく解説 ここに飛んで下さい →ここに説明

  (大宰府周辺)

太宰府と菅原道真  Dazaifu and Michizane Sugawara: Dazaifu was the important place in ancient times.  It was like a head branch office of Company Japan in Kyusyu.  It was because the area of Dazaifu is the closest to the main continent.  But 1200 years ago, Sugawara Michizane was expelled to this place, and its significance was changed.  Soon after his death, he was enshrined to this place and led to the construction of the shrine.  Dazaihu often refers to this shrine.

   Sugawara Michizane was a very intelligent scholar and high-ranked Imperial clerk.  But after he lost his job due to the political scheme by his rival, he was expelled to Dazaifu, and he died here in great grief.  Sometime after his death, several tragic deaths and disasters attacked Kyoto, the imperial town.  The people there believed these were caused by the dead spirit of Sugawara Michizane, for a lot knew his tragic death and thought they had to appease his angry spirit.   This led to the construction of the shrine.

太宰府天満宮  Dazaifu Shrine:  This is the most popular sightseeing spot in Japan.  It enshrines the God of Learing, Ten-man-sama, which is the spirit of Sugawara Michizane.  In the precincts, you see *ox statues, a Kirin statue, the iris pond and big *camphor trees.  It might be good to follow Japanese ways to visit the shrine, like *washing hands and *praying in the proper procedure.  In the approaching way, there are a lot of snack shops and souvenir ones.  The most distinctive things you see in walking are *Umegae-mochi and a Starbucks coffee shop

参道スターバックス Dazaifu Starbucks: You will see a Starbucks coffee shop along the visiting road.  But this shop is designed by a famous architect Kuma Kengo.  He has made the shop very Japanese styled with wooden ornaments.

九州国立博物館 Kyusyu National Museum: It is on a low hill behind Dazaifu Shrine.  It is a modern constructure of the glass walls with a curved roof.   It is one of the four national museums.  Based on the fact that Kyusyu used to be a gate place to the continent, it displays many historic things often related with other Asian histories.  It also shows a special exhibition with a designated period several times a year.

観世音寺  Kanzeonji Temple: It is a temple of the Tendai sect, close to Dazaifu Shrine and next to the remains of Ancient Dazaifu Government Office.  It was founded in the 8th century.  It was one of the three Buddhist training temples in these ages.  It has some historic properties including the Copper Big Bell, a National Treasure and big Buddha statues, Important Cultural Assets.

二日市  Futsukaichi Town: It is a center district of Chikushino City.  The town name meaning “Markets on the 2nd day” comes from the fact actually the market was held at this interval.   The town has a Hot Spring spa place.

二日市温泉  Futsukaichi Onsen: It is said to be the oldest hot spring in Kyusyu in the history of 1400 years and more.  This onsen district got less popular now, but it remains some atmosphere of old times.  Gozen-yu and Hakata-yu are now used as public bath houses by the local people.  

武蔵寺  It is a temple of the Tendai sect of the Buddhism.  It is thought to be the oldest temple in Kyusyu.  It is well known for over 700-year-old wisteria.  According to the legend, Toramaro Fujiwara, a member of the local powerful family, shot down a strange fireball with an arrow in a mountain area, but in his dream, he was told it was a spirit of Yakushi-Nyorai, Medecine God and that he should built an altar for the God.   This is how the temple was founded.   He got worried about having no children.  He prayed in the temple, and he got a girl.  But a plague spread, and the girl got disease.  One night again in his dream a monk appeared and told him that there was a swamp with reeds to the east and a hot spring, which was good for the disease.  He obeyed the story and went there to find a hot spring.   He bathed her there and she got over.   This was how Futsukaichi onsen was found.

天拝山 Mt. Tenpai: Tenpai means “Pray to Heaven.” The legend says that Michizane Sugawara, expelled for a rebellious scheme he didn’t commit to, often climbed this mountain to the top to plead to Heaven he was innocent.  Later, when he died, he turned into a revengeful spirit, and a lot of tragedies happened to the people related to the deportation of Michizane.  

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 牛車、楠、梅ヶ枝餅  四天王  飛梅

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〈補助説明・全国共通〉 国宝 天満宮  参拝の仕方・手水舎 温泉 藤 天台宗

福岡・北九州筑豊地区

平尾台  The Hiraodai Plateau: This is located in southeastern part of Kitakyushu City.  It is considered one of the three major karst plateaus (the other two are Akiyoshidai and Shikoku Plateaus) .  It is designated as Natural Monument, Quasi-National Park and Prefectural National Park.  It is 300 to 700 meters high, spreading 6 kilometers in the north-south direction and 2 kilometers in the east-west direction. The scenery with limestone rocks scattered around reminds us of groups of sheep strolling in the field.   The underground of the plateau has a lot of limestone caves, including Senbutsu limestone cave listed as National Monument.  

門司港レトロ  Mojiko Retoro:  It means Moji Port Retrospective District.  It is a sightseeing spot located in Moji Ward, Kitakyushu City.  The district around Moji station has been arranged in a Taisyo period atmosphere, by using the remaining buildings that used to thrive on world trade and building hotels and commercial facilities.  The food specialty is *grilled curried rice.   You can see the performance of *banana selling. 

門司港駅  Mojiko Station: It finished being built in 1913, and it was the first railroad station designated as an  Important Cultural Asset in 1988.  The wooden two storied building is designed in typical Renaissance style, that is, symmetry form, and the front gate is said to represent the Chinese character ‘門’, meaning ‘gate.’

旧門司三井倶楽部 The Former Moji Mitsui Club House: It is a historic building in Moji Port, designated as a National Important Cultural Property.  It shows an architectural combination of Western and Japanese styles.  Once Albert Einstein stayed in this house when he visited Japan.

河内藤園 Kawachi Wisteria Garden: It is located in Yahata Ward, Kitakyusyu.  Wisterias are at their best during what is called “*Golden Week.”  The arcade with wisterias hanging from the top is the best image of the garden.   Be careful about buying tickets.   In this season of the full bloom, you have to buy reservation tickets in the convenience stores.

八幡製鉄所 Yahata Steel Mill: The real name is ‘The Imperial Steel Works, Japan.”  This is the first iron works built in Japan, and it was the symbol of the Meiji government policy “Encouragement of New Industry.”  It led the Japan’s Steel Productions in the early 20th century.  It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Even now, it is working.

ジ・アウトレット北九州  The Outlets Kitakyushu: Newly opened entertainment-oriented commercial complex.  Besides shops and restaurants, it has a planetarium, an English Language lab, futsal courts and an indoor amusement park.  It is located on the site of the demolished amusement park “Space World,” in Yahata.

いのちのたび博物館 The Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History: It is a museum displaying biology things and historical things.  But what is impressive is the former things, especially, dinosaurs.   When you enter the museum, you will be met a skeleton specimen of T-Rex.  And it provides the visitors with the 360-degree Mesozoic diorama showing the story with moving models of dinosaurs.  This is a must place for dinosaur maniacs, that is, all the men of all ages. 

若戸大橋 Wakato Bridge: It is a red 627-meters-long suspension bridge over Dokai Bay connecting Tobata Ward and Wakamatsu Ward.  When it was completed in 1962, it was the longest in the Orient, so it is called a pioneer of long suspension bridges.  The distinguish beautiful red construction in the air is a symbol for the two Wards.  Now it is free of charge for crossing. 

小倉 Kokura Town: It used to be the castle town of the Ogasawara Province, now it is one of the five wards in Kitakyusyu City.  And it is the business and commerce center in the city with a lot of things to see like the castle, commercial complex River Walk Kitakyusyu and Tanga arcade shopping street.  Kokura is also known the origin place of *fried Udon noodles.

小倉城 Kokura Castle: The present main keep is the one reconstructed in the Syowa Era. It is very beautiful with white walls and gray roofs.  It has a unique constructure of the 5th floor being larger than the 4th floor.  It was called “Kara-tukuri,” Chinese style, in the Edo period.  You can go up to the top floor, having a look at displays about the castle and its history on every floor and on the top floor you can have a good all-round view of Kokura town.  You can also learn a story about *Musashi Miyamoto, a samurai hero.  

旦過市場 Tanga Market: It is an old market in the middle of the developing district of Kokura.  The old in the new, a kind of like this.  When you enter this market, you will feel like you have come back to the past by time machine.  The arcade street has not changed at all as it was built more than five years ago.  Some may say it is an old street of the Syowa era.  More than 120 shops are there, selling daily foods like fish, meat and vegetables.  As for the dishes sold there, *nuka-daki is the specialty food.  It is called “the kitchen for Kitakyusyu.”  

北九州漫画ミュージアム Kitakyusyu Manga Museum: It is located on the 5th floor of the commercial building named “Aru Aru City.”  Kitakyusyu city is proud of having produced a lot of manga artists (the most famous is *Reiji Matsumoto), and this museum is the center place to promote the local manga culture further.  It displays the manga drafts drawn by the artists from there, the process of making a manga and the background places for photos.  It also provides the free space for reading a manga chosen from the shelves installed there.

伊藤伝右衛門邸 The Old House of Denemon Ito: His old residence with its garden in Iizuka is carefully preserved as a historic monument and open to the public.  The building style is typically Japanese, but it has some Western style rooms.  It shows the typical rich man’s house at that time, when more and more western cultures were coming into Japan.  All the things shown here are top-rated.

嘉穂劇場 Kaho Theater: It was a wooden play theater founded in 1931, remaining some features of the theater houses in the Edo period.  At the peak of the coal industry, there were some other play theaters in Iizuka, but this is the only one that has survived to the present day.  This theater gives us two retrospective features: the theatrical style of the samurai period and the flourishing image in the past.

〈補助説明・地区限定〉カルスト台地 焼きカレー バナナの叩き売り 松本零士 宮本武蔵と佐々木小次郎 ぬか炊き 焼きうどん

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 鍾乳洞 遊歩道  ゴールデンウィーク

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福岡・筑後地区

ハート岩  Heart Rock: This is a heart-shaped cliff overlooking Hyugami Dam lake in Yame.   You can see a bare heart-like shape surrounded by green trees.  There is a bridge over the lake, and this is a good point to view the Heart Rock.   A heart-shape frame with horizontal wires is set on the rail of the bridge, on the side facing the rock, and this is for love padlocks.

恋木神社  Koinoki Shrine: It is one of the shrine halls in Mizuta Tenmangu Shrine in Chikugo City.  It may be the only shrine good for having good love relationship.  Recently, it got so popular among young people that it is not just a common shrine in the local district.  You can see a heart-shaped thing (pink colored) everywhere in the shrine like lucky charms and stone footsteps.  It is a good visiting place for lovers.   Also *Sazare ishi is there.

山梔窩  Sanshika Hut: It is located near Koinoki Shrine.  The local community maintains this old hut, where Yasufumi Maki, a samurai in the end of the Edo Period, was ordered by Kurume Province to live in confinement due to his revolutionary activaities for the province.  He taught several academic fields such as history, poetry, calligraphy, archery and others to a lot of people in this hut.  They were to join the Ishin, national revolutionary movement.  Sanshi means the flower “kuchinasi” and “Ka” means “hut.”  Kuchinashi is “gardenia.” in English, but its Japanese pronunciation also means “No mouth.”   It shows he was supposed to say nothing to the province.

清水寺(瀬高町)  Kiyomizu Temple in Sedaka Town: It is a Buddhist temple opened by the founder of the Tendai sect, Dengyo Daishi.  It is about 1200 years old.  It is located on the top of the mountain.   You should take an upward slope by car or on foot to get to the temple.  You can feel some serene and sacred atmosphere with the main hall and the three-story tower and others.  Also, you can enjoy a beautiful view below from the observation places.  The good souvenir is *Kiji-Guruma.

ボタン園 Peony Garden: This *peony garden is near Kiyomizu Temple

香山昇龍観音  Koyama-syoryu-kannonn:In English, Rising Dragon and Kannon on Mt. Koyama.  It is located in Haki Town, Fukuoka, close to the border with Ooita Prefecture.  This Kannon is a tall statue with the height of 28 meters.  The body is painted dark-green and pale orange.  There are a lot of small Buddha statues around this, and the area is just like a temple, but it doesn’t seem to belong to any Buddhism sects.  A kind of small Buddhism amusement park, we can call this place so.

原鶴温泉  Harazuru Hot Spring: It is the biggest Onsen place in Fukuoka Prefecture.  This Onsen town is on the mid *Chikugo River. The Onsen quality is alkaline, and this type of hot spring is thought to be good for skins, so it is called “Bijin-no-yu,” hot spring for being beautiful.   In summer, the visitors can enjoy viewing *Ukai, cormorant fishing, on a houseboat.

朝倉三連水車 Triple Waterwheel in Asakura:This is the oldest waterwheels still operated in Japan.   Three wheels are turned around by the water flow on Horikawa Irrigation that uses the water from the Chikugo River.   This automatic system of triple waterwheels was built to irrigate the paddy fields above the water surface in 1789.  Now it is operated from June 17 to the early October.

浮羽稲荷神社 Ukiha Inari Shrine: This *Inari shrine sits on the slope of the hill.  The approach path from the foot is a kind of arcaded with a row of red scarlet Toriis gates.  The actual number of the Torri gates is 91.  This torii path looks like that in Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, foreign tourists #1 favorite.  This shrine is popular among the young as an instagrammable site and *Power Spot. 

吉井白壁通り  White Wall Street in Yoshii: One street lined with white mortar walls of old-fashioned shops has remained a traditional image of a Japanese town.  It thrived commercially in the Taisyo Period, and a lot of big houses with white mortar walls were built.  It is worth going through to see.

居蔵の館と鏡田屋敷 Igura House and Kagamida House: The town of Yoshii preserves these two old houses well.  They are open to the public.  The former was a merchant’s house, and the latter was for public clerks.  The merchant in Igura house sold *Haze candles and made a big fortune (so they built such a rich house).筑後川  Chikugo River: It is the longest river in Kyusyu.  It has another name, “Tsukushi Jiro.”   It flows from Mt. Kuju through the Ariake sea.   There are some Chikugo towns on the river having *Kappa Legend.

田主丸  Tanushimaru: It is a town in Chikugo district, the southern part of Fukuoka, along the Chikugo River.  The main industry is agriculture, known for the production of fruits, especially *Kyoho grapes. It has a legend that the town was inhabited by *Kappa monsters.

月読神社  Tsukuyomi Shrine: One Tsukuyomi Shrine is located in Tanoshimaru.  Tsukiyomi is one of the early major three deities, along with Amaterasu and Susano.  He (or She) is the God(dess) of the moon.  It is said in the myth that he had a fight with Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun and that is why the sun and moon appear in turn.   He can read the lunar calendar (do tsukiyomi), so he is worshipped as the goddess of agriculture and fishery.

高良大社  Kora Shrine: It is located in the middle of Mt. Kora in Kurume City.  It enshrines Koura-tanadare.  More than 1600 years old.   A Power Spot for driving the evil away and living long.

櫨並木 A Road Lined with Wax Trees in Yanagisakasone: In Kurume, about 260 wax trees on the 1.2 km road turn red in autumn, so at that time it is a good view to enjoy while walking along the road.

焼き鳥の町久留米  Yakitori Town, Kurume: The rate per person of the number of Yakitori shops in Kurume City is the number one in Japan.  The local government tries to galvanize the city by publicizing Kurume as Yakitori Town.  One unique ingredient in Kurume is Darumu, which is the small intestine of a pig.  This word came from a German word meaning small intestine, and medical students began to use it for this kind of yakitori.

水天宮  Suitengu Shrine: The history goes back to the age of Genji-Heike battles in the late 12th century.  The Heike family was completely overthrown by losing the battle of Dannoura, where the small young Emperor Antoku was held by his grandmother and thrown into the sea together.  One female court lady escaped this battle and got to the present place of the shrine and built an altar to appease the soul of the boy Emperor’s soul.   This led the place to be a shrine to pray for raising a child, and later, as in the present, for delivering a baby safely.  It host the yearly *fireworks show at the nearby riverbank. 

日吉神社 Hiyoshi Shrine and its Rabbit Ema: It is located in the center of Kurume City.  There are several altars.  One is for the happiness of women like good marriage, pregnancy and safe birth.  One is for regaining youth.  This is where a God of the moon is enshrined.  The moon changes its shape and so this is a symbol of reviving and regaining youth.  The moon is thought to be inhabited by rabbits.  For this reason, the Shinto praying board Ema here depicts a rabbit face, and it is cute.

八女  Yame: It is located in South Fukuoka.  It produces Yame-*tea.  And it remains several tadeonal craftworks like *Buddhist altars, *Japanese paper and *stone lanterns.  It has the old district with houses using *Bengara.

八女中央大茶園  Yame Center Big Tea Garden: From the top of this garden, you can see a green panorama of exactly organized *tea fields.

七夕神社 Tanabata Shrine: This is the common name, and the real one is Himekoso Shrine.  First, this enshrined a Goddess, and there happened to be a shrine just across the Homan River enshrining a God.  The situation was like that in Tanabata Story, and it changed into a shrine for *Tanabata.

如意輪寺 Nyoirinji Temple: This temple in Ogori City is known as Frog Temple.  There are numerous *frog statues and figurines in the precinct.  Besides, there are a lot of Buddha statues of any kind.  There are a lot of Buddhism items sold there.   In early summer, it has some trellis hanging a lot of wind chimes *Furin.  You can see everything Buddhism here.  It is like a small Buddhism theme park.

大川家具の町 Ookawa, Furniture Town: It is the town of the #1 furniture production in Japan. The production dates back to 480 years ago.  Kumenosuke Enotsu fled from the big war in Kyoto, Ohnin-no-ran.  He ordered the ship carpenter there to make furniture.   This is the origin of this furniture town.  And the fish *Etsu with a *legend story can be eaten in this town.  Besides, it is well known for *Kumiko the craftwork of wood 

筑後川昇開橋 Chikugo River Lift Bridge: It is a 507 meters long bridge between Ookawa City and Saga City, and the 24 meters center part is vertically movable.  This part is lifted when a boat goes under the bridge.  The bridge used to be a railroad bridge, but the railroad line was abolished.  Later, the bridge was renovated into the present style suitable for walking.  Now it is a symbol of Ookawa City.  There is a park on the side of Ookawa City.  

風浪宮 Furo Shrine: It is called “Ofuro-san” by the local people in Ookawa.  It is thought to have been founded about 1800 years ago.  The legend says that Jingu Empress visited this place after her invasion to Korea.  

宮原坑 Miyahara Coal Mine: It is located in Oomuta City.  Parts of the mine, the brick room for a winch and the steel tower remain in the site and are well preserved and are open to the public.  It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage, one site of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.

三池港  Miike Port: The port was used as a private shipping port for coal owned by Mitsui Mining Company.  After the coal mines were shut down, the port is publicized and used for public uses.  It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage. 

〈補助説明・地区限定〉 さざれ石  キジ車  牡丹 鵜飼い  カッパ  稲荷神社と狐 櫨の蝋燭 巨峰 花火大会 茶畑  仏壇  石灯籠  和紙  ベンガラ 七夕 カエルのオブジェ 風鈴 エツ料理 エツ伝説 大川組子

〈補助説明・全国共通〉 パワースポット 愛の南京錠 天満宮 茶

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