Kawatana

Kyushu, Japan · Town / small city, Countryside / satoyama

A quiet fishing village on Omura Bay, home to Kaijin Shrine, tucked inside a sea cave only reachable at low tide (facing the ruins of an old torpedo testing site), and Osaki Nature Park, with free-roaming peacocks and hot springs by the sea.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — Kawatana Station on the JR Omura Line, 1h16min from Nagasaki with no transfers.

Frequently asked questions about Kawatana

What to do in Kawatana: 23 activities

• Guided circuit of the wartime remains 2.5 h must-see booking

  Kawatana was a hub of Japan's submarine weapons industry: the arsenal created in 1942 became the country's largest torpedo factory, staffed by mobilised students, and in 1944 it was dispersed into seventeen tunnels against the bombing. In May 1945 the training centre for Shinyo suicide boats opened here. Local volunteer guides walk the site by prior arrangement with the town hall: it is the way to understand it without turning it into morbid tourism.

• Kaijin Shrine, in a sea cave 1.5 h must-see

  A torii and shrine inside a sea cave only reachable at low tide, after a 20-minute coastal walk from Katashima Park; legend says it once protected a feudal lord from a storm. SAFETY WARNING: it stands in a cave on the shoreline and is reached by walking about twenty minutes over rock from the car park, at low tide only. Once the tide starts coming in, the way back becomes impassable, so check the tide tables before setting out and wear footwear with grip.

• Sonogi tea: fields and tasting 2.5 h must-see booking

  A tamaryokucha, curled rather than needle-shaped, sweet and low in astringency, making up around 3% of Japanese green tea. At the 2017 national competition the area won the origin prize and a local grower the Agriculture Ministry prize, with tea auctioned at 250,000 yen a kilo, a fifteen-year record. There are programmes to walk the fields with the grower and learn to brew it. The heart of it is in Higashisonogi, the neighbouring town, ten or fifteen minutes away.

• Climbing Mount Kokuzo 2.5 h

  608 metres that have earned it the nickname of the Matterhorn of Kyushu for its rocky crest, with 30 to 40 minutes of climbing from the trailheads and views over Omura bay. The mountain is regarded as a spiritual site; part of the forest track was narrowed by recent flooding.

• Hasami pottery 3.5 h

  In the neighbouring municipality of Hasami, 15 to 20 minutes away: the historic potters' village of Nakaoyama and the old Nishi-no-Hara factory converted into shops and a cafe. It is the only solid craft and design content in the whole area, and should be counted as an excursion, not as a local offering.

• Kayaking and paddleboarding in Omura bay 2 h booking

  Omura bay is an almost enclosed inland sea and very calm, ideal for beginners, with short routes of about 50 minutes run by local associations.

• Monument to the special attack dead 0.6 h

  Unveiled in 1967, with 3,511 names engraved, and a memorial ceremony every May. Many of the dead were teenagers and mobilised students, and families still come: visit it as a cemetery, in silence, with no food and without photographing people.

• Ruins of the Katashima torpedo testing range 1.25 h

  Concrete structures from 1918 standing over the sea, with the observation tower still upright, ten minutes by car from the station. Access and parking are free. The ground is uneven and there are no railings: closed shoes, and watch children closely.

• Sonogi-juku, a post town on the Nagasaki Kaido 2 h

  In the neighbouring municipality of Higashisonogi. It was a post town on the Nagasaki road: the official lodge was built here in 1633 and by late Edo it had 284 merchant houses, with a port opened in 1694 that prospered on whale brought from Goto. The 26 Martyrs of Japan embarked here on the way to their crucifixion in Nagasaki.

• Ureshino Onsen 5 h booking

  In Saga prefecture, 25 to 30 minutes away by car: one of the three best onsen in Japan for the skin, with bicarbonate waters. It pairs very well with Sonogi tea.

• Chiwata station at sunset 0.6 h

  A wooden halt on the Omura line, in the neighbouring municipality, famous for a platform that looks straight out over the bay as the sun goes down. A natural stop for anyone riding the line from Kawatana.

• Huis Ten Bosch 8 h booking

  It is in Sasebo, only 15 minutes by car from Osaki park and one train stop away: a recreation of a Dutch town with large-scale night illumination. It is the closest thing to a technology attraction in the whole district, and makes Kawatana a quiet, cheap base for visiting it.

• Iwaya Gongen, the shrine in the rock 1 h

  The climb runs up 199 stone steps that tradition says were built by demons in a single night, to a shrine carved into the rock whose inner sanctuary is reached through a narrow opening. It is associated with Kobo Daishi.

• Kawatana Gion Matsuri 2.5 h only late July

  A tradition more than 300 years old held in July: passing under the mikoshi is believed to protect against illness.

• Kawatana summer festival 3.5 h only the first half of August

  In August, with food stalls, a stage and fireworks launched from the harbour, the bay acting as a mirror.

• Kiba terraced rice field festival 2.5 h only late October

  A harvest festival in October on the Kiba terraces: the most rural and least touristy of the town's festivals.

• Osaki Nature Park 1.5 h

  A coastal park on Omura Bay with free-roaming peacocks and quiet trails along the water. It takes in a campsite, a beach, sports facilities and the public lodge Kujakuso, all on the Osaki peninsula.

• Osaki peacock garden 1 h

  Opened in 1976 with more than 200 peacocks of several varieties, the only enclosure of its kind in the prefecture. Closed on Mondays except public holidays.

• Oysters from Omura bay 1.75 h booking

  The star local product in winter, from November to March. An honest caveat: the best-established grilled oyster huts on the bay are in Tokitsu and Konagai, not in Kawatana; here they are eaten in restaurants and at the inn in the park.

• The cooking of Kawatana 1.5 h

  Local specialities: menkatsu made with Nagasaki wagyu from the town butcher, lemon steak, hand-made soba with grain milled on the spot, and honey manju from a confectioner with half a century of history.

• Okunchi at Hachiman shrine 2.5 h only mid-October

  Dances and floats at Hachiman shrine in October, though the full procession only goes out every three years: check the specific year.

• Osaki Onsen Shiosai-no-Yu 1 h

  The village's natural hot spring waters, with baths looking straight out over Omura Bay. An important clarification: the famous Kawatana Onsen with its historic ryokan is in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture, and is an entirely different place. The one here is this modern day bath inside Osaki Park, with a rotenburo facing Omura Bay, a sauna and private family baths.

• Town ekiden and group climb of Kokuzo 4 h booking only late February to mid-March

  A relay race around the Osaki peninsula between February and March, and a community ascent of Mount Kokuzo in March, open to families.

What only happens on specific dates

• Town ekiden and group climb of Kokuzo late February to mid-March
• Kawatana Gion Matsuri late July
• Kawatana summer festival the first half of August
• Kiba terraced rice field festival late October
• Okunchi at Hachiman shrine mid-October

Chains well with

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