Three Small Towns in Kyushu — Three Colors, Three Flavors

A list of recommendations for travelers who want to spend a different kind of day in Kyushu. Here are day trips to an island, a forest, and a garden, along with the special food we discovered there.

Words Pyo Youngso

Goshoura

From Minamata Port (a small harbor in the city of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture), a water taxi (three trips a day, 1,000 yen per person) reaches Goshoura in 40 minutes. The Amakusa Islands, scattered along Kyushu’s west coast, consist of more than 120 islands. This is where Christianity first took hold in the 17th century, and with its martyrdom sites and Catholic churches, the region is considered to have a culture and history unique even within Japan. Even people who know the Amakusa Islands are likely to find Goshoura unfamiliar. Because it lies in the inner sea, it was never reached by Christian missionaries, and by area or population it has little presence among the islands, so that is hardly surprising.
Goshoura is made up of 18 islands, large and small, of which only three are inhabited. Even 70 years ago, when its population was at its peak, fewer than 10,000 people lived in this tiny island community. Thanks to the calm waters of the Shiranui Sea that surrounds it, aquaculture has flourished here since long ago. At its height, there were more than 140 fish-farming operations. Even now, most of the roughly 2,500 residents still work in fishing, carrying on the old traditions of a fishing village. The main catch includes sea bream, yellowtail, horse mackerel, and pufferfish.
The first task awaiting us on arrival in Goshoura is, fittingly, fishing. The 12-seat water taxi turns into a fishing experience boat (4,000 yen per person) in no time, and once the captain hands out life jackets and fishing rods, you are ready. Beginners need not worry. Within minutes of dropping the float into the deep blue water, everyone starts reeling in a fish one after another, beginning with a young sea bream (which, of course, we released). True to its inner-sea reputation, the catch is generous. And since you spend two hours or so out on the water, free to take in Goshoura’s tranquil sea, there is little to regret even if you never feel a bite.

To look down on Goshoura from above, head to Karasutoge. This observatory sits at the island’s highest point (442 meters). It is a 15-minute drive from Goshoura Port, or about two hours on foot. The mountain road is so narrow and steep that even a small van struggles to make some turns in a single move, but it is well worth the attempt. From here you can take in the inhabited and uninhabited islands floating in the Shiranui Sea, such as Goshoura-jima, Makishima, and Yokourashima, and the panorama stretches far to Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture to the northwest and Nagashima in Kagoshima Prefecture to the southwest.
To discover what makes Goshoura special, nothing compares to the ‘Premium Seafood Lunch’ (14,400 yen per person, for groups of six or more). This pop-up restaurant lets you taste dishes that fishermen’s mothers make with local ingredients, and weather permitting, a generous table is set near Karasutoge, at the top of the island. From table decorations made with shells and discarded fishing nets to takomeshi (octopus rice) served in blue glass bowls, seaweed tempura, and homemade quince liqueur, every item carries the islanders’ wish not to treat a guest carelessly. If you joined the sea fishing experience in the morning and caught a big sea bream, fresh whole sashimi will be added to the spread. The real highlight of the lunch is the endearing mothers who serve the food themselves in red headscarves and aprons. Behind their shy smiles, you see faces full of love and pride for the island, and you will find a reason why you simply must come to Goshoura.

More Recommended Activities
In the calm waters between Goshoura-jima and Makishima, you can try rowing a tenmasen. The tenmasen is a traditional wooden barge that was once used to carry supplies out to the island’s offshore waters when tidal differences made it hard for ships to approach. Learn how to move and steer the boat with a single oar. A 90-minute session costs 2,420 yen per person.

Ukiha

The michi-no-eki (roadside stations) found all along Japan’s national highways are not mere rest stops. They are direct-sales markets where you can buy local produce, tourist information centers where you can gather travel tips, and places where you can experience a region’s many events. Quite a few have become destinations in their own right. One of them, Michi-no-Eki Ukiha, ranks among the highest-grossing stations in Japan.
Located in the southeast of Fukuoka Prefecture, Ukiha is a small city of about 27,000 people. With the Chikugo River (140 km long, the largest river in Kyushu) flowing to the north and the Mino Mountains rising to the south, it boasts fertile soil and a mild climate. The high-quality fruit grown at the area’s orchards, including pears, persimmons, grapes, strawberries, and peaches, is the reason behind Michi-no-Eki Ukiha’s popularity.

For the same reason, no trip to Ukiha is complete without fruit picking. Yamandon is a veteran orchard that has run experience programs tied to tourism for 40 years. On its 2.3-hectare farm, a variety of fruit is grown with the seasons, so you can pick fruit year-round (free of charge), and at Mugoyoka, the café in front of the orchard, you can try desserts made with the fruit. This year was so hot that the summer grape harvest ended early, and the pear harvest is already in full swing. Crouching to move under the pear trees is a little awkward, but the experience is simpler than you might expect. Choose mainly the large fruit whose newspaper wrapping has begun to split, and after just two or three pears, your basket quickly grows heavy. A freshly picked pear is sweet as honey on its own, but enjoyed as part of a meal that pairs it with other Ukiha ingredients, it will leave an even more special memory.
Take the farm dining at an outdoor table in a corner of the orchard, for example. The seven-course menu was created through a collaboration among the apple farm Ishibashi Soen, Matsuno Ranch, which has raised cattle for three generations, Riverwild, a pig farm that makes cured meats, and the Yamandon orchard. A welcome drink made with Ishibashi Soen apples is followed by a soup made with fresh milk from Matsuno Ranch, and then a cold pasta topped with Yamandon pears and a risotto cooked with Riverwild bacon fill the table in turn. When you need a palate cleanser, a fig compote arrives, and with it Mugoyoka’s drip coffee brewed with nearby groundwater, all beyond expectations. Tableware, coasters, and placemats made from Ukiha wood make the farm dining even more perfect.

After the meal, pedal a bicycle and enjoy the area’s charms a little more vividly. Cycling is the best way to soak up Ukiha’s nature. The town is small and mostly flat, so half a day is plenty. Choose the roughly 12.6-kilometer course along the Chikugo River, and you can take in the simple rural scenery of river, rice paddies, and orchards, and also visit Kamo Shrine, built in the 14th century, and Kiyomi Spring, one of Japan’s 100 famous waters. The tourist information center right next to Michi-no-Eki Ukiha also runs a bicycle rental shop.

More Recommended Activities
In the Tsuzura area, at the foot of the mountains south of the city where terraced rice paddies spread out, you can experience forest therapy from April to October. Walk through the woods with a professional forest guide, learn about nature, and unwind. As an add-on, you can choose between yoga and a foot bath. It runs for a minimum of three people, and reservations are required a week in advance.

Nogata

Nogata, a little over an hour by car from Fukuoka, was a thriving mining city until the mid-20th century. When the coal industry declined and the population shrank, the city found its alternative in flowers. Leaving its closed coal mines behind, Nogata began planting flowers and tending parks.
Every March and April, the Nogata Tulip Fair is held along the Onga River (遠賀川), which runs through the city. Fukuchisanroku Hanakoen (福智山ろく花公園) is also part of the grand design of Nogata, which dreams of becoming a “city of flowers.” True to its name, the flower park sits at the foot of Mount Fukuchi, where some 500 species bloom through the seasons and create a different landscape all year round. In spring there are cherry blossoms and poppies, in summer hydrangeas and lotus flowers, and in autumn cosmos, silver grass, and maple foliage. The park is divided into areas such as a grand flower bed showcasing seasonal blooms, a rose garden, a lily garden, and a hydrangea garden, and with a pond and a maple hill as well, there is never a dull moment as you walk. When you get hungry, there are cafés and tea rooms to tide you over. After a renovation in the summer of 2022, the park reopened with a lawn plaza and indoor and outdoor play areas for children and pets.

Cross one main road from the entrance of Hanakoen and you reach Kuyonomori (紅葉の森), the Maple Forest. Its 300 or so maple trees turn completely red by mid-November. In the forest, still lush with green, the lingering fragrance of flowers continues. This is the “Nogata Flower Restaurant.” A makeshift dining space made by covering picnic tables with white cloths and setting out camp chairs, it is decorated entirely with orange, yellow, and red flowers, as if the autumn forest had been moved right there. Inside a crimson wrapping cloth is a three-tier lunch box prepared by Azusaya (梓屋), a local French restaurant. Everything from the rice, made with newly harvested grain, to the eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, and potatoes was produced in Nogata. The braised Kagoshima black pork and seasonal fish are merely supporting players. Dessert, too, features local seasonal fruit and Narikin manju (成金饅頭, a Japanese sweet bun filled with sweet white bean paste), a 100-year-old Nogata specialty. Of course, this is not the only way to experience the flower restaurant. Pack your own lunch and enjoy a picnic on the Hanakoen lawn plaza or on a bench. Wherever you sit becomes your very own flower restaurant.

Other Recommended Activities
Hanakoen regularly offers hands-on programs such as yoga and gardening classes. Making a flower candle, which gives you a special souvenir of your trip, is also a good option. You simply fill a glass cup with dried flowers, arrange them in the shape you like, and pour in gel wax, so anyone can try it without pressure. Because the gel wax takes time to harden completely, the timing works out perfectly if you join the workshop before touring the park and then enjoy a stroll while you wait.