Kitsuki Town 杵築

The city of samurai

Kitsuki is located east of Kyushu , the southernmost island of the Japanese archipelago. The city, located on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea , is marked by its medieval heritage , with its castle, its typical small streets and its samurai houses. The Edo period (1603-1868) still seems present while walking through the streets of the city, organized in "sandwiches". This unique urban plan is characterized by the two districts with the old samurai houses facing each other, each being installed on a hill, the two hills being separated by a long shopping alley.

The city center can easily be explored on foot for a day, the distances between the various sites being reasonable. Kitsuki is nicknamed the "little Kyoto of Kyushu" , and the Japanese and tourists like to walk around the city dressed in a kimono, for a beautiful photo session with an atmosphere of yesteryear.

The bulk of the city tour is at the Suya-no-saka and Shioya-no-saka slopes , with the main street serving the shopping district. On either side of these two bustling arteries, one reaches the old areas where the samurai lived: the main district to the north and that of Minami-dai to the south, stuck to the district of the teramachi temples.

Things to do in Kitsuki

It is possible to visit several of these traditional samurai residences, called bukeyashiki . Two houses are particularly interesting to visit.

Finally, at the eastern end of town, Kitsuki Castle is the highlight. It was originally built in 1394 , by the Kitsuki clan - more precisely by the 4th daimyo of the city, Kizuki Yorinao - on the Daiyama plateau, facing the Seto Inland Sea. It was unfortunately destroyed by lightning and a fire in 1608. Only the current keep was rebuilt identically in 1970: today, it is therefore the smallest castle in Japan .

Kitsuki is a great outing to learn about the Japanese medieval period, for a day or an afternoon. Quite busy on weekends, the city is fortunately very quiet during the week.