Saga

Saga (佐賀) is the eponymous capital of Saga prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Most travelers seem to pass by on their way to Nagasaki, but the city does have its share of worthwhile sites if you take the time to stop by and explore.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated Google Translate.

By plane
Saga Airport is small but has daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka (Itami). From the city it takes about 30mins by bus and costs ¥600.

Buses also connect Fukuoka Airport to Saga (70 minutes, ¥1000). This option to travel via Fukuoka is much more practical for most travelers, because there are a wider variety of connections.

By train
Saga is a stop on the JR Nagasaki Line.

Limited express train services run from Hakata station in Fukuoka twice each hour (usually :02 and :22 past the hour), including the Kamome and Midori train services. Trains run directly to Saga in about 40 minutes at a cost of &yen;2300. It is best to get the return ticket, as it costs the same amount but you save yourself the trouble of having to purchase another ticket to get back to Fukuoka. Even if it is unused, it doesn't hurt to get it as it doesn't cost you any extra.

Local trains from Hakata cost only &yen;1080, but you will have to change trains in Tosu and the travel time will be about 75 minutes or more, depending on the timing of the connection.

From Nagasaki to Saga it takes 75-90 minutes on the limited express (&yen;3740), or about 2½ hours on the local service (&yen;2070). From Sasebo it is about 65 minutes by limited express (&yen;2470) or about 100 minutes by local (&yen;1250).

By car
From Fukuoka, simply drive south on Route 263 to reach Saga. From the east and west, the Nagasaki Expressway travels directly through the city. Take the exit for Route 263 South to go towards Saga Station and the city center.

By bus
Nishitetsu Bus operates buses from Nishitetsu Tenjin Bus Terminal (Tenjin Station) in Fukuoka. If you're traveling from Nagoya or Osaka, there are highway buses to Nishitetsu Tenjin Bus Terminal and from there you can transfer to one of the Saga-bound buses.

Get around
Visitors often come just to visit Saga Castle on their way to other places. For that, you can just walk. There are plenty of other minor sites in the same area. A lot of Saga's sites, such as Furuyu Onsen, its World Heritage Naval port, etc. are best reached by bus or car. All bus routes in the city connect at the bus center, which is adjacent to Saga Station.

Do

 * La Montgorlfier Nocturne.JPG

Go next
The city is centrally-located within the prefecture, so it serves as a good base to visit nearly anywhere in the prefecture. It is also possible to use as base to go beyond to Nagasaki or Fukuoka.
 * Yoshinogari
 * Kanzaki
 * Karatsu
 * Kawasoe
 * Ogi
 * Takeo
 * Arita
 * Ureshino
 * Kashima