Road Trip on Matsuura Railway (Part 2)
Japan Hour
Sub Navigation
- Undercover Asia S8
- Manufacturing Ignorance
- Singapore Budget 2021
- In The Age Of AI
- Climate For Change
- Believe
- Remember Our House
- Singapore Green Plan 2030
- There's Something About Orchard
- Singapore Perspectives 2021: Dialogue with Minister of Education Lawrence Wong
- Inside The Probation Service
- Work.Able
- Once Upon A River
- Greening The 'Net
- Remarkable Living 3
- Contact Tracers
- Game Nation
- The Great Escapade
- Ahead Of Their Time
- When Titans Clash
- From Crisis To Catalyst
- Becoming Human Again
- The Pandemic: One Year On
- A Deadly Ascent
- Strangers In My Head
- Into The Vault 2
- Business Unusual
- Beyond the Viral Video
- Wild City: River World
- Disease Hunters
- Wizards Of Tech
- Feeding A City
- Undercover Asia S3
- 23
- Belly Of A Nation 2
- For Food's Sake! 3
- Forgotten Heroes
- Kampong Konkrit
- Rising To The Challenge
- Grounded
- The Longest Day
- Survival: Developing Countries On The Frontline
- Artists Unstaged
- Corridor of Hope
- Deciphering Japan
- The Family Affair S5
- Singapore Votes 2020: The Political Debate
- In Conversation Special
- Coronavirus Pandemic
- GRIT
- National Broadcast
- Why It Matters 4
- Faith Over Fear
- Outbreak Onboard
- Slumfood Millionaire
- #COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
- CNA Correspondent
- One Of Us
- The Mark Of Empire
- Courage
- Race Against Pandemic
- A Frame In Time
- Carbon Conundrum
- Secret Wars
- Chasing Scarcity
- Undercover Asia S7
- Stronger: The Battle Against COVID-19
- Gadg(AID)
- Food In Our Time
- Tycoons China
- Inside The Child Protective Service
- Politics Of Climate Change
- The Singapore Perspectives Conference
- Borderlands
- In Our Time
- The Next Wave
- One Day That Changed Asia
- The Year Ahead 2020
- Migrants' Diary
- Ships That Shaped Us
- We Are Gen Z
- Crime Science
- Majulah: Symbols For Singapore
- A Billion Chinese Dreams
- CyberPunk'D
- Remarkable Living S2
- China's Growing Appetite
- In Search Of The Frog Boys
- Venturepreneurs
- The Skin We Wear
- The Millennial Investor
- Show Me The City
- Jewel: After Hours
- The Islands That Made Us
- Rishi & Sharul Try…
- Why It Matters 3
- Regardless Of Generation
- The Singapore Bicentennial Conference
- The Negotiators
- Secret Delicious
- Fighting Foreign Interference
- Hawkers In Our Centre
- HT MintAsia Leadership Summit 2019
- Coded World
- For Food's Sake! 2
- The Big Boss: A 21st Century Criminal
- Belly Of A Nation
- #DontForgetMe
- #HuntingHistory
- #Wanderlust
- Aarushi – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- Across ASEAN
- Aerial Asia
- A Big Little Murder
- Against The Elements
- Age Of Innovation
- Algorithms
- An Astronomical Journey
- Astropreneurs: To The Stars & Beyond
- ASEAN’s Next Generation Leaders (ANGeLs)
- ASEAN Spotlight
- Asia First
- Asia First Encore
- Asian Century
- Asia in the Great War
- Back to School
- Becoming Human
- Becoming Singapore
- Bridging Giants
- Blueprint For Survival
- Bronze: A Forgotten Treasure
- Butterfly Children
- Challenge Tomorrow
- Champions For Change
- Check In
- City DNA
- City of Opportunities
- China on Film
- CNA Leadership Summit: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World
- Coming Clean About Green
- Conversation With S14
- Cool Living in an Eco-city
- Correspondents' Diary
- Cram Course Asia
- Days in Pyongyang
- Days Of Rage
- Days Of Disaster
- Deciphering Indonesia
- Deciphering The Philippines
- Destiny of a Maritime Nation
- Don't Make Us Invisible
- Electric Dream
- Edible Wild 2
- Edge of Space
- Enemy Within
- Every Woman
- Facing Dementia
- Facing Depression
- Fake News
- Finding Singapore
- Fighting Fake News
- Fighting Falsehoods
- Facing Terror
- Food Heroes
- For The King
- Forums
- Futuropolis
- Gangnam Insider's Picks!
- Get Real S17
- Going Places
- Going Underground
- How To Raise A Super Baby
- In Conversation
- Into The Vault
- India on Film
- Inside the Storm 4
- Indonesia’s Game Changers
- Inside The Children's ICU
- Inside Our Factories
- Insight
- Inside The Cryptokingdom
- In Search of Umami
- In Pursuit of Magic
- I Remember The Fall Of Singapore
- Johor: A New State of Affairs
- Japan Hour
- Just Like You
- Kashmir: A War of Stones
- Land Unlimited
- Law of the Land
- Love in A Time of Change
- Life Lines
- Luxe Asia S5: The Ultimate Access
- Made in Singapore
- Market Insights
- Maverick Politicians
- Money Mind
- National Service - The Beginning
- National Service - The Transformation
- Neighbours: Singapore-Malaysia Relations
- Nepal's Child Brides
- The New Silk Road
- Once a Refugee
- On The Red Dot
- Our Tiny Superheroes
- Palu: A Month After
- Perspectives
- Parliament Specials
- Asia Tonight
- Power And Piety
- Powering the Future
- Power List Asia
- Raffles Revealed
- Raffles: An Icon Reborn
- Real Deal
- Rebellion In Marawi
- Refugee Chef
- Regardless of Class
- Regardless of Race
- Regardless of Religion
- Roar!
- Savouring The Future
- Slackers, Shockers, Suits and Superheroes
- Singapore Food Stories
- Singapore Reimagined
- Singapore Mosaic
- Game Changers Singapore
- Singapore Tonight
- Singapore on Film
- Singapore After Dark
- Smart Cities 2.0
- Specials
- Super Octogenarians
- Start-UP S6
- Talking Point
- Taking Singapore Forward
- Tapestry: The Heart of ASEAN
- The ASEAN I Know
- The Big Questions
- The Dark Web
- The Family Affair S4
- The Great Migration
- The Last Rites
- The Past Beneath Us
- The Successors
- The Terror Trail
- The Truth About Fake News
- This is What I Hear
- The Traitor Within
- This Weekend
- This Side of The Border
- Tipping Point
- To Live
- Trash Trail
- Undercover Asia S6
- Unusual Suspects
- Vanishing Foods
- Vice & Virtue: 1800s Singapore
- Walk This Way
- When We Play
- Wild City: Forest Life
- Wild City: Secret World
- Whiter Shade of Terror
- Why It Matters 1
- Why It Matters 2
- Work Is A 4-Letter Word
- Don't Call Us Poor
- Don't Call Us Beaten
Bookmark
Japan Hour:
Road Trip on Matsuura Railway (Part 2)
Our two-day trip on the Matsuura Railway line, which links Nagasaki and Saga prefectures, continues. At the end of Day One, we spend the night at Saigetsuan. After a relaxing hot spring bath, we enjoy an extravagant meal, which includes Hirado’s famous flounder; seafood boiled in miso paste, served in a hollowed persimmon; scallops and shrimps in a sweet and spicy miso paste; grilled Nagasaki beef; grilled prawns and steamed shiitake mushrooms.
The next morning, breakfast is a colourful feast of traditional Japanese items, such as Kawachi Kamaboko - boiled fish paste wrapped in plastic straws. It used to be wrapped in wheat straw in the past. After breakfast, we are driven to Tabira-Hiradoguchi Station. We catch the 8.50am train and go to Matsuura Station, six stops away. We plan to spend two hours in this area and take the 11.15am train later.
Matsuura City, located in northern Nagasaki Prefecture, is known for the Matsuura Naval Force that defended the land against the Mongolian invasion. It is a popular spot among history buffs. We ask a passer-by to suggest a spot and we are told to visit Furusatokan. It sells Matsuura's local products, such as fresh seafood, local vegetables and souvenirs.
At Furusatokan, we buy Matsuura tea cider and freshly made mackerel pressed sushi, which is a Matsuura speciality. Nagasaki Prefecture is the top producer of dried sardines in Japan, so we purchase some of that too. We then walk to a nearby park, where we relish our meal of Matsuura’s local items while enjoying the sea breeze.
We make our way back to Matsuura Station and head to Haze Station. The train crosses into Saga Prefecture after passing by Imabuku Station. We reach Haze at 11.40am and want to spend an hour here. However, we are unable to find any interesting spots so we decide to go to Imari, an area famous for its ceramics. A passenger on the train suggests we check out a restaurant called Sakaki. It serves delicious Imari beef, which is rated one rank above Saga beef.
The train ride to Imari Station takes about 20 minutes and our next train will depart at 3.05pm. The kind gentleman from the train offers to show us the way to Sakaki. We order two recommended dishes - roast beef burger and Japanese Black Cattle beef topped with onions. The same train passenger tells us of another place worth visiting, Marukoma, a well-known mercantile warehouse of Imari pottery. In the 17th century, Imari prospered as a shipping port of Imariyaki ceramics produced in Saga and Nagasaki, with Arita-cho being the centre of Japanese pottery. The pottery was shipped out to various parts of the country and overseas as well.
We first go to a ceramic shop next to Marukoma, which displays Imari wares. It was owned by Furukawa Ceramics, which procured and sold pottery. There is an Imariyaki gallery on the second floor, called “Silk Road of the Sea Museum”. Visitors can also try their hand at painting ceramics here. We then drop by the famous storehouse Marukoma. In the 18th century, pottery from Arita was brought here and packaged. The ceramic items were stored at the warehouse and later shipped to Edo and Osaka.
We head back to Imari Station and travel by train to Matsuura Railway’s terminal, Arita. A resident tells us about an Aritayaki pottery gallery-cum-cafe. Around 2,000 Aritayaki cups are displayed along the walls of Gallery Arita and customers can choose any cup for drinking their coffee or tea. They include cups made by Japanese potter Sakaida Kakiemon and famous ceramist Manji Inoue.
The gallery’s owner recommends we visit the Sueyama Shrine, known as Tozan Shrine by the locals. It was constructed by the Nabeshima fief in the 17th century. Its sacred gateway and guardian dogs are made of Aritayaki pottery. The gateway, built in 1888, has been registered as the nation's tangible cultural property.
Tips:
1) Matsuura City is popular among history buffs for being associated with the Matsuura Naval Force
2) Ceramics are an ideal souvenir to buy from Imari