Tara

Ariake Sea

Tara (太良) is a town and peninsula located in Saga prefecture.

Understand

Tara is bordered by Isahaya, Omura, Kashima and the Ariake Sea. On a clear day, it is possible to see the mountains across the sea. Tara includes Mount Tara, which is one of the highest mountains in Kyushu and part of the Tara mountains. Tara is comprised of two sections, which were once independent towns: Tara (多良) and Oura (大浦). Tara is located quite close to the Kashima Gatalympics, which takes place near Hizen-Iida Station.

Tourist information site

The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated machine translation.

Get in

By train

Tara is serviced by the JR Kyushu railroad company. It has two stations and one switchbox.

By plane

The closest airport is Saga Airport, followed by one in Nagasaki. Most travelers go to Fukuoka Airport for travel abroad.

By car

Route 207 runs through the length of the town, and is the only road to Nagasaki Prefecture. The mountains are seeded with small roads, many of them one lane and unpaved. A road leads from camp Nakayama towards Kashima and Ureshino.

By boat

While fishing is a huge industry, there is no known sea travel, nor are there ferries available.

See

Mount Tara

• Takezaki Castle
• Kinsenji. A temple that once had influence on shrines throughout kyushu.
• Takezaki Kanze Onji. A temple
• Tara Takezaki Hot Spring. One of the few sources of tourism in modern times
• Shirahama beach. Small and littered with sharp shells, yet facilities exist and a sea-center is close by with recreational activities such as jet-skiing
• Kenkou no Mori Park ("forest of health"). A fairly large park in the middle of the mountains
• 1 Mount Tara (多良岳). Mount Tara is one of the tallest mountains in Kyūshū.　It is surrounded by the Tara mountains. (updated Feb 2016)
• Mount Kyoga (経ヶ岳) taller than mount Tara, making it the tallest in the prefecture. It is more readily accessible from Kashima or Ōmura, though a ridgeline exists between it and mount Tara that hikers often use.
• Takezaki Castle Ruins. Degraded into not much more than a wall, its purpose was once to be a lookout for invasions from Nagasaki
• Takezaki Castle Observatory. A re-creation of the original Takezaki Castle, this tall structure is at the edge of the peninsula overlooking the sea
• Lighthouse Ruins. Reduced to a memorial stone

Sleep

• 1 Nakayama Camping Ground (中山キャンプ場), ☏ +81 954-67-0220. Camping ground with cabins (open for a short period each year) and a trail to Mount Tara. (updated Jul 2024)

Go next

• Kashima
• Shiroishi
• Takeo
• Ureshino
• Isahaya
• Omura
• Nagayo
• Togitsu
• Nagasaki

Routes through Tara

Saga ← Kashima ←

N  S

→ Nagasaki → END