- Culture
- Saga
Ariake Sea
"Tastes of JAPAN by ANA" is a regional vitalization project that collaborates with the different prefectures in Japan to present the Land of the Rising Sun in all of its diverse glory.
Ariake Sea, the mysterious sea with its fertility caused by the most extreme tides in Japan
Various species of flora and fauna live in the Ariake Sea creates peaceful haven and get close to nature in Saga. The Ariake Sea, which shows various expressions due to the seasons and the extreme tide, was enriched with charm, importance as a habitat of migratory birds was recognized, and it was registered in the Ramsar site as an internationally important wetland.
The vast tidal flat spreading along the Ariake Sea coastline is said to be equivalent to about 40% of the total area of tidal flats in Japan. It has its own ecosystem and various species of flora and fauna. The mudskippers that jump energetically about the flats and the fiddler crabs, with its one claw that is much larger than the other can be seen from the early summer to the autumn. Plankton is abundant in the tidal flat, and more than 100 kinds of wild birds come by foraging for throughout the year. It is one of the leading transit places and overwintering sites in the country including water birds including endangered species such as the black-faced spoonbill and the Saunders’s gull, and boasts the largest number of sandpipers and plovers than anywhere else in Japan.
In addition, as an autumn scene of Higashi-yoka Coast, Saga, there is shichimenso, a very rare halophyte that grows only in northern Kyushu, the Korean Peninsula, and China. It will be around early to mid-November, and a vivid landscape spreads like a giant red carpet over the coastline. The light-up which is done for a limited time around the beginning of November is also very fantastic and popular.
The Ariake Sea is the largest bay in Japan where differences between the ebb and flow of the tides reaches 6 m, and covering as far as you can see the tidal flats at its deepest point. Nori being a major product that carried out taking advantage of its tide difference, Saga Nori received abundant of nature boasts as the best quality and quantity in Japan. Marine products such as seaweed are rooted in the lives of local people as "Maeumimon". "Maeumi" means "the sea spreads out in front of the eyes", and is local’s nickname for Ariake Sea.
Location
| Name | Ariake Sea |
|---|---|
| Web Sites | (In Japanese) http://www.sagabai.com/main/119.html?cont=kanko&fid=94 |
| Address | 2885-2 Shimokoga, Higashiyoka-cho, Saga-shi, Saga |
| Access | About 10 minutes' drive from Kyushu Saga International Airport. |
| Business Hours | 09:00-17:00 |
| Inquiries | Saga City Tourism Promotion Division |