Travel Guide of Scenic Byway Kyushu Q-⓮ North Satsuma Scenic Tour

Izumi City, Akune, Satsuma-Sendai, Ichiki-Kushikino, Hioki, and Nagashima Town ( Pref.) －Untouched Nature, Unique Samurai Residence District, and Shirasu of Special Soil Layer－ Koshikijima Islands in Satsumasendai City, the main roads are The landscape route of the North Satsuma Scenic Tour is in the three prefecture roads. northern part of the Satsuma areas in , and Under these transport networks, the Satsuma scenery region is consists of five cities and one town, center of which is Satsuma- roughly divided into five blocks (see the map). Sendai City. It is a large-scale natural treasure trove and is full of [Scenic Resources] Since the Satsuma Domain in the Edo era was a the myth of Tenson-Kourin and the unique history of the Satsuma vast territory and was a remote region, it was necessary to pay close region. (Note: Tenson-Kourin is a myth that says that the grandson of attention to defense. In addition, the land was not fertile due to Amaterasu, Ninigino-Mikoto, came down from heaven to rule our country.) volcanic ash, and the clan's finances were not good. From these [Access and Main Route] Kagoshima Airport, and two stations of reasons, measures were adopted to divide the territory, placed Izumi and Sendai of the are access points to branch castles (called "Tojyo" in Japanese) in each, stationed these scenic sites. To reach the Koshiki Islands, you will need to take samurai, and carried out military and administrative operations. In a boat from Sendai Port or Kushikino-shinko Port, as shown in the short, it was the establishment of a society of local samurai who map. usually engaged in agriculture and fought as soldiers in an The main roads in the scenic Satsuma areas are National Roads emergency. 3 and 389, which are supported by National Roads 504 and 328. In However, in 1615, the Edo Shogunate enacted a law limiting one addition, Kyushu Expressway, South Kyushu Expressway, Orange castle to one clan." For this reason, the Satsuma clan also abolished Railway and Kagoshima Main Line are available. On the the branch castle, but the military and administrative system of the divided areas did not change. The person in charge of the area was appointed from among the samurai and called "Jito", but he usually worked at the main castle ("inner castle") in Kagoshima and went to his hometown as needed. At that time, the local office was called "Jito Kariya". Also, the local samurai assigned to the area were called "Goshi", and the village where they (1) View of Sea from Hario Park (1) Ikarajima Oohashi Bridge in Nagashima Town. in Nagashima Town. lived was called "Fumoto". (The name came from the foot of mountain (see Q-❻)). The Satsuma domain has brought together such communities and developed a unique local culture, but the following are some “Fumoto” left in the scenic highway area. The “Fumoto-machi” and “Noda-Fumoto ” in Izumi City are sites where the situation at that time is preserved well (see photo (1)). “Iriki-Fumoto” in (1) Izumi plain where more than ten thousand cranes dance in the sky (Izumi City) Satsuma-Sendai City is a typical

(1) Fumoto Town, and the Entrance Gate and Room of Samurai Residence House in Izumi City

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Q-⓮ North Satsuma Scenic Tour

(2) Dole Rock of the west coast in Northern Satsuma (Akune City) (3) View of Satsuma Sendai City with Sendai River mountain village that remains the image of the Edo period (see combination of the cliffs of Shirasu Plateau and the white sandy Photo (3)). beach. (Note: Shirasu is soil made of pyroclastic materials of volcanoes in On the other hand, as shown in the photo (5), two Fumotos of Sato southern Kyushu.) and Teuchi on Koshikijima Islands have a unique atmosphere c) In the southwestern sea of Satsunma-sendai City, there is the made of island materials. Miyama-Fumoto in Hioki City is a special “Koshiki Islands” which inherits the geology and the fossils of case that Korean potters who were given the status of Goshi dinosaurs from 80 million years ago. At the same time, the scenery (samurai) settled down (Photo (4)). is very impressive and is not inferior to other Geopark designated If visiting these Fumotos, you can see various villages for the in Kyushu (see photo (5)). Goshi samurai from Middle Ages to the Edo period. (1) Izumi City and Nagashima Town The second is the three important nature landscapes in northern During the Edo period, Izumi City was a town where defended Satsuma. the north of the Satsuma Domain, and there is a trace of checkpoint a) In the Izumi plain, more than 10,000 cranes are flying in the at the entrance of the domain border on the Satsuma Kaido. The sky against the backdrop of the Yatsushiro sea, in winter. city has three main spots of landscapes. One of them is the scenery b) The landscape of the pyroclastic plateau spreads along the long of cranes that come to the Izumi plain every winter and returns to coastline from Akune City to Hioki City, and you can see the Siberia in March.

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The second is the village of “Fumoto”, a local samurai community. stream and is registered under the Ramsar Convention. The small The samurai’s village can be seen in various places, but the village peat islands floating in the pond are a natural heritage site, and in of this town was large-scale because it was a border town. Some of the fall, you can see the endangered Libellula Angelina. samurai residences are open to visitors and you can see inside (see photo (1)). The third is the view from Nagashima Island which is located between Amakusa City and Izumi City and across the Kuronoseto Bridge (502m). From the various hills or mountains of Nagashima (3) The tomb of Enomisasagi enshrine the legendary (3) Imuta Lake surrounded by small volcanos (Ramsar’s Island, the Kyushu Main god of creation. (Satsuma Sendai City). Convention for wetland. Satsuma Sendai City) Island, the Amakusa islands, and the Yatsushiro Sea can be seen. Flowers are planted along the roads of Nagashima every season, and special products such as oranges, Shochu (Japanese distilled liquor), Nori (seaweed laver), and Buri (yellowtail) are sold at a roadside station. It is an island full of the blessings (1) Gate of Okariya in the Edo period, which is (1) Kurono-Seto Ohashi Bridge between Akune still used for Gate of Izumi Elementary School of nature. City and Nagashima Town.

(2) West Coast in North Satsuma. The main route from Akune to Satsuma-sendai is known as a scenic drive course along the west coast of northern Satsuma. The sea is straight to the Asian continent far away through the East China (3) Quiet Iriki-Fumoto Town and the Hedge Gate of Goshi-samurai’s House (Satsuma Sendai City) Sea, and the sunset over the horizon is impressive (see the Photo (2)). The view of the rocks formed by the rough waves is spectacular, but the white sandy beaches is shining brightly in the dazzling sun. (3) Basin of Sendai River The area along Sendai River can be divided into (3) Old Masuda Family House in 1873, and Street of Samurai Residential District in Iriki-Fumoto Town upstream and downstream basins due to its unique characteristics. The Hiwaki River is a tributary upstream of the Sendai River. As shown in Photo (3), Lake Imuta, a caldera lake formed by a volcanic lava dome, is (4) Miyama Fumoto (Village of Satsum-Yaki porcelain). (4) Shirasu Plateau in Fukiage-Hama located at the uppermost (Hioki City.) Beach (Hioki City).

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Memorial Hall has opened here. The many materials related on youths who studied across the sea before the Meiji Restoration and contributed to the modernization of Japan are on display. On the south side of National Road 270, (5) Samurai Residence Area in “Sato” of Kami-Koshiki – (5) Nagameno-Hama (beach) in Kami-Koshiki-Shima there is Fukiage-hama, Shima. (Satsumasendai City.) which is a beach with total length of 47 km, volcanic ash from the eruption is deposited, and you can see scenic spots such as steep slopes.

(5) Koshikijima Islands with un-touched Nature

(5) Long span bridge in Koshikijima- (5) Sand beach at Teuchi Bay (Shimo-Koshiki-Shima, Koshikijima Islands Satsumasendai City) Islands(Satsumasendai City) are lined up in the East China Sea, and the access to the island takes approximately 50 minutes from Sendai Port (high-speed ship) and Kushikino New Port (ferry). The islands were previously separated, but now they are connected by three long (5) Kashima Cliff formed by all the accumulations of (5) Kanoko Ohashi (Big Bridge) in Naka-Koshiki Shima. bridges, and the total the strata from 80 million years ago (Satsumasendai City) length of these roads is When going downstream of the about 38 km. Hiwaki River, you will find the village The cliffs of Kashima have been of Iriki Fumoto with a medieval gradually deposited for over 80 million atmosphere. The old house with years. As you can see in photo (5), they thatched roof of the Masuda family in contain horizontal stripes that look like that corner is an important cultural annual rings, but it is very rare that the asset of the country (Photo (3)). entire area has been exposed since The most downstream of Sendai prehistoric times. River basin is the section from the On the other hand, there are also center of Satsuma-Sendai City to the beautiful sandy beaches. One is estuary. The main scenic spot in this "Nagame-no-Hama" of about 4km long and about 50m wide, and other, the area is the mausoleum of the god sandy beach of Teuchi Bay of a beautiful called “Enomisasagi”, which is on the (5) Napoleon Rock in Shimo-Koshiki Shima Island arc (Photo (5)). top of Mt. Shinkisan (70m). It is The Sato area of Kamikoshiki Shima believed to be the grave of the god of “Ninigino-mikoto”, the founder Island is a port town where most of the inhabitants of the island live. of our country in the mythical descent. The samurai residences, which have been passed since the Edo (4) Areas of Ichiki-Kushikino City and Hioki City period, are surrounded by unique fences made of natural stones and City is adjacent to the south of Satsuma-Sendai tropical plants. City, and mountains in the inland are said to be the birthplace of There are also samurai residences in the Teuchi district of Shimo- ancient mountain Buddhism. Also, there is an observatory park is koshiki shima, which shows that Shimazu’s regional policy had in the middle of Mt. Kanmuri-Dake (516m). steadily penetrated into the islands of the South Sea. On the other hand, Hajima Port, from which youths of the Satsuma domain secretly left for the United Kingdom, is in the Publishing and Copy right: Promotion Council of Scenic Byway Kyushu northern part of the coast. Recently, Satsuma British Students C○(Copy right 2021. All rights reserved).

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