What to know
Karatsu (唐津) is a coastal city in Saga Prefecture on Kyushu, about 50 kilometers west of Fukuoka. Historically, it was a key port for ships traveling to Korea and China, as it is one of the Japanese cities closest to the Korean Peninsula.
Today, Karatsu is famous for its castle, the annual Karatsu Kunchi festival (November 2-4), and its local pottery. Additional attractions lie on the nearby rural Higashi Matsuura Peninsula, including stunning coastal scenery and the ruins of a massive castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his late-1500s invasion of Korea.