Hirado travel guide

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Hirado off the North West coast of Nagasaki-prefecture is a beautiful and historic location

full of interesting museums, Christian churches, white sandy beaches and an imposing castle.

 

Portuguese ships first landed in Hirado’s superb natural harbor in 1549 and St. Francis Xavier is

known to have visited in 1550. In the 1580s, the Portuguese established a trading station, followed

soon by the Dutch and the British. The island had been an important port for trade with Korea and

China since earlier times, with the rights to foreign trade held by the local Matsuura clan.

William Adams was instrumental in establishing the British trading post and he is buried on the island.

The British stayed only ten years before leaving after bitter feuding with the Dutch, who were moved

to Dejima in Nagasaki by the Japanese authorities in 1641.

 

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Where to explore

 

Hirado Castle

Stands on a hill guarding Hirado Port and the Hirado Strait, which used to be part of an important

trade route between Japan and the Asian mainland. The original fortress was built in 1599 by the

local Matsura Lord; however, he destroyed the structure after fighting the Tokugawa on the losing

side of the Battle of Sekigahara as a gesture of loyalty to the victor. The Matsura Clan continued

ruling Hirado for the next two and a half centuries.

 

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Dutch Trading Post

Set up in Hirado in 1609 as the base of operations of the Dutch East India Company in Japan.

The building seen today is a warehouse which was originally constructed here in 1639 as part of the

trading post, but torn down just three years later after the Dutch had been relocated to Dejima Island

in the port of Nagasaki.

 

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Nakae no Shima / UNESCO World Heritage

Located two kilometers off the coast of Hirado Island, Nakae no Shima is a small, uninhabited island

where religious leaders were executed during the persecution of Christians. The island is considered

sacred, and water collected there is used for baptism.

 

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Kasuga Village / UNESCO World Heritage

This idyllic, remote village was refuge to a small community of Hidden Christians who practiced here

for centuries, far from the prying eyes of the government. After the ban on Christianity was lifted, the

local villagers decided to continue practicing their own unique brand of the religion rather than rejoin

the Catholic Church. As a result, churches were not erected in the village, and the religion remains

outwardly invisible.

 

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St Francis Xavier Memorial Church

This church is a catholic church in Hirado, Nagasaki. Hirado is a place where Francis Xavier visited

3 times in Japan to spread Christianity, and even during the Kinkyo Ordinance of the Edo Period

that prohibited religions, Christianity was very widespread. For that reason when the ordinance was

lifted this church was constructed, and the image of Francis Xavier was put on the side.

 

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Tabira Church

The church was designed by Tetsukawa Yosuke, a famous architect of various churches in

Nagasaki-prefecture, and built between December 1915 and October 1917. It is one of the latest

brick churches in the prefecture of Nagasaki. Tetsukawa Yosuke has called this one of his best works.

 

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Matsura Historical Museum

The museum stores and displays the historical collection of the Matsura family who ruled over the

northern area of Nagasaki prefecture since the 13^th century. The museum is housed in the former

private residence of the Matsura family, the grand Tsurugamine Mansion, built in 1893. Hirado has a long history of overseas exchange due to its geographical location.

 

 

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General information  

Address	City hall : 1508-3 Iwanoue-cyo, Hirado-city, Nagasaki-prefecture
Access	1 hours and 50 minutes by a vehicle from Nagasaki-city 50 minutes by a vehicle from Sasebo-city 2 hour and 15 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city
Population	30,100   Population density 128

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Tour results

We are offering various types of tours, and the tour results up to now are shown links below.     

Tailor-made tour      Study tour      Golf tour 

 

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HOME    About us   Our Services    Terms and Conditions

 

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Nagasaki-prefecture travel guide

 

Nagasaki-prefecture is located north-west side of Kyushu and borders Saga-prefecture

on the east, and is otherwise surrounded by Seas.

It also includes a large number of islands such as Tsushima and Iki. Most of the prefecture is

near the coast and there are a number of ports such as Nagasaki–city and a United States Navy

base at Sasebo–city. The capital of Nagasaki-prefecture is Nagasaki–city .

 

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 Location of Nagasaki-prefecture

 

　　 

 

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Where to exprore

 

Nagasaki-city

One of Must visit destination in Kyushu.  The city have many oversea countries cultures and

the significant Japanese histories like no other areas.  In addition to above features, the g

eographical conditions are creating fascinating tourism and now many tourists are visiting here.

Historical features; the following had exprienced in Nagasaki.

 Natioanl isolation in Japan, Hidden Christian, Japan’s Industry modernization and Atomic bomb

 

 

Shimabara

Region spread in the foot of gentle mount Unzen and facing to calm sea Shimabara is consist of

two cities on Shimabara peninsula, Shimabara-city west side of peninsula and

Minami-Shmabara-city south-west side of peninsula. The region offers various enjoyable things 

such as Nature, Onsen, Castle town of Shimabara-city, UNESCO World Heritage of

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

 

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Unzen

Unzen is a gentle Onsen resort situated in the Unzen National Park. Located in the centre of

Shimabara peninsua, at the southwest part of Mount Unzen with an altitude of 700m.

It is started receiving foreign tourists around the year 1900 when Kaempfer and Siebold

introduced the city to Europe and China. The area was the first area to be designated as a

National Park in Japan. 

 

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Obama Onsen

Onsen Resort facing to Tachibana bay. Located at western foot of Mount Unzen, and consist of

Shimabara peninsula Onsen Resort along with Unzen Onsen Resort and Shimabara Onsen Resort.  

About 30 Hotels and Japanese style accommodation are standing along the Tachibana bay and

there are 3 public baths where visitor can use.

 

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Sasebo

The 2nd largest city in Nagasaki-prefecture next to Nagasaki-city. The city includes a part of

Saikai National Park. Located in the southern part of the city is the Dutch-styled theme park

Huis Ten Bosch.

 

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Huis Ten Bosch

Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Sasebo, which recreates the Netherlands by displaying

life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings. The name Huis Ten Bosch translates into English as

“House in the Woods/bush”.  It is named after Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, one of the three

official residences of the Dutch Royal Family.

 

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Hirado

Hirado off the North West coast of Nagasaki-prefecture is a beautiful and historic location full

of interesting museums, Christian churches, white sandy beaches and an imposing castle.

Portuguese ships first landed in Hirado’s superb natural harbor in 1549 and St. Francis Xavier

is known to have visited in 1550. In the 1580s, the Portuguese established a trading station,

followed soon by the Dutch and the British. The island had been an important port for trade

with Korea and China since earlier times, with the rights to foreign trade held by the local

Matsuura clan.

 

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---

 

Tour results

We are offering various types of tours, and the tour results up to now are shown links below.

Tailor-made tour    Study tour     Golf tour

 

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Dutch Trading Post

 

Set up in Hirado in 1609 as the base of operations of the Dutch East India Company in Japan.

The building seen today is a warehouse which was originally constructed here in 1639 as part

of the trading post, but torn down just three years later after the Dutch had been relocated to

Dejima Island in the port of Nagasaki.

The warehouse was reconstructed in 2011. It was built as close to the original design as possible

and exhibits the facility’s original Dutch architecture of interlocking stone blocks supported by large,

exposed wooden beams. The structure is capped by a Japanese-style tile roof, just like the original.

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General information  

Address	2477 Okubo, Hirado-city, Nagasaki-prefecture
Access	5 minutes walk from Hirado bus terminal
Open hours	8:30 to 17:30
Admission fee	JPY 300
Days closed	the third Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of June

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Kasuga Village / Hidden Christian Site

 

Kasuga Village and Mount Yasugatake is registered on the World Heritage as Hidden Christian

Sites in the Nagasaki Region.

 

This idyllic, remote village was refuge to a small community of Hidden Christians who practiced here

for centuries, far from the prying eyes of the government. After the ban on Christianity was lifted, the

local villagers decided to continue practicing their own unique brand of the religion rather than rejoin

the Catholic Church. As a result, churches were not erected in the village, and the religion remains

outwardly invisible.

 

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General information  

Address	Kasuga Village Kararina : 166-1, Kasuga-cyo, Hirado-city, Nagasaki-prefecture
Access	1 hours and 50 minutes by a vehicle from Nagasaki-city 50 minutes by a vehicle from Sasebo-city 2 hour and 15 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city
Open hours	8:30 to 17:30
Admission fee	No fee is required
Days closed	Dec. 31 to Jan. 3

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Tabira Church

 

The church was designed by Tetsukawa Yosuke, a famous architect of various churches in

Nagasaki-prefecture, and built between December 1915 and October 1917. It is one of the

latest brick churches in the prefecture of Nagasaki. Tetsukawa Yosuke has called this one of

his best works.

 

The history of the Tabira district began with the work of two foreign missionaries. In 1886,

the French missionary Emile Raguet, in charge of Kuroshima Church at the time, purchased

one hectare (2.5 acres) of wilderness at his own expense and urged three families in need to

settle there. The same year, Marc-Marie de Rotz of Shitsu Church bought one hectare and

sent four families to cultivate the pristine land. Gradually the number of the settlers increased a

nd reached 80 families by the early Taisho era (1910s).

In 1914, the Japanese priest Nakata Tokichi arrived in the parish. To replace the humble prayer

house, he made tremendous efforts to raise funds for a formal church. Tetsukawa Yosuke designed

the brick building, and the parishioners cooperated in the construction project, gathering a large

number of seashells and burning them into lime powder. The site of the processing ground still

remains in front of the church. Construction was finally completed under Tetsukawa’s supervision

in 1918. The brick church was the architect’s last in a long series of ecclesiastical works.

 

The beautiful building facing Hirado Strait offers artists and photographers a motif typical of the Tabira

district. The church has been designated an important cultural asset by the Japanese government.

 

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General information  

Address	19 Kotedamen, Tabiracho, Hirado-city, Nagasaki-prefecture
Access	1 hours and 50 minutes by a vehicle from Nagasaki-city 50 minutes by a vehicle from Sasebo-city 2 hour and 15 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city
Open hours	9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00
Admission fee	No fee is required
Days closed	No closing day

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Hirado Castle

 

Stands on a hill guarding Hirado Port and the Hirado Strait, which used to be part of an important

trade route between Japan and the Asian mainland. The original fortress was built in 1599 by the

local Matsura Lord; however, he destroyed the structure after fighting the Tokugawa on the losing

side of the Battle of Sekigahara as a gesture of loyalty to the victor. The Matsura Clan continued

ruling Hirado for the next two and a half centuries.

 

A new castle, also known as Kameoka Castle was built on the site a hundred years later in 1718 as

part of the coastal defenses erected during Japan’s self imposed seclusion in the Edo Period.

This structure stood for over 150 years, but eventually fell into disrepair and was dismantled during

the Meiji Period.

 

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General information  

Address	1458 Iwaanouemachi, Hirado-city, Nagasaki-prefecture
Access	1 hours and 50 minutes by a vehicle from Nagasaki-city 50 minutes by a vehicle from Sasebo-city 2 hour and 15 minutes by a vehicle from Fukuoka-city
Open hours	8:30 to 17:30
Admission fee	510 JPY
Days closed	December 30 and 31

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Nakae no Shima / Hidden Christian site

 

Nakae no Shima is a UNESCO World Heritage site of Hidden Chriatian Sites

in the Nagasaki Region.

 

Located two kilometers off the coast of Hirado Island, Nakae no Shima is a small, uninhabited island

where religious leaders were executed during the persecution of Christians. The island is considered

sacred, and water collected there is used for baptism.

 

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