Shimabara

The Shimabara hanto (peninsula) is a fabulous, gorgeous place with lots to see and do and amazing people to meet. Consisting of three cities: Unzen, Shimabara, and Minami-Shimabara, it also happens to be home to some of the most stunning natural beauty Kyushu has to offer.

For more information on events, tourism, and city specific rules and practices on topics such as disaster prevention and evacuation etc., please visit the following local websites for:

Around here we entertain ourselves by having beach barbecues, hiking up Mt. Unzen, hosting cabin parties, haunting the local karaoke bars, and attending all the local festivals. We regularly have game and movie nights hosted at whichever house can fit us all in, or we make a trip up to Nagasaki and hit the cinema and arcades. Not to mention, there are some excellent restaurants tucked away all over the hanto.

Below are photos of some beautiful spots across the hanto, courtesy of one of our wonderful ALTs Christina Higgins.

Unzen

Sitting at the top of the Hanto is Unzen City, a collection of towns wrapped around the northern part of the peninsula and includes the famous Unzen mountain chain. Around the towns there are loads of restaurants, places to shop, ryokans, temples and shrines, onsens, and even a beach! At the center of this area is Unzen Onsen Town, a small town nestled in the mountains, which is also where the Unzen Jigoku, or Unzen Hells, are located. You can also take a car up to Nita Pass, where you can take a ropeway car to one of the peaks where you can see the volcano that erupted in 1991 – Heisei Shinzan. All of this is within the Unzen-Amakusa National Park – Japan’s first national park in its history! You’ll find incredible views no matter where you are in Unzen, around the mountains and dotted along the coastline are many observation points to stop at.

Shimabara, the namesake of the Shimabara Hanto and most densely populated area, lies along the eastern side of the peninsula nestled along the Ariake Sea. From a historical perspective, Shimabara is most well known for the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638, a major factor influencing Japan’s turn towards isolationism for the next few hundred years. You can learn lots more about it at Shimabara Castle. In more modern times, Shimabara was afflicted by the volcanic eruption of neighboring Mt. Fugendake in the early 1990s. A trip to the museum dedicated to the disaster and its aftermath is a must visit for Shimabara ALTs and tourists alike.

Turbulent history aside, Shimabara is a quiet and welcoming town that is very foreigner friendly! There are frequent free events held around town where foreigners are welcome to come and talk with locals to practice their Japanese and learn more about the area and all it has to offer. We have many festivals and markets to look forward to throughout the year, like Hatsuichi in early March, Hanami during cherry blossom season, the water festival and Doyoichi (Saturday night market) in August, summer fireworks, Shiranui Festival in October, and the college Ekiden tournament in December. Cafes are popular spots during the day where owners will provide you with the best hospitality you can imagine and freshly made sweets. At night, Izakayas (Japanese style pubs) and yatai (night food stall) are teeming with cheap, delicious Japanese food and friendly people ready to strike up a conversation.