Shimabara: City of Swimming Carp ๐ŸŽ Off the Beaten Track in Kyushu, Japan (Kumamoto Day Trip)

I went to the Japanese town from the viral videos with koi carp in the streets! It’s definitely off the beaten path, but it was the highlight of the trip.

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Shimabara’s known as the City of Swimming Carp, because there are koi carp swimming in drains / gutters along the streets. It’s a beautiful, historic town in Nagasaki prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. I went on a day trip from Kumamoto, taking the Ocean Arrow ferry across to Shimabara port. I also went up Mount Unzen, a volcano with a field of hells (steam vents), which was so otherworldly (that’s in a separate video!). Shimabara has over 60 natural water springs around the town, as well as hot springs, so you can stay in a ryokan (a tradition Japanese hotel) to enjoy a hot spring bath in the onsen. The water’s amazingly clear. There are free footbaths, water springs and drinking fountains around the town. I visited Yuusui-Teien Shimeiso, a beautiful traditional Japanese house with a water garden, and Koi Cafe Yusuikan to try kanzarashi, the local speciality. You can also see koi carp at Seiryu-tei, which is the tourist information centre. Although it’s off the beaten path, Shimabara’s definitely worth visiting – it really is a place to avoid the crowds and enjoy traditional Japan. The video also includes how to get there, and other things to do.

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00:00 Arriving in Shimabara
00:46 Seiryu-tei Tourist Information Centre
02:24 City of Swimming Carp
03:16 Yuusui-Teien Shimeiso
06:11 City of Swimming Carp
07:32 Shimabara Central Park
08:38 Koi Cafรฉ Yusuikan
10:29 Train to Shimabara port
12:48 Review
14:15 Other things to do
15:04 How to get there

#japan #japantravel #kyushu #nagasaki #japantravelvlog

15 Comments

  1. Great Video! Shimabara, Japan ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต looks like an amazing place there! Thanks for sharing, Amy! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ˜€

  2. Yay Shimabara! We were there last year at the end of october. Not offseason but we were pretty much also one of the few people there. An undiscovered gem for sure

  3. Hi Amy, I will enjoy your video later tonight, or maybe in a month. Right now, I am so excited and overjoyed, because tommorow I am off to Japan, finally again, for 4 weeks in Tohoku. So I cannot really concentrate on your video. I am basically just trying to stay calm untill tommorow morning where around 7am I will leave my flat. Hopefully I will be able to get a little bit of sleep.

  4. You get the stamp card when buying a ticket to the castle. I was there in October and collected all the stamps. ๐Ÿ˜Š Went there by train from Nagasaki, before taking the ferry to Kumamoto. The cute yellow train runs mostly along the coast with nice views. While being there in October, I still had the place almost for myself.

  5. Yet another informative video about a place I've never heard of, going on the list. Thanks so much for the continued great videos.

  6. Very informative video on Shimabara. Even with the carp less active and not as much open in February and March, I'd have a better time visiting then instead of the summer and dealing with crowds. There's a lot of history and culture in these smaller, out of the way sites that don't fit into the popular perception of Japan. Shame that IC cards aren't accepted, though. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  7. 10ๅนดไปฅไธŠๅ‰ใ‹ใ‚‰ๆ—ฅๆœฌใ‚’ไธ–็•Œใซ้…ไฟกใใ ใ•ใ‚Šใ‚ใ‚ŠใŒใจใ†ใ”ใ–ใ„ใพใ™ใ€‚
    ไนๅทžใฎ้•ทๅดŽ็œŒใฎๅณถๅŽŸใพใงๆฅใฆใใ ใ•ใ‚Šใ‚ใ‚ŠใŒใจใ†ใ”ใ–ใ„ใพใ™ใ€‚

  8. I would very much enjoy these day trips away from crowds. Desserts looked yum (like Phils chocolate dessert). That cafe train carriage looked very interesting, I will have to look that up for more detail. Thank you again for posting another video.

  9. ….also like the Motchi. My wife and i call each other Motchi because my belly might have a similarities at times ๐Ÿ™‚

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