For the love of mud-skippers and Saga!
Saga is famous for its mud Olympics, which take place once a year on the Kashima mudflats. Thousands flock to participate in numerous events, which take place in the mud. The event is famous and was even featured in the anime Zombieland Saga, where the main characters also participate in the event to raise awareness for their group. The mud Olympics is usually one of a handful of events which come up when people search for the prefecture. The money raised each year is put towards the conservation of the mudflats and the small inhabitants which live there. Life in the mud is heaven for the Mudskippers who call the Ariake Sea home. They can be seen across the mudflats in Kashima and in a few other places dotted along the coast.
These amphibious fish are easy to spot as they take giant leaps up into the air, and their bodies are covered in beautiful blue specks, which reflect in the light. On top of their heads, a fin can be seen. Mudskippers have pelvic fins, which they use to move across land. They are an endangered species, yet they are also a local delicacy in Saga. Those familiar with Pokémon may know that the Hoenn region is based on Kyushu; the map is simply rotated sideways, with the player in-game starting in Arita in Saga. The much-beloved Pokémon Mudkip is Sagas’ addition to the Hoenn Pokedex and is quite literally a mudskipper. Mudkip features a lot in the original anime, and one of the main characters, Brock, even gets his own Mudkip.
Sagas mudskippers are unique, and they are certainly beloved. They feature on manhole covers in the city, decoration around the prefecture, and merch from Saga usually includes mudskippers. The unique inhabitants can grow up to 7 inches and are fun to watch on a sunny day. During my first few months in Saga, I went to visit the mudflats and was able to see many of them going about their daily mudskipper lives. The mudflats are off the beaten path. There is a local train, which is scenic and very rural, that runs from Kuhoku to Isahaya in Nagasaki. I fully recommend taking this at some point if you can. It runs very infrequently, but the journey is full of beautiful views. The mudflats and mudskippers are a delightful stop on the journey, and you can find the manhole cover for Tai from Zombieland Saga here if you are a fan of the show.
After you stop here, I would recommend Kashima shrine, it is a beautiful and one of the best and prettiest shrines in the area. It features in a lot of Chinese dramas and is a big tourist spot for those who want to visit the real location. The shrine is on a wooden support
Beams and there is a red tori gate tunnel that leads visitors through the forest and up the mountain to a beautiful panoramic view. You can feed fish here and get your fortunes. After this, I would recommend heading back to the next train and going to Tara to see the beautiful floating Tori gate. The trains are infrequent, but your stop at Kashima should take a good three or four hours. Taras floating tori is beautiful, and you can see it at high or low tide for different effects. At low tide, you can see the base of the gate and catch the muddy walkway; at high tide,, the gate looks like it is floating like the famous Miyajima in Hiroshima, with one massive bonus! There will be barely any people around, and you will be able to get beautiful, empty shots of the Ariake Sea and red tori. After this, you can head into Nagasaki or return to Saga or Fukuoka.
The mudskippers of Saga are a fun quirk, and I really enjoy seeing them on the manhole covers around the city. I own the mudskipper cosplay cat, at least in Kyushu, like Mokeke, a collection of cats dressed in local outfits can be collected. Sagas cat is wearing a cute mudskipper cosplay, for example, whilst the Nagasaki cat is a castella cake, which the prefecture is famous for. For those coming to Kyushu, keep an eye out for the cute mudskipper merchandise and maybe consider visiting the little guys.
