Saga Prefecture is located in the northwestern part of Kyushu. Mostly inland, it's blessed with a natural landscape that provides fresh food and ingredients for delicious sake. It is also renown for tea and onsen towns. Saga boasts an ancient ceramics tradition, with entire towns dedicated to pottery and porcelain. It also offers some interesting coastal environments with Karatsu on the north side and Kashima and Tara on the south.

Saga city is the capital of Saga Prefecture. It's lively and known for having the largest number of statues of Ebisu in Japan. It is home to the Saga International Balloon Fiesta, a big festival that takes place every year around October. The sky filling up with colorful balloons is a sight not to miss if you're visiting in this period.

Near Saga city is also Yoshinogari Historical Park, a big archaeological site featuring a settlement from the Yayoi Period (300 BC to 300 AD). This is the largest and most important Yayoi Period site in Japan.

At Saga's northernmost tip is Karatsu. The city is known for Karatsu ware, a famous style of pottery with a simple design often used in tea ceremony. Karatsu also features a beautiful castle and historic parts of the town that are still intact. The city holds a big festival every autumn, Karatsu Kunchi, which draws people from all over Japan to see its majestic floats.

In the western part of Saga are Arita and Imari, two towns that are renowned for porcelain. In particular, Arita is said to be the origin of porcelain in Japan. Both Arita and Imari feature old towns with kilns and workshops, along with picturesque old buildings.

This part of Saga is also home to beautiful nature spots like Mifuneyama Rakuen and the Kasuga Gorge, especially scenic during autumn. The nearby city of Ureshino is known for its tea plantations that produce high quality green tea used throughout Saga Prefecture. Ureshino also hosts a hot spring resort. Close to Ureshino is Takeo, another hot spring town famous for the red gate that marks the entrance to its public baths.

In southern Saga Prefecture are the cities of Kashima and Tara, facing the Ariake Sea. The beaches of Kashima are known for their large mudflats, that offer many kinds of activities during the low tide. The Gatalympics are a famous event held in the Kashima mudflats where participants challenge each other in a series of fun games that get them completely covered in mud. Kashima is also home to Sakagura Dori, a street lined with sake breweries and historic buildings.

Speaking of food, Saga Prefecture enjoys the blessings of both the land and the sea. Boiled tofu is a specialty found in Ureshino along with green tea, while Arita is famous for godofu, a tofu with a pudding-like texture. Imari boasts its very own brand of wagyu beef.

North of Saga Prefecture is Yobuko, famous for squids. Tara, a quiet rural town on the southern coast produces Takezaki crabs, oysters, mandarin oranges and nori seaweed. Mutsugoro-no-kabayaki (grilled mudskipper) is an unusual dish found by the mudflats of the Ariake Sea. On the alcohol side, while shochu seems to be mainstream in the rest of Kyushu, Saga Prefecture specializes in the production of sake.

 

Saga offers the warmest of welcomes to travelers with delicious food, friendly locals and a relaxed atmosphere. Happiness here can be found in simple things: an old lady giving you a cup of freshly squeezed mandarin juice, a little kid playing in the mud, or the soothing aroma of tea leaves.

 

Witer：Laura Loss

Laura is a Tokyo-based freelance writer, photographer and translator from northern Italy. She has a passion for craft beer, Japanese traditional instruments and discovering places that are off the beaten path.

Refer to Laura’s other articles.