Tag Archives: Kyūshū

Field Report: Night View of Nagasaki from Mount Inasa, Japan (26 March 2015)

The Japanese are fond of making lists, and tourist attractions aren’t exempt from categorisation. Think of the near-legendary Three Views (which dates from the 17th century and probably started the whole set-of-threes mania), the Three Famous Gardens, the Three Famous Castles … you name it, there’s probably a list somewhere for it. And amongst thoseContinue reading “Field Report: Night View of Nagasaki from Mount Inasa, Japan (26 March 2015)”

Field Report: Gunkanjima, Nagasaki, Japan (26 March 2015)

Many of us have probably wondered what our modern-day cities might look like a few decades after being surrendered to the ravages of nature. For those seeking real-life inspiration to fuel their fevered post-apocalyptic fantasies, a brief visit to an abandoned island off the coast of Kyūshū might help them paint a more vivid pictureContinue reading “Field Report: Gunkanjima, Nagasaki, Japan (26 March 2015)”

Field Report: Nagasaki, Japan (26 March 2015)

After arriving in the historic port city of Nagasaki from my previous base at Saga, I booked a place on a special half-day island excursion (which will be the subject of a separate post). The tour was scheduled for early afternoon, which left me with several hours to kill – time that I decided toContinue reading “Field Report: Nagasaki, Japan (26 March 2015)”

Field Report: Saga Castle, Japan (25 March 2015)

Saga Prefecture doesn’t usually rank first in tourist itineraries (except for those chasing traditional Japanese porcelain), but rich cultural and historic rewards await those willing to invest a brief stop in this quiet corner of northern Kyūshū. After seeing one major attraction earlier in the day which represented Japan’s early, formative years, I travelled aContinue reading “Field Report: Saga Castle, Japan (25 March 2015)”

Field Report: Yoshinogari Historical Park, Japan (25 March 2015)

Diego sets off on a journey to discover a very different, very ancient Japan – a land and society far removed from (and far older than) the samurai and shōgun that have long dominated popular conceptions of Japanese history. The destination: a complete, and quite enormous, Iron Age town resurrected from bare earth and ashes,Continue reading “Field Report: Yoshinogari Historical Park, Japan (25 March 2015)”

Field Report: A pleasant stroll in Yoshinogari, Japan (25 March 2015)

Some of my fondest memories of Japan have less to do with major tourist attractions and more to do with the journeys I had to take in order to reach them. When I close my eyes and cast my thoughts back to some random episode during one of my several trips to that country, IContinue reading “Field Report: A pleasant stroll in Yoshinogari, Japan (25 March 2015)”

Field Report: Dazaifu, Japan (24 March 2015) – Part 1 of 2

Fukuoka may be the nexus of power and prestige in modern-day Kyūshū, but over a millennium ago, that distinction belonged to another city located several miles to the southeast. Although reduced to a quiet suburb of the island’s sprawling present-day capital, one might say that Dazaifu merely traded one cloak for another: transforming from aContinue reading “Field Report: Dazaifu, Japan (24 March 2015) – Part 1 of 2”