The ticket also includes entry to the Kokura Castle Garden, which is great. It's worth stopping by for a stroll.
Kokura Castle | Review by 廖子香
Other Reviews by 廖子香
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Sengan-en
Sengan-en is a Japanese garden made for the Shimadzu family estate by Mitsuhisa Shimadzu in 1658. The grounds boast a sprawling 50,000 square meters in total. The garden itself uses the “borrowed scenery” technique, incorporating Kagoshima’s coveted spots like the volcano Sakurajima and Kinko Bay as a natural backdrop.
Besides enjoying the garden, the nearby Shoko Shuseikan Museum has exhibits about Japan's Meiji Restoration and early industrialization. It's also the site of Japan's first Western-style factory.
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Mameda Town
Hita City, neighboring Fukuoka and Kumamoto, was a prosperous “Tenryo (directly ruled by the Shogunate)” merchant town in Edo Period. The city is still dotted by classic buildings and earthen walls, which earned the nickname “Little Kyoto in Kyushu.” Roughly a 15-minute walk from Hita train station will take you to Mameda Town, where houses of merchants still remain who were providing goods to the Shogunate during the Tenryo Era.
I really love the vibe of these old neighborhoods. The streets are super clean and the buildings are really well preserved.
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Munakata Taisha Shrine
As one of the oldest shrines in Japan, it has also appeared in Japanese myths. With over 6200 affiliated shrines, this shrine worships the Amaterasu Okami (ancestral god of the Japanese emperor), the Three Munakata Goddesses, and the Shishi-gami.
This is a very old temple in Kyushu with lots of excavated relics on display. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site.