Shimabara (島原市) is a city in Nagasaki prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan.
Shimabara is a castle town on a peninsula in the far south-east corner of Nagasaki Prefecture, on the flanks of Mt. Unzen, an active volcano dominating the region. After nearly 200 years of dormancy, Mt Unzen last erupted in 1991, killing 43 and devastating the southern district of town with the resultant pyroclastic flows.
The city is also the site of the Shimabara Rebellion in which Christians and locals who were unsatisfied with grossly high taxes and oppression of Christianity fought to regain control of the territory. They were unsuccessful, and with the help of the Dutch, the Japanese stopped the rebellion and beheaded approximately 37,000 Christians and peasants. It also led to the ousting of the Portuguese who they no longer trusted, making the Dutch the only Europeans the Japanese were willing to trade with. Although Christianity had already been banned prior to the rebellion, the rebellion made the government even more anti-Christian and even stricter enforcement of the religious ban was established.
Nowadays Shimabara acts as the gateway between Nagasaki and Kumamoto and sightseeing in the Unzen Volcanic Area Geopark.
Trains run direct from Isahaya, near Nagasaki along the private Shimabara line. As with many private lines in Kyushu, the Shimabara line departs from a slightly hidden "platform zero" within the JR station. Don't leave through the JR gates, just hop on the train and buy your tickets from the driver.
Various ferry options will let you reach Shimabara from neighbouring Kumamoto.
The local train service runs between Shimabara Port and Shimabara central station, closest to the castle.
Limited bus services exist around town and run approximately hourly servicing the three main areas of castle/central train station, the port, and the southern part of town with stops about a 10-minute walk away from the disaster hall and another right outside the Mizunashi-honjin Fukae road station (see below). Although some run close, none go up to Unzen Geopark.
As the various attractions are each about 3 km from the port, if coming by sea, walking around town may be a desirable option. However, despite Shimabara's beauty, like most Japanese cities, much is a desolate ferro-concrete urban wasteland, in this case a thin strip bordering the highway that runs directly through town. If you do choose to walk, the route between the port and the castle could potentially be quite pleasant if one were to carefully avoid said main highway and weave their way north.
Consider the following course:
There are detailed maps of the town at the port.
Shimabara Castle (島原城), 32.789238°, 130.367253°. An unusually striking castle reconstruction due to its regular, tall yet almost pyramidal, design. Furthermore, it is unique in that the town has clearly chosen functionality over form and forgone the usual garden in favour of placing a carpark on the castle plateau. Urgh. You can park 5 metres from the door. Despite this, the thin terraced gardens behind the castle, overlooking the ocean are packed to the brim with hydrangeas and really pretty. 2022-10-08
Shinozuka Samurai Residence (篠塚邸), 32.792506°, 130.362654°. Home of a vassal of the Matsudaira. The family owned the house for 11 generations. 2022-10-08
Yamamoto Samurai Residence (山本邸), 32.792736°, 130.362777°. The family served 13 successive lords of Shimabara Castle, lasting until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. 2022-10-08
Shimada Samurai Residence (鳥田邸), 32.791257°, 130.363373°. A house for local magistrates. 2022-10-08
Shimei-so (四明荘), 32.784345°, 130.370542°. A villa built at the end of the Meiji Period. The garden was built later, including its famous koi pond, which runs under it. ¥310 2022-10-08
Unzen Volcanic Area Geopark. A UNESCO Geopark. 2022-10-08
Mt Unzen Disaster Memorial Hall (雲仙岳災害記念館), 32.743523°, 130.375994°. A museum roughly 3 km south of the port. Covers a variety of topics based upon the destruction of southern Shimabara by pyroclastic flows from Mt Unzen's eruption and future disaster prevention. ¥1000 for adults 2022-10-08
Mizunashi-honjin Fukae. Road Station. Beside 水無川 on Route 251. Roughly 4 km south of the port and walking distance from the Memorial Hall. At first glance, this may just appear to be an ordinary road rest station for long distance drivers (try not to get hung up on the apparent contradiction that this road doesn't lead anywhere further south from here) but beneath this facade it hides easily the most unique tourist attraction in town and unusual even by Japanese standards -- yet it mysteriously does not even appear as one of the dozen dots on the local tourist guide map. After the southern side of town got sacked in 1991, 11 of the original houses from the time were preserved here in their half-buried awe. Roughly half are outdoors in a park setting and the other half enclosed in a sort of greenhouse so you can get a good view regardless of the weather. Although at first a pile of rooftops on the ground might just look like the plethora of collapsed houses in rural Japan, the entire house is still there, in one piece but buried, and were buried in an amazingly short period of time by pyroclastic flows from a volcanic eruption. There is information in English, Japanese, Korean. Being a road station, there are restaurants and a fruit stand so its also a convenient place to pick up lunch. Admission free 2022-10-08
Hara Castle Ruins, 1 Chome-1183-1 Jonai. Hara Castle was the Christian stronghold during the Shimabara Rebellion. It was attacked by the government with help from the Dutch who were trying to gain favor with the Japanese and get rid of the Portuguese, which they succeeded in doing. Nothing remains of the castle, but the foundations are clearly visible and some remnants from the rebellion are still visible.
Arima Christian Heritage Museum, Otsu-1395 Minamiarimacho, Minamishimabara, 32.63613314650804°, 130.24353339447424°, +81 957853217. Tells the history of Hidden Christians on the Shimabara peninsula. It also aimes to educate visitors about the history of the Shimabara rebellions that took place at nearby Hara Castle. It also hold artifacts unearthed from the Shimabara rebellion.
Shimabara Hibaruyama Flower Park (しまばら火張山花公園), 32.78998°, 130.337763°. 2022-10-08
The usual array of edible souveniers can be picked up from within the port.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division