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This park is situated in the hills of Fukuoka. The area is an ideal location for cherries, azaleas, and other flowering trees and plants that are in full bloom, and has been cited as one of the "hundred best cherry blossom-viewing sites in Japan." From the observatory in the park you can get a fantastic view of Shika Island in the distance, as well as Hakata Bay and Arato Ohashi Bridge. In spring, the park buzzes with cherry-blossom viewers, and numerous open-air stands are in operation.
You can see animals close up at Fukuoka Municipal Zoo and Botanical Garden. In the Botanical Garden, surrounded by a wide variety of flowers and trees, your heart will be filled with the beauty of nature. Additionally, a new discovery may be waiting for you among the rare flowers and trees in the greenhouse. The zoo and garden sections are interconnected, so it's easy to visit both. In spring, people come here for cherry-blossom viewing.
Hakata Torimon, a semi-Western style cake based on Hakata's traditional Japanese sweet, is made with some Western cake ingredients added. This treat -- unique to Hakata -- is a popular gift among visitors.
Various flowers bloom seasonally in Ogi Park. The cherry blossoms in spring, in particular, are out of this world. Legend has it that the beauty of the cherry blossom gained a reputation that caught the attention of the Imperial Court in ancient times. This place, which has approximately 3,000 cherry trees that proudly blossom in the spring, has been chosen as one of the "hundred best cherry blossom-viewing sites in Japan." In the spring it's thronged with cherry-blossom viewers.
The vestiges of a moat-encircled village -- some of the largest ruins of the Yayoi period (approximately 2,000 years ago) -- are found in this park. The park covers approximately 117 hectares and divided into a number of zones such as "Kitafunkyubo" (Northern Burial Mounds Home of God), where successive kings are said to have been buried, and "Minami no Mura" (Southern Village), where the commoners are believed to have lived. Approximately 98 buildings have been restored in the park, where you will feel as if you have been transported back to the Yayoi period.
The moderate sweetness and good flavor of Ogi yokan (jellied bean paste) are handed down up to now and well known as a real gem in demand throughout Japan. In Ogi City, more than 20 sweets shops make this traditional, thick-jellied dessert. Of those is the Mukashi yokan, in which a crystal of sugar is formed on the surface when it's exposed to air, adding a unique crunchiness to this popular treat.
Omura Park is known as one of the prefecture's best places for flower viewing. The cherry trees blossom in spring, followed by azaleas, irises and hydrangeas that will bloom for about three months. The park receives approximately 400,000 visitors during the Flower Festival, March 25 to June 20. Omura Park, one of the "hundred best cherry blossom-viewing sites in Japan," has 2,000 cherry trees including those of the Omura-zakura variety, designated as a natural treasure of Japan. During the season, a blanket of cherry blossoms covers the entire district of the park in pink, bringing enjoyment to people's hearts.
This park has 12 zones, including the Flower Dome, Amazon Dome, Andes Square and Rocky Mountain of Llamas, the Hill of Raccoons, Lesser Pandas and others.You can enjoy seeing an abundance of animals such as llamas, capybaras, wallabies, squirrel monkeys and hippopotamuses, and even experience feeding them.
Momo castella (peach sponge cake) is made of a moist sponge cake covered with a bright sugar decoration in the shape of a peach. This sponge cake uses fondant made from sugar and starch syrup kneaded together, and is elaborately finished by hand. This cake brings good luck, and it's found only in Nagasaki!
Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's three best castles, is also known as a magnificent spot for cherry-blossom viewing. The premises of Kumamoto Castle include 600 cherry trees comprising three different species: Yamazakura, Higozakura and Somei Yoshino. These cherry trees blossom in the spring, bringing 100,000 or more visitors to Kumamoto Castle each year. Kumamoto Castle is also open to the public in the evening during the cherry blossom season, where the cherry blossoms glow amid to the illuminated exterior of the castle.
This leisure park, located near Gotsu Lake in eastern Kumamoto City, includes a zoo, botanical garden and amusement park. The zoo section of the park includes the Animal Museum, where you can learn about animals, while the amusement park features a roller coaster and merry-go-rounds. In the botanical garden zone, there is a "Hana no Kyukeisho"(greenhouse) and others, where approximately 4,500 plants from 380 species flourish.
"Ikinari dango," a specialty from Kumamoto, is made from sweet bean paste with baked sweet potato fresh from the oven and wrapped in a jacket of wheat flour. Enjoy the texture of this spongy flour dumpling along with the sweetness of the potato mixed with plain bean paste.
Oka Castle, known for its impregnable defenses, was an impressive fort surrounded on all four sides by precipitous cliffs in a deep valley. The castle has long since vanished, but the stone walls that remain offer a glimpse of what it once was. The area, where 1,000 cherry, pine and maple trees grow, is one of Japan's 100 best spots for cherry-blossom viewing. The ruins of the castle keep, atop a cliff, offer a superb view of the Kuju Mountain Range.
Animals roam freely on the grounds here, so the visitors can observe their ecosystem in a natural setting. Here you can see lions, tigers and giraffes up close from the "jungle bus," and even experience feeding them. Visitors can also frolic with lovely little animals in the encounter area of the park.
Xavier is a confection that is half Japanese style and half Western style. It's a high-quality treat made from sweet white bean paste wrapped in a butter-flavored cookie.
There are two types of Xavier cakes: a gold-labeled cake containing white bean paste kneaded with rum-soaked raisins, and a silver-labeled cake containing only white bean paste.
At the Saitobaru Burial Mounds, designated as a special historical site, visitors can see a plateau 50 meters high. Stretching 3 kilometers from east to west and 4 kilometers from north to south, it's dotted with more than 300 burial mounds. During the Saito Flower Festival, 2,000 cherry trees and 300,000 canola plants in the burial mounds can be seen in their beauty and glory, all of which bloom at nearly the same time. The area is also illuminated during the cherry blossom season so that people can enjoy evening viewing as well. Additionally, there are numerous open-air stands and events, including "Jindai-kagura" (Shinto music and dance), "Kofun-daiko" (traditional Japanese drum) performance and many other events as well.
The "Kodomo-no-Kuni" (Children's Land) is an amusement park that makes use of the natural landscape in the area where the Chifuku River flows through the middle of the park. Here you will find a variety of garden environments, including a rose garden, camellia garden and hydrangea square.Along with assortments of flowers, you can enjoy Ferris wheel, go-carts, a steam locomotive and other types of playground equipments. Kodomo-no-Kuni is the main site of the Miyazaki Flower Festa, an annual floral event in which visitors can see flowers blooming in profusion throughout the park.
Kujira yokan (whale-shaped jellied bean paste) is a high-quality cake that has been handed down from generation to generation in Sadowara-cho, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture. The cake, made from sweet bean paste with kneaded rice powder, is steamed in the shape of a whale. The sweetness of the bean paste is modest and simple.
Tadamoto Park is located on a slightly elevated hill that commands a fine view of the city area of Okuchi. The park is known throughout prefectures, as one of the best places to view cherry blossoms. In fact, it has been chosen as one of the "hundred best cherry blossom-viewing sites in Japan." The cherry trees in the park stretch approximately 2 kilometers, and the tunnel created by the cherry blossoms in full bloom is illuminated with 1,000 lanterns during the season. It's a visual feast during the day, as well as at night, when the blossoms have a different expression.
Set amid the vast panorama of Sakurajima Island and Kinko Bay, the scenic African zone, with its impressive groups of animals, spreads before you as you pass through the main gate of the zoo. Additionally, the park features a koala family that is the largest animal group on display in Japan. The zoo is embellished with approximately 800 cherry trees, making it a great place for blossom viewing.
Karukan, the traditional steamed cake of Kagoshima, offers a pleasantly spongy texture. This confection is made from high-quality glutinous yam -- which has the stickiness needed for a spongy texture -- along with coarsely ground non-glutinous rice powder and sugar.
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