Nagasaki · Unzen
Shimabara

We drove the 11.3 km one-way loop road up to Nita Pass. From the pass at 1,080 m the view over the Ariake Sea is stunning — on a clear day you can see all the way to Mt. Aso. The ropeway then carries you to Mt. Myoken (1,333 m). In a roughly four-minute aerial ride, a 360-degree panorama of the Shimabara Peninsula's green ridges and sea unfolds at the top. The view looking down from the summit gondola station is spectacular too.

A gleaming white five-tiered keep built in 1618 by Matsukura Shigemasa. From the top floor you can take in the imposing Mt. Fugen of Unzen — half-hidden in cloud — and the townscape of Shimabara spreading out below. Inside, exhibits cover the history of the Shimabara Rebellion and local artifacts. A stamp rally is also available here, making the town stroll even more enjoyable.

A long-established home of Shimabara's local dish "guzoni." A nourishing bowl of soft-simmered mochi with a rich variety of ingredients — chicken, seafood, rolled omelet, vegetables and more. You eat it while sensing its history as a siege food from the Shimabara Rebellion. If you have room, there's also a set with katsudon. The flavors seep in gently and soothe the body.

A garden where colorful carp glide serenely through a limpid pond fed by the spring water of Mt. Fugen. Viewed from the veranda, the Japanese garden is beautiful, with lotuses and irises mirrored on the water's surface. The tatami room, where crescent-moon lanterns sway, is so tranquil that I lost track of time.

In the garden we tried Shimabara's famous sweet "kanzarashi." A simple treat of shiratama rice-flour dumplings made with Shimabara's spring water and drizzled with honey — its flavor rides directly on the purity of the water. We enjoyed it at a relaxed pace at the nearby "Shimabara Spring-Water Hall Koi Café Yusai-kan."