Tosu offers a change of pace between cultural history and scenic views: the annual Nagasaki Kaidō Festival combines guided walks with performances, the Nakatomi Memorial Medicine Museum focuses on Tashiroyaku medicines, and from Asahiyama Park you can see across the Saga Plain, Kurume, and the cityscape of Tosu. You can plan your stay around a specific festival program, the history of medicine, or a scenic view.
Festival Culture in Uryūno, Todoroki, and Tashiro
The Nagasaki Kaidō Festival is held annually in Uryūno, Todoroki, and Tashiro. Volunteer guides lead walks to historical sites, and the program also includes stage performances at shrines. The festival helps pass on traditional culture and protect cultural properties. It thus combines guided explorations with a stage program and highlights different ways of sharing culture. The walks and stage performances also take place in different settings.
Specific dates and individual program events may change. Check them before your trip if a particular walk or performance will determine your travel dates.
The History of Medicine at the Nakatomi Memorial Medicine Museum
The museum displays materials about the production and peddling of Tashiroyaku medicines. A hands-on station and a video about the history of this trade complement the exhibition. The focus is therefore not just on the medicines themselves, but also on their production and sale, and the historical context of the trade. The different exhibits offer a range of ways to explore this subject.
The exhibition also includes around 100 preparations made from crude drugs. The museum also has a medicinal plant garden with around 350 species across approximately 800 tsubo. This places preparations made from crude drugs and a garden of medicinal plants side by side as two different perspectives on medicine. The figures for the number of species and the area are approximate.
Views from Asahiyama Park
Asahiyama Park sits on a hill 132.9 meters high. From the summit, you can see across the Saga Plain, Kurume, and the cityscape of Tosu. The park is also considered a popular spot for nighttime city views. The viewpoint thus complements the festival’s and museum’s cultural history themes with views of the landscape and city.
The park is a five-minute walk from Shin-Tosu Station. Check route and transport conditions before your trip if you plan to include this walk.
For trip planning, there is a clear distinction: for the festival, the dates and individual program events should determine your plans; the museum focuses on the history of medicine, while the park offers views. So first consider whether you want to plan your travel dates around a festival program or let the museum and park shape your stay in Tosu.
Discover more destinations: Shiroishi, Karatsu, Ogi, Saga, Taku, Takeo, Ureshino, Imari
Back to the main travel guide: Saga Prefecture.
