Page 35 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

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1 Yatai food stalls on
Nakasu Island in Fukuoka.
2 Rowing to the waterfall
at Takachiho Gorge.
3 A road bridge between
Amakusa and Kumamoto.
4 The impressive Suizen-ji
4 garden in Kumamoto.

Kumamoto (p274) in time for lunch at Day 6
Aoyagi (aoyagi.ne.jp), a beautiful spot in
which to enjoy sushi. Walk across the river Spend the morning exploring Dejima
to view Kumamoto’s striking black castle, in Nagasaki harbour to learn about the
before making the short drive to Suizen- Dutch, Portuguese and Chinese influences
ji, a superlative garden that re-creates on the city. Continue this theme with a
sites from elsewhere in Japan. If you’re lunch of champon – a Chinese-style noodle
feeling adventurous, try the local basashi soup – at Shikairou (4-5 Matsugaemachi).
(horse meat sashimi) at Iroha (p277) for Dedicate the afternoon to the affecting
dinner. Don’t worry if it’s not for you – there Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park,
are plenty of other dishes to choose from. then make the short drive to Kagetsu
(p267) for fusion-style shippoku. After
dark, park your car at the top of Mount
Day 5 Inasa and enjoy amazing views of the city.
The mist-shrouded islands of Amakusa,
less than a two-hour drive away from Day 7
Kumamoto, were once home to Kyushu’s Head back to Fukuoka via the Saga
hidden Christian communities, who were Pottery Towns (p280); Yobuko’s market
driven out of the Shimabara Peninsula offers a selection of affordable ceramics.
(p275). Learn more about this persecution Once back in Fukuoka, return your hire car
at the Christian Museum in Amakusa City before slurping a “pork bone cappuccino”
(19-52 Fumenoomachi), before lunch at at Hakata Issou (p265). Walk it off on a
Yakko Sushi (76-2 Higashimachi). It’s a 2.5- stroll to the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum,
hour drive to Nagasaki (p266) through where you can watch a hypnotizing dis-
epic scenery, including a car ferry trip play of silk weaving. In the evening, go
across the Hayasakiseto Strait. Once yatai-hopping on Nakasu Island again,
you’ve settled into your hotel, walk to resisting the temptation to go to the
Kagetsu (p267) for a fusion meal. same stall as before.
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