Kitsuki Castle is known as the smallest castle in Japan, perched on a plateau overlooking the Morie Bay. The view from the top offers a stunning panorama of the ocean and the surrounding valleys.      

Kitsuki Castle…の続きを読む

  Hirado is the first place where Portuguese ships landed in Japan in 1549, and after that St. Francis Xavier visited in 1550, and Japanese Christianity started here in Hirado. In the 1580s, the Portuguese established a trading station, followed soon by the Dutch and the British. Hirado is located north-west side of Nagasaki and facing to Genkai Sea, and is mainly composed of Kitamatsuura Peninsula, Hirado Island and Ikitsuki Island, which are connected by Hirado bridge and Ikitsuki bridge.       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.   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.   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 …

Hirado travel guide…の続きを読む