On the last day of the trip,this was the final stop of the city tour. Looking back,today’s route might actually bea very typical and well-designed coursefor sightseeing in central Karatsu. From a walk along the Matsuura River → Karatsu Castle → Takashima (Hoto Shrine) → Former Takatori Residence → Former Oshima Residence → and finally Karatsu Shrine. If you look at the map,it’s quite a well-connected route. To make it more efficient,it would have been better to visit Takashima first,then see Karatsu Castle,walk along the stone wall path,and continue on to the former Takatori Residence. After leaving the Oshima Residence,Karatsu…

There is a small island in Karatsu Bay. It is called Takashima (高島), and according to people who have already visited, it is such a small island that there is not much to see. Yet strangely, this small island receives a lot of visitors. It is not like it has any remarkable natural scenery. They all visit a small shrine called Hoto Shrine (宝当神社). A shrine whose name means “winning treasure.” Unusually, it is said to be effective for winning the lottery. This is just something I have heard, but apparently there are quite a few people who actually won…

It’s the fourth day of my 4-night, 5-day trip to Karatsu. Today, I decided to visit Karatsu Castle. After that, I plan to walk around the city and see old residences and shrines. In other words, it’s a full day of sightseeing in town. In fact, I’ve been seeing Karatsu Castle throughout this entire trip.It’s a castle you can see from almost anywhere in Karatsu. Since it’s a small city without tall buildings,and with a wide river opening up the view,the scenery feels very open. And on one end of the city, on a hill,the tall keep rises high enough…