Akizuki castle town

photo by Mukai · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Known as the ‘little Kyoto of Chikuzen’: the only one of 4 castle towns covered almost in full.

Walking along the streets of the historic centre, you pass through almost the whole of the old castle town of the Akizuki clan, nicknamed the ‘little Kyoto of Chikuzen’ (Chikuzen being the old province that covered the north-west of today's Fukuoka Prefecture). Of the 126 preservation districts on record in Japan, only four are castle towns, and Akizuki is the only one of the four where the protection covers almost the entire settlement. In spring the cherry trees blossom along the castle moat.

The historic centre of Akizuki, in the municipality of Asakura, has been recognised as a 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区 (Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings) since 1998. Its geographical isolation kept it on the margins of industrial modernisation, and the original street layout has remained intact.

🚉 秋月 · 9 min walk

Sources: city.asakura.lg.jp

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