Top Attractions in Ureshino for Sightseeing
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Ureshino City in Saga Prefecture is known as a town of hot springs and tea, home to Ureshino Onsen, often regarded as one of Japan’s three great “beauty hot springs,” and fragrant Ureshino tea. Visitors can enjoy a relaxed stroll around the area, with highlights such as Siebold’s Bath, a Gothic-style building with a Taisho romantic atmosphere, foot baths, and Yushuku Hiroba, where you can try a rare foot steam bath. Beyond the hot springs, there are many other attractions, including a visit to the catfish deity at Toyotamahime Shrine, scenic views of tea fields, and Hizen Yoshida ware, a local pottery tradition with more than 400 years of history. For food, Ureshino’s specialty is onsen yudofu, a hot spring tofu dish made by simmering tofu in hot spring water until it becomes soft and creamy. Sweets and souvenirs made with Ureshino tea are also part of the pleasure of the trip.
Recommended Local Products and Traditional Crafts in Ureshino
Ureshino Tea
Ureshino tea is a local specialty cultivated mainly around Ureshino City, best known for tamaryokucha, a type of green tea with rounded tea leaves. Grown in tea fields blessed with a wide temperature difference between day and night, it offers a mellow umami flavor, a pleasant aroma, and a soft, smooth mouthfeel. The mainstream steamed tamaryokucha is loved for its gentle astringency, while traditional pan-fired tea is characterized by its roasted fragrance and clean aftertaste. Around the city, visitors can also find facilities where they can learn about the history and production process of Ureshino tea, as well as spots where they can enjoy a cup while taking in views of the tea fields.
Explore Ureshino: Top Spots and Must-Know Topic
Ureshino Onsen
Ureshino Onsen is a hot spring area known as one of Japan’s three great “beauty hot springs,” loved for its smooth, silky water. Its sodium-rich alkaline spring water is clear and colorless, with a slightly thick texture, and is popular for leaving the skin feeling soft and smooth after bathing. The hot spring town is dotted with day-use bathing facilities and foot baths, making it easy to enjoy hot spring hopping whether staying overnight or visiting for the day. Nearby, visitors can also find cafés serving Ureshino tea and restaurants offering the local specialty, onsen yudofu, making a post-bath meal or tea break part of the experience. Combined with a stroll to Siebold’s Bath, a public bathhouse with a Taisho romantic atmosphere, or Toyotamahime Shrine, known for its deity of beautiful skin, visitors can enjoy both relaxation and the charming atmosphere of the hot spring town.
Siebold’s Bath
Siebold’s Bath is a public bathhouse in Ureshino Onsen. It is known for its two-story wooden building with a Gothic-style design that evokes a Taisho romantic atmosphere. Located across from Ureshino Onsen Park, its retro exterior, featuring an orange pointed roof and a white-based color scheme, adds charm to the hot spring townscape. Inside, there are large public baths and private family baths, making it a relaxing place enjoyed by both visitors and local residents. The spring quality is a sodium bicarbonate and chloride spring, commonly referred to as a baking soda spring, and is promoted for its potential skin-beautifying effects. The facility also takes accessibility into consideration, with features such as a multipurpose bath with fewer steps and bathrooms designed for easier wheelchair use.
Shiota-tsu Historic District
Shiota-tsu is a historic district that still preserves the atmosphere of a town that prospered both as a river port using the tidal range of the Ariake Sea and as a post town along the Nagasaki Kaido route. In 2005, it was designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Along the Nagasaki Kaido, visitors can see rows of white-walled buildings, earthen storehouses, and large plaster-coated townhouses known as iguraya, designed to withstand fires, floods, and strong winds. Along the riverside, stone walls built by Shiota stonemasons and Ebisu statues are scattered throughout the area, creating a calm and dignified streetscape. Historic buildings such as the Nishioka Family Residence, a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property, and Sugimitsu Ceramics, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, are also highlights of the district.
Toyotamahime Shrine
Toyotamahime Shrine is located in the Ureshino Onsen town and is beloved as a shrine dedicated to the deity of beautiful skin. Its enshrined deity, Toyotamahime-no-Okami, is regarded as a goddess of beautiful skin, and it is said that since ancient times, visitors coming for hot spring cures have prayed here for healing from skin ailments. Within the shrine grounds is the Namazu-sha, a small shrine dedicated to the “Namazu-sama,” or catfish deity, believed to be a messenger of Toyotamahime. Many visitors come to pray before the white porcelain catfish, wishing for beautiful skin.
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Hizen Yumekaido
Hizen Yumekaido is a ninja and history-themed amusement park located near Ureshino Onsen in Ureshino City, Saga Prefecture. It recreates the atmosphere of the Nagasaki Kaido route in the early Edo period. Inside the park, buildings reminiscent of an Edo-period townscape line the streets, and visitors can enjoy activities such as renting ninja costumes, throwing shuriken, and target shooting. Exciting ninja shows are also held, making it a popular sightseeing spot that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Todoroki Falls Park
Todoroki Falls Park is a natural park centered around Todoroki Falls. Located upstream on the Shiota River, Todoroki Falls is known as a three-tiered waterfall with a height of 11 meters. Its name is said to come from the way the sound of the falling water roars like thunder. The waterfall basin is wide, and visitors can enjoy the scenery created by the surrounding greenery and waterside landscape. Takimi Bridge, located downstream from the falls, is a good spot for viewing the waterfall. In spring, cherry blossoms bloom throughout the park, making it an easy place to stop by while strolling around the hot spring town.
Ureshino Tea Exchange Hall “Chaoshiru”
Ureshino Tea Exchange Center “Chaoshiru” is an interactive facility where visitors can learn about Ureshino tea, brew it, and taste it. Inside, there are exhibits introducing the history and production process of Ureshino tea, as well as hands-on experiences such as classes on how to brew delicious tea and tea-dyeing workshops. At the café corner, visitors can enjoy Ureshino green tea, black tea, ice cream, sweets, and other tea-related treats. Seasonal tea-picking experiences in spring and factory tours available on weekdays are also offered. Some activities require advance reservations, so it is recommended to check the details before visiting.
The Shidayaki-no-Sato
The Shidayaki-no-Sato Museum is a facility that preserves a former factory where Shida ware was once produced and now uses it as a museum. The building, which began as the Marushi Porcelain Factory in 1914 and remained in operation until 1984, has been preserved largely as it was. It is also recognized as an industrial heritage site and as a component cultural property of Japan Heritage. Inside the museum, visitors can see the porcelain-making process from the Taisho and early Showa periods, from preparing the clay to shaping, painting, and firing. The museum also displays Shida ware pieces decorated with gosu, a cobalt-blue pigment. Hands-on pottery experiences such as wheel throwing, painting, and lampshade making are also available, making it a spot where visitors can enjoy both the history of ceramics and the fun of craftsmanship.
Hizen Yoshida Ware Kiln Center
Hizen Yoshida Ware Kiln Center is a hub facility located in the Yoshida Saraya district of Ureshino Town, Ureshino City, Saga Prefecture, where visitors can experience the appeal of Hizen Yoshida ware. It serves as a guide to the kiln area scattered throughout Yoshida Saraya, and inside the center, representative products from each kiln are displayed and sold. Visitors can enjoy hands-on experiences such as painting ceramics with brushes or stamps, as well as hand-building pottery by shaping clay into their own creations. After finding a favorite piece or kiln, it is also recommended to explore the surrounding kilns. Some kilns accept workshop visits or have direct-sales shops, so those interested in visiting a workshop should check with the Kiln Center in advance.
Ureshino City’s tea tourism
Ureshino City’s tea tourism is a sightseeing program that allows visitors to experience the scenery and culture unique to the home of Ureshino tea. In special tea spaces set among the tea fields, guests can enjoy a tea ceremony led by tea farmers or dedicated concierges, creating a memorable experience while feeling the nature and climate of Ureshino firsthand. Interpretation services can also be arranged, making the program welcoming for guests from overseas. Since the experience may vary depending on the season, weather, and availability, it is recommended to check reservation details and the current schedule in advance before participating.
List of Local Products and Traditional Crafts from Ureshino
Hizen Yoshida Ware
Hizen Yoshida ware is a type of porcelain that has been passed down in the Yoshida district of Ureshino City for around 400 years. It developed mainly as everyday tableware, with many pieces made for daily use, such as teacups, rice bowls, soba cups, kyusu teapots, and dobin teapots. Each kiln has its own distinctive style, from blue-and-white porcelain and colorful overglaze designs to more modern patterns. Today, Hizen Yoshida ware is widely enjoyed as tea ware for Ureshino tea and as tableware for everyday dining.
Ureshino Onsen Yudōfu (Tofu Hot Pot)
Ureshino Onsen yudofu is a local specialty of Ureshino City, Saga Prefecture, made using the hot spring water of Ureshino Onsen. When tofu is gently simmered in the hot spring water, the minerals in the water make the tofu soft and creamy, while the broth turns a milky white, similar to soy milk. It is known for its smooth, silky texture and mellow flavor, allowing visitors to enjoy the gentle sweetness of the tofu. It can be enjoyed simply on its own, or served hot-pot style with vegetables, meat, and other ingredients. In addition to being offered at inns and restaurants around the Ureshino Onsen area, special kits are also available for enjoying it at home.
Ikkōkō (Traditional Baked Sweet)
Ikkokko is a simple traditional confection that has long been enjoyed in Saga. It is made by wrapping a filling of brown sugar and ginger in a dough made with ingredients such as flour and starch syrup, then baking it. This process creates its distinctive hollow interior and unique texture. The fragrant outer shell, gentle sweetness of brown sugar, and subtle hint of ginger come together beautifully, making it a perfect accompaniment to green tea, hojicha, black tea, and other teas.