Tourist Information｜Sasebo Port Portal Site

Tourist facilities Experience
Kujukushima Pleasure Boat

This is a sightseeing boat that goes around the Kujukushima Islands leaving from and returning to the Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort, which represent the landscape of Saikai National Park.

Enjoy a 50-minute experience, where you can get close to the impressive and beautiful islands in the southern part of the Kujukushima Islands. A Sunset Cruise tour is available for a limited time in accordance with the sunset time.

Operating hours
Pleasure Boat 1 (Pearl Queen) 10:00　11:00　13:00　14:00　15:00　　Pleasure Boat 2 (Mirai)　11:30　13:30　14:30

Schedule may be subject to change.

Closed
None

Seating capacity
Pleasure Boat 1 (Pearl Queen): 280 pax (118 seats)

Pleasure Boat 2 (Mirai): 200 pax (122 seats)

Large bus parking capacity
18 buses

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Kujukushima Aquarium Umi-Kirara

Umi-Kirara is a famous and an only aquarium in Sasebo with presenting beautiful oceans of Kujukushima islands.

There are about 1,000 kinds of fishes, more than 100 kinds of jellyfishes, and 120 kinds of shellfishes in this area.

As the Kujukushima area, this is a rare area in Japan in which diversified natures are kept in natural.

Visitors can enjoy seeing creatures in oceans of Kujukushima and the aquarium expresses the beautiful nature of the islands.

Operating hours
Summer seasons (Mar.-Oct.)：09：00～18：00　※Permitted to enter by 17：30
Winter seasons (Nov.-Feb.）：09：00～17：00　※Permitted to enter by 16：30

Closed
None

Large bus parking capacity
18 buses

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Tourist facilities
Kujukushima

The Kujukushima, located on the westernmost part of the mainland of Japan, serve as a scenic spot made up of 208 islands, both large and small. All the area was designated as Saikai National Park in 1955. Since April 2019, the area has been certified as a member of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World.

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Huis Ten Bosch

Beautiful flowers bloom every season in the vast site facing the scenic Omura Bay. It is a stay-type resort, where brick-made houses are surrounded by the canal, giving you peace of mind and comfort.

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Kujukushima Zoological and Botanical Garden Mori-Kirara

Animals, such as lions, giraffes, bears, and red pandas, are bred in the large garden.In addition, it has roses, subtropical plants, and flowers of the four seasons. Events that allow you to interact with animals are also planned and can be enjoyed by families.

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Tourist facilities
Tenkaiho Observatory

Tenkaiho has an observation deck with a panoramic view of the Kujuku Islands ahead of you. It is a popular spot, not only for domestic visitors but also for overseas tourists. The park under the observatory is full of ripe blossoms in the springtime (late March to early April) and cosmos flowers in autumn (mid-October to late October). The park is particularly crowded with many people when flowers are in full bloom.

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Tourist facilities
Yumiharidake Observatory

This observatory on Mt. Yumihari offers a panoramic view of Sasebo’s nature and townscape. In addition to the daytime scenery, visitors can enjoy the night view of the city and the fantastic scenery of the fire for luring fish at night. The observatory is ranked 14th in TripAdvisor’s Best Observation Decks in Japan in 2017.

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Tourist facilities Shopping
Saruku City 4O3 Arcade

“Saruku” means “walk-around in the Sasebo dialect, while “4O3” was named after the common area represented by the Yonkacho Shopping Mall, Sasebo Tamaya Department Store, and Sankacho Shopping Mall. The arcade, which is about 1 kilometer long, is covered with a roof, so you can shop comfortably regardless of the weather.

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Tourist facilities Shopping
Sasebo Gobangai

This is just a one-minute walk from JR Sasebo Station. There are many restaurants and shops, including the Hikari burger shop, where you can enjoy the famous Sasebo burger. In addition to shopping, you can enjoy a relaxing meal at a restaurant or cafe facing the sea.

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Sasebox 99

You can enjoy Sasebo’s special lemon steak, which is made of thin slices of beef marinated in lemon and soy sauce, Maritime Self-Defense Force curry, which reproduces the taste of the curry eaten by the Marines, Sasebo burgers, Hachinoya’s jumbo cream puffs, and other seasonal ingredients as well as local specialties and souvenirs.

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Sasebo Koma Hompo

The local folk craft, Sasebo top, is a traditional Japanese toy. Each one is handcrafted, and designated as a traditional craft of Nagasaki Prefecture. Sasebo Koma Hompo produces seasonal tops and holds exhibitions using tops, making them a representative of Sasebo’s folk crafts.

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Tourist facilities Experience Shopping
Mikawachiyaki Traditional Industrial Hall

This features valuable white porcelains fromthe Edo period to the Meiji period (17th century to 19th century), plus a booth of contemporary artists’ works from famous potteries in competition.
Visitors can experience raku ware painting (the painting of earthenware pottery fired at low temperatures) and openwork pottery (for a fee).

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Umegae Sake Brewery

This sake brewery has been using buildings from the Edo period since it was established in 1787. There are seven buildings designated as registered tangible cultural properties in Japan in 2002, including the main house, the bottling plants of the late Edo period, an old cellar, and an old preparatory warehouse that was built in 1860, as well as a storehouse built in the Taisho era.

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Tourist facilities Experience
Jufukuji Temple

Jufukuji Temple, built as a prayer temple for the Hirado Domain, has a beautiful garden designed by a gardener in Kyoto.
The periods of inverted fresh greenery and autumn leaves entertain many people, for which some of the tatami mats in the Japanese-style hall are temporarily replaced with an acrylic board to reflect the scenery of the garden upside down. (Please check the opening period.)

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Senryu Sake Brewery

This brewery has been continuously brewing sake using traditional techniques that have been handed down since its foundation in 1688. Furthermore, the sake mash house, which is still used today, is said to have been built at the time of its foundation and is designated as a tangible cultural property of Nagasaki Prefecture.

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Tourist facilities Experience
Hario Radio Towers

Three concrete towers soar near the Saikai Bridge. These towers are reported to have relayed the “Niitakayama Nobore 1208” ciphertext for the attack on Pearl Harbor that sparked the outbreak of the Pacific War. The 136-meter-high tower, which stands at the apex of the equilateral triangle with a side of 300 meters, was built in four years starting in 1918.

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Tourist facilities Experience
Mukyudo

Mukyudo is a massive air-raid shelter dug by teachers and students of Miyamura National School during World War II. In order to maintain classes and life even during the evacuation, it includes a classroom equipped with a teaching platform, restroom, kitchen, and food warehouse, as well as a room dedicated to the Emperor’s photo. Visitors will be able to learn more background information about the time period during the war.

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Tourist facilities Experience
Yama Noren

This is a hotel built by the world-renowned architect Kisho Kurokawa, with the concept of the fusion of nature and the near future. Kurokawa designed this hotel with a large roof that has a gentle curve that blends into the mountains. Visitors can enjoy the magnificent view from the open-air baths, large communal baths, and guest rooms as well as the observation terrace.

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Tourist facilities
Maritime Self-Defense Force Sasebo Museum

This is a history museum of naval vessels that restored a part of the Sasebo Suikosha, which was built as a meeting place for naval officers in 1898, and inherited the legacy of the former Imperial Japanese Navy with a new seven-story building added. The history and activities of the former Imperial Japanese Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are explained in an easy-to-understand manner, and model ships and various historical materials are on display.

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Tourist facilities
Nagakushiyama Park

The Azalea Festival is held from April to May, when 100,000 azaleas color the mountain slope in vermilion. The view of the Kujuku Islands, which represent the landscape of Saikai National Park, is spread out underneath and is genuinely superb. There is a 100-meter-long roller slide, plenty of playground equipment, and a visitor center where visitors can eat, so you can enjoy the park with your family.

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Tourist facilities
Hiyamizudake Park

You can see the Kujuku Islands and as far as Hirado from Hiyamizudake Park, where an outdoor stage and playground with equipment are maintained. This is a park where you can enjoy a picnic with your family. Around mid-May, azaleas bloom and entertain tourists. The park includes the Hiyamizudake Furusato Bussankan hall, which sells local specialties.

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Tourist facilities
Kanzakihana Park

Kanzakihana Park is in Kanzakihana, which is located at the westernmost tip of the mainland of Japan. This park includes a monument that represents Sasebo’s quadruple exchange with Wakkanai (the city located at the northernmost point), Nemuro (the city located at the easternmost point), and Minamiosumi (the town located at the southernmost point) and a lawn square. On warm days, you can enjoy rocky shore in the tide pool.

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Tourist facilities
Saikai Bridge

Saikai Bridge was built in 1955 as a bridge between Sasebo City and Nishisonogi Peninsula over the rapids of Hario Seto. The best part of the Saikai Bridge is the rapids with tides that are counted as one of Japan’s three significant tides. The most significant tidal currents in spring and autumn are spectacular, and during that time, the Uzushio Festival is held.

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Tourist facilities
Ohashi Kannon

Ohashi Kannon, counted as one of the Hirado Hakkei eight landscapes within the former territory of Hirado Domain, is a famous scenic spot that the town of Yoshii boasts. The natural Oishi Bridge runs through the precincts of Ohashi Kannon-ji Temple in the back of an elegant garden. In the precincts, there are fern communities designated as a national natural monument, where visitors can see a wide variety of ferns.

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Tourist facilities
Daihikan

Daihikan Park has a softball field, tennis courts, a playground with equipment, a grass skiing area, and other facilities that can be enjoyed by children and their parents. Flowers, including cherry blossoms in April and azaleas and irises from May to June, add color. The large characters that read “Daihikan” (lit. deep compassion) were engraved on a giant rock there in 1830 by order of then Lord Hirado.

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Experience
SASEBO Cruise Bus Sea Breeze

This unique sightseeing bus inspired by a luxury cruiser will take you around Sasebo’s attractions, including the Kujuku Islands. Enjoy Sasebo’s history and iconic scenery from the bus window.

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Experience
SASEBO Naval Port Cruise

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Japan Coast Guard, and the US Navy are located in Sasebo, a port that conveys the history of Sasebo as a naval port. Passengers cruise around Sasebo Heavy Industries (commonly known as SSK), which is originated as a navy yard, and the islands of Goto, Saikai, and Hirado in Sasebo Bay while listening to guide information.

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Tourist facilities Experience
Kuroshima Settlement

It takes 50 minutes by ferry from the Ainoura Pier in Sasebo City. Kuroshima, one of the Kujuku Islands, was visited by many hidden Christians in order to escape the severe repression and surveillance of the Edo Shogunate. Kuroshima Catholic Church, the symbol of the island, is designated as an important cultural property of Japan.

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Shopping
Sasebo Shikisaikan

Sasebo Shikisaikan offers not only special products unique to Sasebo, such as agricultural products and processed products, famous confectionery, and Mikawachi-yaki ceramics, but also fresh marine products from the sea around the Kujuku Islands. It is an ideal local spot for souvenirs and gift selection.

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Experience Gourmet
99island Oyster Hut

Marumo Suisan’s 99island Oyster Hut is on top of a sea raft. The sea is right in front of you, and you can enjoy fresh seafood, such as oysters from the Kujuku Islands while enjoying the best ocean view if the weather is fine.

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Tourist facilities Experience Gourmet
Emukae’s Old Folk’s House Otaya

Emukae has a history as a post town for travelers on the way to and back from Hirado. Otaya is an old private house that is over 100 years old, where visitors can enjoy a tasteful experience.

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Gourmet
Sasebo Burger

The US Navy, which stationed in Sasebo After World War II, brought a variety of American foods. One of them is the Sasebo burger, which is said to have started by a shop that got the recipe directly from the US Navy base. Originally the burgers were sold to US service members near the base. Later, it was arranged in the Sasebo style and has been established as the Sasebo burger.

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Gourmet
Lemon Steak

The lemon steak is a gourmet dish, which is made of thin slices of beef marinated in lemon and soy sauce. It originated in Sasebo from the influence of the US Navy and has been arranged as a popular steak to suit the taste of the Japanese. Slices of beef in easy-to-eat thickness are served on an iron plate and eaten by putting a lemon-flavored soy sauce on just before the beef is done. It features a refreshing taste with plenty of lemon juice.

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Gourmet
Nyuko Zenzai

Zenzai (i.e., red bean soup) is said to have been served on board the

night before former Japanese warships return to their home ports.

It was meant to soothe the fatigue of the sailors and celebrate that they were able to return safely. The custom is inherited by the current Maritime Self-Defense Force.

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Gourmet
Beef Stew

It is said that Marshal-Admiral Heihachiro Togo found this beef stew while studying in the UK and brought it to Japan.

In Sasebo, you can enjoy the Navy’s Beef Stew, which slightly varies

with each restaurant using a recipe based on the stewed beef recipe in

the Navy Recipe Book of the Meiji period (1868 – 1912).

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Gourmet
Marine Products from the Kujuku Islands

Kujukushima oyster absorbs a lot of nutrients from the mountains and

the offshore islands that approach the intricate coastline. The shell is

filled with meat that provides a rich texture and taste. From October

to March, you can eat Kujukushima oyster in season at oyster huts along the coast.

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