Mysterious Outing Around Oita's Kunisaki Peninsula 1: The Unique Topography of Kitsuki Castle Town and Showa-era Bungotakada

I want to try visiting the area around the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita Prefecture.
It seems like there is some unique culture there.

Date: Monday, April 7, 2025
Weather: Oita Prefecture ☀️ 17–21°C

Heading to Oita Airport

I'm heading to Narita Airport on the 6:05 AM Skyliner from Nippori Station.
It's actually full; I'm glad I booked it last night!
70% of the passengers were foreigners.

Security was crowded, and I made it to the boarding gate 20 minutes before departure; it was a close call.
I'm taking a bus to the plane parked on the tarmac.
I was lucky to have an empty seat next to me; the flight was 70% full.

I'm sitting in a window seat in the middle of the wing.

Narita Airport T3, 7:35 AM departure, Flight GK603
Aircraft: A320-200
7:45 Pushback, 8:02 Takeoff

The cherry blossoms visible from the runway are beautiful 🌸🌸

Landed at Oita Airport at 9:33, reached the spot at 9:36.
It was a slight delay since the scheduled arrival was 9:30.

The terminal is cozy.
It's compact and easy to navigate.

Oita Airport 9:55 AM departure, Airport Bus bound for Beppu Station, 900 yen.
Arrived at Kitsuki Interchange bus stop at 10:10 AM.

Sightseeing in Kitsuki, a castle town with a rare shape.

From the interchange, it's about a 15-minute walk down a gentle slope to reach the central area.

In the town of Kitsuki, the railway runs on the outskirts, so you have to take a bus to get to the center of town.

The main street in the center is located in a valley.
There is no river flowing through it, but I suspect it has been turned into an underground conduit.

There are hills on both sides, and if you climb them, you get a great view!
You can really feel the atmosphere of the castle town.

Kitsuki Castle Town MuseumLet's learn about what kind of castle town this is.
I'll purchase the Kitsuki Town Walking Plan for 1,000 yen (includes admission to 3 locations + a 500 yen coupon) and go look around.

It's a townscape known as a sandwich-style castle town, where samurai residences line the hills on both sides, and the valley area contains merchant houses and homes of townspeople.
The samurai class is sandwiching the merchant class.

Among the several samurai residences on the hill, let's visitOhara Residence.

I'll pass through the nagaya-mon gate and enter the residence grounds.
It was a residence for high-ranking samurai, and the roof was thatched.
It was a magnificent, high-status residence with a strolling garden.
It is said that the rice yield was 200 koku.
Let's enter the house from the entrance where the cycad tree is.

There were other highlights, and it was a magnificent residence.
It is precious that it remains in this day and age.

Now, let's head straight to Kitsuki Castle.
We go down the slope toward the castle.

Cherry blossoms in bloomKitsuki Castle🌸🏯
The castle, which juts out into the sea, is built on a hill.
The current castle was built in 1970.

It has since been reclaimed, so there is a bit of distance to the sea now.
During the Edo period, the town of Kitsuki flourished mainly as the castle town of the Matsudaira clan.

We will have lunch atWakae-yaat the foot of the castle.
I just happened to walk in, but it turned out to be the restaurant that provides 'Tai Chazuke Ureshino' for the JR Kyushu cruise train 'Seven Stars'.
They served Tai Chazuke on JAL international business and first class flights in 2018.
It was also featured in volume 71 of 'Oishinbo'.

It is a traditional restaurant founded in 1698, and they serve a family-recipe dish called 'Tai Chazuke Ureshino,' named after the time the lord of the Kitsuki Domain ate the sea bream chazuke and exclaimed with joy, 'Ureshii no u' (I am so happy).

Being able to come to a place like this makes me want to mutter, 'Ureshii no u' as well.

Next, we will take a bus and train to Bungotakada.
Kitsuki Bus Center (bus) -> JR Kitsuki Station (train) -> JR Usa Station (bus) -> Bungotakada

Showa retro Bungotakada

Since the Showa Roman-gura is adjacent to the Bungotakada bus stop, I'll go inside.

Showa Roman-gura
There were many nostalgic items.
I'll enjoy the Showa-era items while wandering around.

I played Space Invaders and was defeated immediately.
I'm so bad at this!

Let's go for a walk around town
There are several shopping streets, so I'll wander around them.

Showa-era items are displayed in front of the shops.
The prices at the restaurants were Showa-era prices.

I had a fun time walking around town.
It's not that large, so half a day is enough to see the sights.
Well, it's a bit early, but let's have dinner.

Dinner at Shokujidokoro Jokamachi Dinner at the restaurant.
Mixed plate 500 yen, Oyakodon 450 yen, Beer 600 yen. Total 1550 yen.

The prices were Showa-era prices, and the restaurant also had a Showa-era atmosphere.
It's the best.
It was delicious.

I will be staying in Bungotakada tonight.
(Accommodation) Hotel Seisho, Rakuten Travel 3410 yen.
The hotel also has Showa-era prices; it's a standard business hotel.
The toilet doesn't have a washlet, but I have no complaints at this price.

●Today's Expenses● Total 21,701 yen
Transportation within Kyushu: 2500 yen
Airplane: 7220 yen
Keisei Line: 2567 yen
Meals, etc.: 4304 yen
Admission fees, etc.: 1700 yen
Accommodation: 3410 yen

I'll be wandering around the Kunisaki Peninsula area tomorrow as well.
See you later!