Nijinomatsubara (虹ノ松原) is a pine forest
that embraces Karatsu Bay (唐津灣) in a curved shape like a rainbow.
It is said to be about 5 km long,
so it would probably take about an hour if you walk slowly.
It is said to be an artificial forest created in the 17th century
to block wind and drifting sand, and its scale is astonishing.
Since you cannot really see the forest while you are inside it,
I recommend first going up to Kagamiyama Observation Deck (鏡山展望台)
and looking at the whole forest from above.
I took a taxi from Higashi-Karatsu (東唐津) Station
up to the observation deck, looked around,
and came back down in the same taxi.
There was no bus going up to the observation deck,
so there was no other choice.
Now that I had looked at the whole forest from above,
it was time to walk inside the forest.
I refilled my drinks at the vending machine in front of Nijinomatsubara Station
and started the walk in earnest.
Since I would be walking for more than an hour,
I needed to be fully prepared.
For reference,
if you want to walk the whole of Nijinomatsubara,
it seemed you would need to start walking from Hamasaki (浜崎) Station.
But I wanted to see the station named after the forest.
Well, it was such a tiny unmanned station
that there was not really much to see.
Naturally, when you look around,
all you see are pine trees.
It is obvious because it is called a pine forest,
but even so, it feels strangely mysterious.
It is not a sight you get to see often.
The 2 PM sunlight was pleasantly warm.
It was winter, but it felt like a perfect day for walking.
You know that kind of weather, right? Cool wind, but warm sunlight.
There is a two-lane road stretching straight through the pine forest.
Driving along this road would probably feel very nice.
But walking along the road for cars felt a little dangerous.
As you walk along the pine forest,
you can see tea shops and local sweets shops here and there.
One place that especially stands out is
Matsubara Okoshi Aso Honke (松原おこし麻生本家).
It says you can also eat shōro manju (松露饅頭)
and drink matsuba cider (松葉サイダー),
but the specialty of this shop is a snack called okoshi (おこし).
It is said to be similar to Korean gangjeong.
Its characteristic is a slightly spicy taste from ginger.
After looking around and coming back out,
I noticed something.
Huh? There was a path behind the buildings
where you could walk inside the forest.
So I had left the path for people
and deliberately walked beside the road for cars.
And while doing that, I had been complaining that it was dangerous.
Once I left the road,
it really felt like I was walking inside the forest.
It felt good to step on soil again after a long time.
The trail was not paved or specially maintained.
It was only kept in shape enough to show that it was a path,
so it felt even more like being in nature.
As I said,
Nijinomatsubara is both a windbreak forest and a sand-control forest.
A forest made to block the wind and sand blowing from the sea
also means that the sea is right next to it.
So as you walk,
you also come across paths that lead to the sea.
I entered Higashinohama (東の浜) Beach.
It was quiet because it was winter,
but the very long and wide white sand beach stretched out
as if embracing the whole Karatsu Bay.
It looked like a wonderful beach
that would be crowded with people in midsummer.
This is Karatsu Burger (唐津バーガー), a hamburger shop inside the forest.
Whenever you search for Karatsu travel or Nijinomatsubara,
this famous place always comes up, so I decided to try it once.
There were several kinds of burgers
depending on the combination of cheese, ham, egg, and patty,
and I ordered a cheeseburger with cheese and patty.
Looking back now,
I wonder if I should have eaten the special burger with everything in it.
But at that time,
I was not very hungry,
so I wanted to eat something simple.
I sat on a large rock at one side of the parking lot,
unwrapped the hamburger, and took a bite.
The well-toasted bun was crisp.
The sauce had a distinctive taste,
and the cheese was thick.
But honestly,
I did not think it had a particularly special taste.
Especially, I did not like the feeling of biting
through the thick cheese that had not melted.
The taste of the cheese itself was fine, though.
Anyway,
since it is a famous place,
I will give meaning to the fact that I experienced it.
I walked and walked inside the pine forest.
There are paths marked inside the forest,
but in fact, it did not really matter where I walked.
Dangerous places (?) were blocked off with warning tape
so that people could not go near them, so it felt safe.
I walked while looking up at the sky,
walked backward,
and walked while spinning around.
When my eyes met the people walking from the other side,
we greeted each other with our eyes.
It was the relaxed feeling of a walk that I had not felt in a long time.
After leaving Nijinomatsubara like that,
you arrive at the beach in front of Karatsu Seaside Hotel (唐津シーサイドホテル),
located north of Matsuura Bridge (松浦橋).
From Hamasaki Beach in front of Hamasaki Station all the way to here,
along Higashinohama Beach,
this is almost the only luxury hotel built right in front of the beach.
You could probably use this huge beach almost like a private beach.
It made me want to come back someday in summer.
And with that,
the Nijinomatsubara walk that I had planned for today
was completely finished.
I walked in the forest for about two hours,
and including the trip to the observation deck,
it took about three and a half hours in total.
Now!
I should go back to the hotel,
get some rest,
and then spend time outside again at night.
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