Finally, we head to Futamigaura Bay Area in Itoshima! First, we have lunch at a stylish restaurant that we reserved. After checking out the nearby shopping spots, we go to see the popular Futamigaura Meoto Iwa Rocks.
Enjoy a stylish lunch at the beach resort restaurant "Palm Beach".
I made a reservation for lunch that day at Palm Beach, a restaurant located along the coast in Nishi-ku, Fukuoka Prefecture. I enjoyed a lunch made with ingredients from Itoshima on the terrace, with a resort-like atmosphere, while looking out at the blue ocean in front of me. The restaurant is popular, so it's best to make a reservation.
This coastline also has many other restaurants, entertainment spots, and places to swim in the sea, so it was very lively!
We finally arrived and had Italian lunch at a seaside cafe. This place is popular so we made a reservation in advance.
The atmosphere is just like a beach resort. The inside of the restaurant is nice, but since we're here, we recommend sitting on the terrace with a view of the ocean.
This is the beachfront restaurant "Palm Beach".
A carbonara lunch set made with Itoshima eggs. A soft, soft-boiled egg on top of a springy fettuccine. Diced bacon and plenty of cheese.
The set comes with salad, mortadella ham, and soup.
It was a rich cold pumpkin soup.
I gulped down the tonic water in one go (lol). It was a hot day and it went down great.
It has a stylish appearance that attracts a lot of attention.
After lunch, it's time for shopping♪ We stopped off at Palm Beach The Gardens.
Opposite this place, on the sea side, you can shop at Palm Beach the Gardens.
The shop we visited was "HEY&HO." The shelves were lined with products from Nagasaki's Hasami ware brand "Maruhiro."
Hasami ware is porcelain made from rocks found in Amakusa, and has been mass-produced since ancient times as everyday items. Even though it is mass-produced, it has a stylishness that makes you excited just by having it in your daily life, such as designs that accentuate the dining table and thin products that fit comfortably in the hand. This shop also carries a large number of colorful tableware, so it's hard to decide which one to choose.
Directly opposite is Palm Beach The Gardens, a complex that is a casual spot where you can drop in when you come to enjoy the sea.
This resort mall has cafes, restaurants, and shopping options. There are also counters overlooking the ocean, so everyone can enjoy themselves in their own way.
Among them, we stopped by "HEY&HO", a store that sells unique and very cute tableware.
This is a sister store of Nagasaki's Hasami ware shop "Maruhiro." Maruhiro's colorful porcelain series is also popular.
Kurawanka collection. The bowl type looks easy to use for anything.
A series featuring Edo period patterns. It has a nice texture and looks like pottery, even though it is porcelain.
The soba cups are uniquely colored and printed by the designers. It's nice to be able to see so many at once.
An original expression of Japanese motifs that would make a great gift for someone from abroad.
The cups, illustrated by illustrator Hajime Anzai, are originals for "HEY&HO." I want one...
You can see all the Hasami "Maruhiro" products in one place! I'm sure you'll find something you like.
After having a takeaway coffee at the cafe next door, I continued my bicycle trip.
The sacred spot floating in the sea, "Sakurai Futamigaura," and the ancient shrine, "Sakurai Shrine."
Futamigaura is located in the Genkai Sea. It is about a 3-minute drive or 15-minute bike ride from here, and is the site of Sakurai Shrine. In recent years, the name of this shrine, which plays on the wordplay between the name and the nearby "Ninomiya Shrine" and "Jun Shrine", has seen many fans of the idol group Arashi flock to the shrine, but it is a shrine with a long history.
Sakurai Shrine was founded by Kuroda Tadayuki, the second feudal lord of Chikuzen Province, during the Kan'ei era of Tokugawa Iemitsu. The main hall is gorgeously decorated in brilliant colors.
A white torii gate and two hump married rocks stand in the sea at Sakurai Futamigaura. Around the summer solstice, you can see the sun setting between these rocks.
After getting some energy here, we cycle back to Chikuzen-Maebaru Station.
The pure white torii gate and Meoto Iwa rocks of Futamigaura. It is a very popular spot where people are always taking photos.
We decided to stop by Sakurai Shrine, a shrine related to Futamigaura. Although it is close to the sea, it is a bit up the mountain, so the slope was quite steep.
"Sakurai Shrine." The tower gate is magnificent. The grounds exude a sacred atmosphere.
This place has a deep connection with Ise Grand Shrine, and the torii gates that are removed when Ise Grand Shrine performs its Shikinen Sengu ceremony every 20 years are actually carried to this Sakurai Shrine to spend the rest of their lives there. Also, while Ise Futamigaura is a place to worship the morning sun, Sakurai Futamigaura is a place to worship the evening sun, so Ise and Itoshima are in a relationship that makes them seem like a pair.
This makes it a very historic shrine, but the humorous lion-dog statues are also a must-see.
The worship hall is in the foreground on the left of the photo, and the main hall is in the back.
The main hall is painted in brilliant colors, but it is covered for protection and you can only catch a glimpse of it, which adds to the mystical quality of this shrine.
Behind the main hall is Iwato Shrine. This is a shrine where legend has it that a god appeared from a cave. The doors are only opened on the first three days of the New Year and on July 2nd, and you can enter.
After paying our respects, we returned to our lodgings for the night. The weather was great all day! This coastal road was a great spot for both bike rides and car drives.
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
