Accommodaiton in Saga

Hi,

I am intending to stay a night in Saga.
My intention is to visit the pottery town in Imari and visit Yobuko morning market.

Would appreciate any advice on possible accommodation accessible to these places and nearest to Hakata.

Is there any other pottery town that is near to Hakata other than Imari ?

Thanks.

If you are not after any additional sightseeing in Saga you may just as well spend the night in Imari itself. While in Imari don't miss out scenic Okawachi-yama which is highly recommended even if one is not into porcelain and ceramic.
http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/

The nearby town of Arita is also worth a visit. There are Arita Porcelain Park and Arita Ceramics Home Plaza.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e8300.html (Arita)
http://www.nonnoko.com/app/index.html (Arita Porcelain Park)
http://www.arita.gr.jp/ (Arita Ceramics Home Plaza)

Karatsu is a closer base for Yobuko as the 2 places are connected by bus in just 30 min.

Thanks William5 for your suggestion.

I will be driving from Mayazaki early in the morning towards Hakata. Along the way, I intend to drop by Yame Tea Plantation as I have seen your photos. Not sure whether Dec would be a good time to drive up the narrow road as you have mentioned in your other replies. Will that place be a good place to buy the tea leaves ?

As I have an additional night before heading for Hakata, I intend to stay a night around Saga before heading for Hakata. I don't intend to drive all the way down to Arita. I thought I could drop by the Yobuto market and take a look at one of the pottery town before heading to Hakata around evening time.

This being my itinerary, do you think it is advisable to stay in Karatsu or is there is an alternative place to spend a night. Is there another pottery town nearer to Karatsu as I belive the drive to Imari should be around an hour or more.

Do you have any recommendation on nice eating places around this place ?

Thanks !

Indeed the tea fields in Yame are beautiful IF they are green, much better than those we saw in the more popular region in Shizuoka. But just as you said I have doubt about it during Dec. We didn't but you sure can buy tea at their sale office. Have you seen the following discussion on another recent forum!?
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g298205-i2122-k7863866-Yame_Centra...

Driving all the way up from Miyazaki to Karatsu will take more than 4 hrs, a bit shorter if you go to Imari instead. So if you can leave Miyazaki early in the morning you still have half a day in Imari. The next morning you can go to Yobuko, the drive from Imari to Yobuko is less than an hour. And on your way back to Fukuoka you can stop by Karatsu for a visit.

Did you see our trip photos about eating the local specialty of translucent live Ika sashimi in a boat restaurant!? It is quite unique although my wife was a bit scared as the tentacles were still moving when she put them in her mouth!
http://www.manbou.co.jp/restaurant/index.html

BTW, not sure about the rest of your itinerary but there are many other worthwhile destinations between Miyazaki and Fukuoka in central Kyushu.

Yes, I have followed the thread on Yame Tea Plantation and seen your photos. May reconsider my trip to the plantation and instead spend more time in Imari.

If I should drop by Yame, then my itinerary would be from Miyazaki - Yame - Imari ? which would likely take 3+ hours with the toll road. Any recommendation for lunch/dinner in Imari?

As for the Manbou restaurant for Ika sashimi, it would be great if you could direct me to the link to view your photos. Is the restaurant around the morning market area and would it be costly to have a meal at the restaurant ? Grateful if you could give an indication on the cost per pax.

It is always a pleasure to seek your recommendation for places to have my meals as you have previously recommendeded me to great places to have the Hida beef in Takayama and oyster in Sendai :) It was really good. Thanks !

Yes, to take in Yame it is more enroute to have it placed between Miyazaki and Imari but do note my remark about driving up to the viewpoint.

We didn't stay in Imari and did not have any sit down meal there. But we read that local beef is a specialty in Imari. The follow link has a list of beef restaurants in town with a location map on page 2.
http://www.city.imari.saga.jp/secure/10321/%E6%9C%80%E9%AB%98%E4%BD%8D...

The Ike set meal is 2860 yen per pax. When we went for it in 2010 it was 2625 yen. It is the top one shown in the following menu.
http://www.manbou.co.jp/restaurant/menu.html

The boat restaurant is about 3 km from the Yobuko morning market and the drive would only take 6 min.
https://goo.gl/maps/hAE73

Some of our trip photos are posted in the following forum.
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g298205-i2122-k3503859-Photo_shari...

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Any idea whether the shops be open on a weekday afternoon in Okawachiyama (this should be the nearest pottery area in Imar) ? I have read that the activities are usually in the late mornings but I doubt I will be able to reach Imari before noon.

We were in Okawachi-yama during a weekday afternoon and all the shops were open. On the bottom part of the following link click on individual places and you can see that most stay open till 17.00.

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/

Thanks for the info !

Hi William5,

Further to your recommendation on restaurants in Imari, would you mind sharing some restaurants in Miyazaki where I can have nice Miyazaki beef and char-grilled chicken. Goggled recommended miyazaki beef restaurant is Miyachiku but their menu is expensive. Do you have other recommendation and any other food recommendation that I should give a try.
Thanks.

I'm in Japan right now,do you mind posting again in a week's time when I will be back home!? All my references are at home.

Oh sure.
Enjoy yourself and have a great trip :)

Hi William5,

Hope you have enjoyed your recent trip to Japan !
Would appreciate your advice on places where I can have Miyazaki beef in Miyazaki.

Thanks !