After Nagasaki we explored Karatsu on Saga prefecture. Here we went inside the castle, learnt a lot about the history of Karatsu and how its borders have changed over time and why, as well as enjoyed the beautiful views of the city from above. Karatsu has such a rich history because it is the closest point of Japan to Korea. This meant the castle played a particularly important role in Japan’s defense. It was really interesting to learn all the details while seeing the places and landmarks for ourselves.
We also went to an exhibition hall filled with the floats/characters paraded around during the main festival season of Karatsu. We learned the name and history of each float as well as what the design represented. A community or group from different parts of the prefecture each made the floats by hand to show off what is so great about the industry or place they were from. It was really cool to see. We visited the shrine that the festival parade starts at as well, and went to a little bakery and enjoyed some delicious fruit bread and fresh local coffee. The weather was beautiful and our memory of Saga prefecture is now a very wonderful one. We couldn’t have asked for a better first trip to this area!
