Trip to Yanagawa (柳川) on 17 June

Yanagawa is a city located in Fukuoka, Japan.

Yanagawa is popular with Japanese tourists because of its 470 km of wide canals.

Yanagawa was originally constructed in the mid-16th century by the Kamachi clan. Before then, it had been a traditional farming village, with the canals used for irrigation; Tanaka Yoshimasa ordered the canals to be maintained and built a castle in Yanagawa, which is still maintained today.

• Ohana (御花): The villa built in 1697 by Akitaka Tachibana, the 4th lord of Yanagawa castle.
  "Ohana" is the nickname, and the formal name is "Shotokan". It is used as a hotel.
  It has a Japanese garden with a large pond named "Shotoen", and there is a Western style house built as a guest house in 1910.

•  Yanagawa riverboats (柳川の川下り), called "donkobune", are used to take tourists around the city.

• Kitahara Hakushu Birthplace (北原白秋生家): The house where Kitahara Hakushu was born in 1885. Since 1969, it has been opened to the public. Next to the house, there is the memorial museum opened in 1985.

• Namikura (並倉): An old red brick building along the canal. The scenery from the cruising boat is the symbol of Yanagawa. The building was built in the 19th century, and is used as the factory of miso.