We have had a good stay at the ryokan called the Riverside Inn Karatsu Castle. Aptly named, we are situated directly on the river and adjacent to the Castle. We couldn’t ask for a better location as our two windows give us a bird’s eye view of the town and the castle. This does come at a price though as the room can be very cold with single pane windows…we keep the heat pump on high. The fellows who own and manage this place are friendly and accomodating…we appreciated the free beverage offered when we returned sodden and cold from the castle. We. chose a freshly pulled glass of local beer.
We now understand the connection with the Anime figures and images in the ryokan. We learned at the castle, that these characters are from the series, Yuri on Ice. The Anime character Yuri is from this city and Karatsu is featured as a location.
Yuri on Ice is a Japanese sports anime TV series about figure skating. It revolves around the relationships between Japanese figure skater Juri Katsuki and his idol the Russian champion Victor Nikiforov and an up and coming Russian skater Yuri Plisetsky. The storyline has raised discussion due to its depiction of a same sex relationship and the anxiety of the Japanese character. Professional figure skaters gave the series high praise with some performing at the 2018 Olympics to music from the series. Another connection the film has to the figure skating world is that a costume worn by American champion skater, Johnny Weir, was featured by the main character in the series.
The room had everything we needed and more, including a make up area with this small chair. Barry’s back is happier when he is not sitting on the ground and somehow his 6’2” frame found some comfort on this chair.
We have walked this sidewalk several times and like magic, it starts to rain hard and the wind is howling when we head out. But just once, we were lucky…when we got to our room we could hear the rain pounding down with a thunderstorm.
The breakfast room, with a welcome to Karatsu sign in Japanese, English and Russian. We assume the Russian welcome is due to the enjoyment the owners of the ryokan have for the series, Yuri and I.
This is bizarre. We had checked out and were heading towards the Castle to explore more of Karatsu and carry on to Imari. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two red gloves on the grass and I called out to Barry… stop…those are my gloves! The poor things had spent the rainy night outside waiting for me. How lucky I am that they were still there. We both have these windstopper gloves from Montbell and they are our favourite gloves. Perhaps I’ll see my lost glasses someday in our travels…
There are 3 cities in Saga Prefecture that are a must to visit if you have an interest in the pottery and ceramic history dating back centuries. Karatsu, Imari and Arita are famous for it. Before we leave we will visit some places here that feature local pottery.
First stop is the train station. This piece made of pottery greets you at the entrance to the station.
The tourist office was great. The fellow gave us lots of information about where to go to see pottery. He even had a Cycling Map for Kyushu that we have been trying to get since we arrived in Japan. It is excellent and we left our copy at home.
A great map with detailed info for each route including elevation etc (good info to have in mountainous Kyushu!). It goes well with a mug of green tea with matcha too.
We found one of the galleries recommended by the Tourist Office in a neighbourhood of narrow winding lanes and traditional houses. What a charming spot.
Riding through a neighbourhood in search of galleries and art museums.
We were invited to the back room where there is pottery based on designs from the 17th century. The following photos are from this collection. The prices were high but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
This eye catching blue piece is valued at $4180.00.
School kids of all ages are always very kind and greet us by calling out or greeting us. The younger ones often run alongside asking us questions about what we are doing, where are we from etc.
It has been (as usual lately) a cold ride. We were happy to stop at a Conbini for lunch. As there was only one small table with one chair available, Mary Ellen sat on the window sill. Before we knew it one of the workers had gone in the back and got the chair that staff use on their breaks. Have I said recently how much we appreciate Conbinis and their workers?
We see many egrets whose solid white colour stands out in this lush environment. Every time we try to get a photo, the egret gets spooked and flies away. As you can see, I managed to get a snap of the egret in flight.
We are approaching Imari, the second city on our quest to learn about the historic pottery and ceramic produced in this area, since the mid 1600’s. The pottery jugs on each end of the bridge are a tribute to the city’s history.
It just keeps getting better. These large porcelain pieces are beautiful. It amazes us that these pieces can be mounted on a bridge and remain undamaged. Impressive.
The Atago pear, a local Asian specialty, is very large in size, juicy and sweet with a bit of tartness. We were tempted to buy some, but they require a couple of days to ripen. Carrying them around in panniers would not be good. The average weight of each pear is over 2 lbs.
Mark M.I think you should wait for a downhill day, and then treat yourself to a dozen!! 😉 Interesting to see all the new things you're encountering, and thanks for taking the time to post them. Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
As I was parking my trike, a woman came out of the Michi and approached me. She was so impressed that we are travelling in her country that she gave me this gift. It is a magnet that will find a special place on our frig at home.
Hotels in Japan offer free amenities that are in your room. Some hotels like to add extras like this shampoo bar which gives you a choice of higher end products.
