Seeing the Homes of Wealthy Merchants in a Post Town on the Nagasaki Kaidō ~Shiotatsu 塩田津

Location; 694 Baba-shita-ko, Oaza, Shiota-cho, Ureshino City, Saga Prefecture
Access; Get off at Hizen-Kashima Station on the JR Nagasaki Main Line → Take a Yutoku Bus bound for Ureshino or Takeo and get off at Shiota-Chousha-mae → 5-minute walk　The trip from Saga to Hizen-Kashima Station takes about 30 to 40 minutes by limited express or local train. From Fukuoka, it takes a little over an hour.
*When you open Google Maps, you’ll see a black bus stop icon. Click on it to get a general idea of the bus schedule.

Saga prefecture https://www.asobo-saga.jp/spots/detail/16df1fed-fb97-4ad2-a289-97c186ed53b6
Townscape Preservation Society https://peraichi.com/landing_pages/view/shiotatsu/ Japanese
Shiotatsu is a Preserved District of Important Traditional Building Groups.

This article is based on a visit on September 12, 2026.

This is a post town on the road to Nagasaki

It’s about a 15-minute bus ride from in front of Kashima Station. The entrance to a former commercial town located along the way to Ureshino 嬉野 Onsen (hot spring).

You’ll be greeted by “Ebisu-sama,” the god of commerce. In Saga Prefecture, you can see statues of Ebisu not just here, but all over the place.

During the Edo period (the era of samurai rule), the streets were much narrower, but it is said that once horse-drawn carriages began to travel along them, all the houses were set back to widen the streets. This anecdote gives a glimpse into the prosperity of that time.

Transporting Stones to Arita

There are two reasons why this town flourished. One, of course, was its role as a post station on the road to Nagasaki. The other was its role as a transit point utilizing the river.

Arita, a nearby town famous for its pottery. When the local clay began to run out, they started sourcing it from Kumamoto. At that time, they reportedly transported stones here via the river, crushed them into clay, and then transported the clay to Arita.
Since the boats couldn’t sail until the tide came in again, the merchants rested at nearby places like Ureshino Onsen (hot spring) before returning to work.

Even if you turn down an alley and head down a back street, it still has its own charm.

Sometimes you can see storehouses where the plaster walls curve upward toward the roof. This design is intended to prevent the spread of fire in the event of a blaze. Apparently, though, it was quite expensive.

Though I’ll never stop missing it, I’ll be back someday—that’s the kind of town it is.