This main purpose of this journey was to join a 14-day pilgrimage in Shikoku (7-20/2026) organised by the Plum Village. I decided to take this opportunity to visit some Hidden Christian Sites, an UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising a group of 12 properties in Nagasaki and Kumamoto Prefectures. These churches are unique in the sense that each tells a story about the revival of Christianity after a long period of official suppression. I was joined by three girlfriends and we rented a car. After this trip, I would travel on a 7-day JR West Train Pass to visit the Odachi Museum of Art in Shimane, Miho Museum in Shiga, Osaka and Himeji Castle in Hyogo before joining the pilgrimage group in Tokushima, Shikoku.
Part 1: Kyushu 23/3-1/4/2026
Brief History The religion of Christianity was first brought to Japan by Francis Xavier (1506-1552), one of the founders of the Society of Jesus who arrived in Kagoshima in 1549. In 1550, he travelled to Hirado turning it into a hub of Christianity. The European missionaries were successful with the Christian population swelling to some 26,000 people by 1570 with Nagasaki known to traders as “Little Rome”. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), who seized power from Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), a patron of Christianity, became wary of the expanding Christian influence and ordered the expulsion of the Catholic priests from Japan. In 1596, Hideyoshi issued an order for execution of European priests upon hearing a rumour that the missionaries had been sent to Japan to prepare for colonization by the Spanish armies. A group of 24 priests and Japanese followers were arrested in Kyoto and marched to Nagasaki. Two others joined along the way. This group of 26 was executed by crucifixion at Nagasaki on February 5, 1597. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) who established shogunate in 1603, feared the influence of Christianity and banned Christianity in Nagasaki in 1612 and extended the proclamation to all of Japan in 1614 marking the beginning of full-fledged Christian persecutions. All churches in Nagasaki were demolished and the entire population of Nagasaki was forced to participate in a ritual of trampling on a Christian image (efumi) proclaiming their allegiance as parishioners to one of the Buddhist sects.
Groups of Christians hid in outlying areas particularly in the Hirado – Ikitsuki area, formed secret communities upholding their faith in the absence of priests. Christian enclaves persisted in Urakami district, coastal areas including Kaminoshima, Sotome, Goto Islands, Tachiarai and Amasaka. In 1853 Mathew Perry, Commander of the American East India Squadron, arrived and submitted a demand for treaty. In 1858 Japan signed the Ansei Five – Power Treaties granting rights of trade and residence to the US, Britain, France, Russia and the Netherlands. In 1863, the Paris Foreign Mission Society decided to build a new church in Nagasaki which is today’s Oura Catholic Church completed as scheduled before the end in 1864. On March 17, 1865, a group of some 12 to 15 men, women and children came to the church revealing to priest Bernard Petitjean (1829-1884) they were hidden Christians from Urakami despite some 250 years of insolation. More hidden Christian communities surviving in small villages in the northeastern part of Kyushu, were later discovered. These communities had specific tradition that appeared vernacular but kept the ideas of Christian faith. When the ban was lifted in 1873, Christian communities saw revitalization. Today, there are over 500 historically significant and modern churches in Nagasaki region alone.
The Hidden Christian Site comprise 12 components related to Christianity in Japan. They include Kasuga Village and sacred places (Mt Yasumandake and Nakaenoshima Island) in Hirado, Sakitsu Village in Amakusa, Shitsu Village and Ono Village in Sotome, and Oura Cathedral in Nagasaki, Village in Kuroshima in Sasebo, Villages on Kashiragashima in Shin-Kamigoto, Villages on Hisaka Island, and Remains of Hara Castle in Minamishimabara, Villages in Goto (on Nozaki Island and Naru Island). Given the remote locations of some of these places, we planned to visit the accessible ones located on the mainland including the Kasuga Village and Hirado Island, Ono and Shitsu Church in Sotome, Oura Cathedral in Nagasaki, Remains of Hara Castle and Sakitsu Church in Amakusa.
March 23 Hong Kong – Fukuoka – Saga (GMT+9)
We departed Hong Kong at 11 am (HK time) and arrived in Fukuoka around 3:30pm. We picked up a car with Kylie as the driver and I the navigator. We drove to Fairfield by Marriott in Ureshino, Saga where we would stay two nights. We arrived at the hotel after 6pm and had a nice dinner sampling delicious and tender Saga beef in a local restaurant.
March 24 Hirado
We sat off after 8:30 am heading to Hirado, the first foothold of Christianity in Japan. The first church we visited was the Tabira Catholic, a red-brick church in Romanesque style with impressive stained glass from Germany built in 1918. The interior has three aisles and a multi-layered roof with a bell tower at the front. It represented the revival of Catholicism in Nagasaki. No photography is allowed inside all the churches we visited. Though not a world heritage property, it is impressive standing on a high plateau. The lady in the church shop highly recommended us to visit Hoki Church and Himosashi Church in Hirado Island, and Yamada Church in Ikitsuki Island.
We took her advice and drove to the Hoki Church (1918) situated on a hill overlooking Houki Bay. It is Hirado’s oldest church in existence: though small, it has its own architecture style featuring wooden construction with brick, a red interior and boasting beautiful stained glass.
A short drive away is the large Himosashi Church (1885). The exterior is in Romanesque style while the interior is inlaid in arches and beautiful stained glass richly decorated with floral patterns. Two gigantic ginkgo trees stand majestically in front of the church.
After a quick lunch by a roadside rest area, we headed to the Ikitsuki Island. On the way, we drove past the idyllic remote Kasuga Village with picturesque terraced fields. By the time I spotted a sign for an observation platform, we missed the turn. So we decided to go straight to the dramatic Shiodawara Cliffs featuring stunning columnar basalt formations. The cliffs measuring about 20m high, stretch for about 500m along the island west coast. A short distance away is the scenic white Obae Lighthouse (1958) located at the northern tip of the island. end of the drove .
On the way to Hirado, we planned to visit the Yamada Church. In 1878 Father Pelu came to Hirado and baptized many people who are said to be the ancestors of the churchgoers of Yamada Church today. Things went smoothly and it was about 2:30pm when we left the lighthouse. We would have time to visit the church on the way back to the Kasuga Village for a quick stop before ending our Hirado tour at St Francis Xavier Memorial Church. I suggested taking an alternate route as the Google map suggested the coastal and an alternate route through the island would take similar time. Alas, the alternate route ended up to be a big challenge: it is a narrow winding road through woods and agricultural and diary fields. When we finally reached the church, it was 3pm. To our disappoint, it was closed.
On the way back to the coastal main road, we had to drive through scattered settlements with very narrow lane and curbs. As a result, Kylie scratched the right side of the car and we had to report to the police to get an accident report for insurance purposes. Luckily I found from the google map a police station nearby. Ellen and I walked to the station only to find a phone to call. I called and a policeman who spoke English arrived in a car in five minutes. Very efficient! We took him back to the spot of the accident and Kylie gave him all the information. The policeman then went to the location of the accident and spoke with an elderly lady to ascertain whether there was any damage to her property. Very interesting to watch how the Police worked. We passed by the Ikitsuki Kannon-do but I did not have time to pay a visit.
By the time we could leave, it was about 4:30 pm. We immediately headed to St Francis Xavier Memorial Church . When we reached the door of the church at 5pm, we sadly watched a nun locking the door! Had we arrived a few minutes earlier, we might have gone in just in time to ask the nun to let us stay for five minutes. C’est la vie!
It was getting dark and began to drizzle. Kylie, the poor driver, was exhausted and there was nothing we could do to help. Luckily, we returned safely to our hotel and went to the same restaurant for dinner. We had a long day!
March 25 Three Churches – Nagasaki
Our original plan was to visit the Unzen Jingou today on our way to Nagasaki. But as it was raining heavily, we decided to visit three churches along the coast instead. On the way to the Ono Church, the inbuilt navigator device of the car took Kylie into a residential area with narrow lanes. After wasting half an hour, Kylie finally managed to back out. As a result, it was midday when we reached the Ono Church in Sotome. Built for 26 Christian households living in the vicinity of Ono as a peripatetic church of Shitsu Church, the Ono Church (1893) is a one-storey building made of stone and wood with a house appearance. It is very small with brick window arches, a flat ceiling, a roof truss structure and a vertical windbreak in front of the entrance on the north side (which is known as “de Rotz walls” named after Father Rotz. This church is my favourite as it is so earthly, authentic, atmospheric and unique: the stonework and the western-styled roof trusses together constitute a fusion of Eastern and Western construction techniques.
Our second stop was the Shitsu Church (1882) where the Japanese movie “Gege”(2004) was filmed. It has a brick exterior, wood interior, a stone entrance way and a low roof intended to limit damage done by strong wind. The church’s bell was brought from France. Today was an educational day for me: I learned about Marc Marie de Rotz (1840-1914), a missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society who arrived in Nagasaki as a diocesan bishop in 1868. He was the parish priest of the Sotome area in 1879 who was involved in the construction of the Shitsu Church and Ono Church and pioneered various welfare activities including establishing an aid centre. After visiting the church, we walked downhill to visit the aid centre set up by Father Rotz who has been loved and respected by the people.
My first visit to Nagasaki was on 21 May 2013. Today, my curiosity in the Hidden Chritians has brought me back to the Oura Church (1865) built by French priests Seraphin-Barthelemy, Louis Furet and Bernard Petitjean to serve the foreign community and honour the 26 martyrs executed in 1597. On 17 March 1865, hidden Christians from Urakami came to the church and revealed their faith to Father Petitjean. After visiting the beautiful interior of the church, we spent an hour in the museum to learn about the history of Catholicism in Japan and the hidden Christians. I also learned more about the Tensho Embassy: the idea was originally conceived by Jesuit Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606) and sponsored by three Christian daimyos Omura Sumitada, Otomo Sorins and Arima Harunobu. The Embassy led by Mancio Ito and joined by three other noblemen namely Miguel Chijiwa, Juliao Nakaura and Maarthinho Hara, left Nagasaki on 20 February 1582, arrived in Lisbon on 11 August 1584 and returned to Japan on 21 July 1590 after meeting with the king of Spain and Portugal, Pope Gregory XIII and Pope Sixtus V, some powerful European noble families, and visiting monastery and important universities. The four were subsequently ordained as the first Japanese Jesuit fathers by Valignano. I kept the booklet on the story of the church which is informative. It was after 6pm when we checked in Hilton for two nights. We were tired and just had a set dinner in one of the eateries in the train station opposite Hilton. Time to relax!
March 26 Unzen Jigoku and Hara Castle Ruins
Kylie and I started the day with a sumptuous buffet breakfast at Hilton. We had a late start at 9:30am and arrived around 11:30am in Unzen Jigoku (Unzen Hell) located inside Unzen National Park which was the first designated national park in 1934. This area was also one of the first tourist resorts for foreigners.
There are around 30 geothermal fields that pump out natural hot spring from the ground every second. The steamy and almost apocalyptic like atmosphere with the smell of sulfur create a hell-like scenery. Hence the name “hell”. We followed the trail and stopped at some ten locations. I find the “Martyrdom Site” the most memorable: during the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion (17/12/1637-15/4/1638), an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate, Christians were heavily tortured in Unzen Hell as a way of forcing them to renounce their faith. It was said that 33 Christians were martyred in the area between 1627 and 1631. We spent an hour an a half in hell enjoying full views of bubbling mud pits and fumarole.
We tried to visit the nearby Unzen Church. As it was closed, we stayed at the car park and had a picnic lunch instead. The next stop was Hara Castle Ruins. We followed the Google map and drove straight to the ruins. Unfortunately, there was scanty information on site and no car park next to the ruins. We drove through a well-paved road but dared not to park our car illegally along the road. As a result, we ended up parking our car about 1 km away and walked back to the main castle ruin. We wasted a lot of valuable time. We were unable to visit St. Mary Kannon which was closed at 4pm.
Instead we spent time in the Arima Christian Heritage Museum. Here we had a quick introduction to the work of the missionary Valignano who established a seminary in Arima in 1580, the role of the Tensho Embassy, and the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion 1637-1638 which was considered primarily motivated by the anger of peasant of the Arima and Amakusa domains who suffered from famine and heavy taxes against Matsukura’s mis-governance. The rebellion was later joined by discontent samurai and Christians. Some 40,000 rebels under the leadership of Amakusa Shiro occupied the abandoned Hara Castle in late January1638. (The castle was first built by Arima Takazumi in 1496 and re-built by Arima Harunobu (1567-1612), a Christian daimyo, between 1599 and 1604 as his main stronghold, and abandoned after the Arima clan was transferred to Nobeoka Domain in Hyuga Province in 1616). The Tokugawa shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to suppress the rebels and finally defeated them on 15 April 1638. After the fall of the castle, the shogunate forces executed an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers as punishment. Amakusa Shiro’s severed was taken to Nagasaki for public display and the Hara Castle was burned to the ground and buried together with the bodies of all the dead. A number of remains and relics have been discovered during excavations
This rebellion had apparently strong impact on the Japan’s feudal government and led to the establishment of a ban on maritime trade that lasted over two centuries. It also forced the remaining Christians to practice their faith in secret. As the interpretations in the museum are mostly in Japanese, we could only get a gist of the historical development. I noted some valuable exhibits including an Akasagarbha statue with a cross at the back. On the advice of the museum staff, we paid a brief visit to a historical landmark where eight people had been burned to death in Arima.
On the way back to Nagasaki, we stopped at a local izakaya an excellent meal with sashimi, grilled meat and fried potatoes in a local eatery in Obamacho for less than 6,000 yen. Once again, poor Kylie had to drive over an hour and a half after dinner to Nagasaki.
March 27 Nagasaki – Amakusa, Shimoshima Island
Before leaving Nagasaki, I visited the pilgrim site at “Nishizaka Hill” before 7 am in order to pay respect to the Twenty-six Martyrs. As we would be leaving at 8:30am, I coul not visit the museum next to the monument. This would be something to do on when I return to Nagasaki one day.
We had a smooth drive to Kuchinotsu and took the 11:30am ferry to Onlike, Shimoshima Island. During the 30-minute ferry ride, we saw a couple to dolphins. Kylie had never watched dolphins. Hence she and I booked a dolphin watching tour at 2:30pm for 3,000 yen.
We had a popular seafood lunch with sea urchins, sashimi etc for less than 7,000 yen for four persons. We had time to drive around the Tsuji Island before joining the dolphin watching tour. The boat was full with probably 40-50 tourists. There were four boats in the area and we were greeted by several schools of dolphins (perhaps 100 to 200). Though I have seen dolphins dozens of times, it is always delightful to watch them playing and jumping.
We were back at the pier at 3:30pm and met up with Ellen and Denise. We drove about 17 km to check in at the Algeria Garden Resort at Amakusa. In order to get ourselves better equipped, we went straight to the the Amakusa Christian Museum before its closure at 5pm. We watched a short video and had a quick introduction to Amakusa, the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion and Masuda Shiro Tokisada, commonly known as Amakusa Shiro(1621-1638). Known to Catholic followers as the “Heaven’s messenger” with miraculous power, the young and charismatic Shiro became the rebels’ leader by the age of 15, and was executed at 17. The story of Shiro and the rebellion were reflected in the 1962 movie “The Christian Revolt”. We began to understand the history of the rebellion and adore Amakusa Shiro! As we had a long day, we returned to the hotel for a sumptuous dinner at 6:30 pm. I also went to the hot spring before going to bed!
March 28 Shimoshima Island
We had a leisure day touring the island. I started early and watched sunrise from our balcony before heading to the onsen. After a full breakfast, we set off after 9:30am. We had some nice surprises throughout the day. First, we drove along route 266 and spotted beautiful cherry blossoms at the Kamegawa Dam. We had a beautiful day and thoroughly enjoyed the ambience and beauty of cherry blossom by ourselves for half an hour!
We decided to explore the Kameura Bay area (route 35) which is said to be a type of fiord that is not commonly found in Japan. On the way, we discovered a small cake shop “Little House” which served good coffee and nice cakes. The bay is picturesque.
Our third stop was Sakitsu Village, a fishing village located in the western part of the island (route 389). There are several main components of historical significance, namely the house of Mizukata in which Hidden Christians’ devotional tools have been kept, the Sakitsu Suwa Shrine where Hidden Christians secretly offered the Oratio prayer, the site of the house of village headmen from the Yoshida family, in which the efumi ceremony took place, and the site of the first Sakitsu Church built beside the Sakitsu Suwa Shrine after the hidden Christians rejoined the Catholic Church following the lifting of the ban on Christianity.
After missionaries returned to Japan in the latter half of the 19th century, hidden Christians here were baptised afresh, joined the church and built the first Sakitsu Church in 1888 at the site offered by a Catholic who had served as a Mizukata during the ban on Christianity. Today’s Sakitsu Church was built in 1934 with the altar set up on the very place where the efumi ceremony was carried out. The present church is a mix of Western and Japanese culture: the outside has Gothic features while the inside flooring is still covered with tatami mats.
We visited the small but informative Minato-ya Museum with good displays of artifacts that the locals used to practise their faith during the ban. They venerated statues of the Japanese traditional deities Daikokuten and Ebisu as Deus, and abalone shells that had special significance as their mother-of-pearl patterns were associated with Virgin Mary. We spent over an hour strolling in this picturesque fishing village, visiting the church, museum and the shrine, and looked at the statue of Mary on the Ocean from a viewing platform.
We continued on route 389 to the Amakusa Rosario Museum which focuses on the history of Christianity in Japan with many displays of artifacts. Nearby is the Oe Tenshudo Church built in 1933 by French missionary Father Garnier (1860-1941) who dedicated his life to serving hidden Christians in Amakusa from 1892 to 1941. The Romanesque-style church is imposing and beautiful with stunning stained glass windows. We also visited a miraculous spring below the church which is said to originate from Lourdes.
As we were driving on the western side of the island, we hoped to watch a wonderful sunset. As we still had time, we visited a foot onsen in Shimoda close to a scenic spot for sunset. We had a wonderful time at the foot onsen. Unfortunately the sky too cloudy for a glorious sunset. We decided to head back to the hotel after 5:30pm. The drive on route 24 was fairly good and we had another sumptuous dinner at 7pm!
March 29 Drive from Amakusa to Aso City
We had a few nice stops today. Shiro was born in Amakusa and a memorial hall located in Kami-Amakusa on Oyano Island dedicated to him is now a museum. We visited the museum and revisited the history of Christianity in Japan, the historical background of the “Shimabara/Amakusa Rebellion” and the cultural background influenced by the culture of Nanban (historically referring to the Portuguese and Spanish traders who arrived in Japan in the 16-17th centuries) in an easy-to-understand ways. The visit also deepened my understanding of and admiration for Amakusa Shiro.
We enjoyed a scenic drive with a couple of photo stops with a lunch stop at the Ouda Coastal Park. The spectacular scenery created by tides along this coast is ideal for sunset photography. We explored the Sumiyoshi Seaside Park with a large statue of Jinbe “Knight of the Sea” right next to the famous Nagabeta Seabed Road.
Around 2:30 pm, we began our drive to the Aso -Kuju National Park and planned to stop at Daikanbo Lookout before arriving at our hotel in Aso. Unfortunately, we somehow misread the directional signal from the car’s inbuilt navigator and ended up returning to the same spot after driving for half an hour! It was getting late and Kylie was tired. So we drove to the Suncrown Hotel direct and had an early dinner at 6 pm in a cute eatery close to the hotel. We had four dinner sets and a plate of ox-tongue for less than 8,000 yen!
March 30 Aso -Kuju National Park & Takachiho
We planned to explore the National Park which is home to volcanic peaks and fantastically shaped terrain, steamy hot springs, virgin forests and vat pastoral grasslands. Aso Caldera is one of the largest calderas in the world spanning 18 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south. The five peaks of Mount Aso are said to resemble a sleeping Buddha. One of them, Mount Nakadake, is still active: within its central crater is an acidic pool of pale turquoise blue from which smoke and steam rise. We drove along route 111 and had several photo stops. As the Aso Nakadake Crater 1 was temporarily closed, we could only enjoy a panoramic view at the Kusasenri Observatory.
Then we took route 325 to the Shirakawa Headspring, a cluster of springs that serve as a water source for the Shirakawa River. We had a nice short walk to the Headspring and relaxed for an hour.
We had a pleasant and easy ride on route 325 to the Takachiho Gorge formed by columnar jointing. The postcard view of the gorge is with a boat in front of the 17-metre high Manai Falls in a narrow gorge. We followed a well-signed and maintained trail along this impressive gorge. It started to rain. Time to leave!
According to Goggle map and our car’s navigator, we could either take the motor way and toll road (about 180km) or a shorter route of 88km via route 325 and 8 to Taketa, and route 47 to Yufu (about 88 km), both with similar driving time. I thought it would be nice to take a shorter route. Alas it turned out to be a nightmare for Kylie as route 8 takes us through virgin forests with many steep climbs and endless narrow bends. It was a beautiful scenic drive but too demanding for Kylie. I felt sorry for misjudging the difficulties of this route. Luckily Kylie is a very cautious driver and we managed to arrive at Yufuin Hotel Jiyu-kan in Minami-Yufu before 6 pm. As our hotel has only three rooms, Ellen and Denise had to stay at Oyado of Yufu Firefly (about 2km from our hotel). Our hotel with very high rating is run by a couple who enjoy cooking. We had a nice mix of French/Italian and Japanese cuisine for dinner. Our room had a view of a vineyard, paddy fields belonging to the hotel owner’s family, trains passing a few times an hour and distant mountains. We had a nice experience: the rice was home-grown. the plum wine was made by his grandmother, the red wine was from his vineyard and honey came from his beehive. We had a private hot bath in our suite: the water quality is said to be the best in the region!
March 31 Beppu Hells
Today, we spent the whole day visiting the Beppu Jigoku (Hells of Beppu). I looked at my website and recalled my visit to these hells on 20 May 2013. I was energetic and bought a combined ticket (2,000 yen) to visit all the seven hells namely Sea Hell, Oniishibozu Hell, Furnace Hell, Crocodile Hell, White Pond Hell, Blood Pond Hell and Tornado Hell. Today the combined ticket costs 2,400 yen. We decided to buy individual ticket for 500 yen and visited the Sea Hell, Oniishibozu Hell, Blood Pond Hell and Tornado Hell. We found a nice local restaurant and had noodles for lunch. We returned to our hotel to enjoy a sumptuous shabu-shabu dinner and a leisure soak in our private hot bath in our suite.
April 1 Asakura – Fukuoka Airport – Yonago
We had to return our car at Fukuoka Airport before 4pm and my friends would be flying back to Hong Kong at 6pm. We had a leisure morning enjoying our last delicious home-made breakfast before setting off around 10am.
Kylie after studying the cherry blossom forecast and our route plan decided to make a stop at Amagi Park in Asakura. She made an excellent decision: it was drizzling and we had a most leisure and enjoyable time in the park. We were lucky: the cherry blossoms were still in full bloom! We travelled some 1300 km and returned the car at the Toyota office around 3:30pm. I said goodbye to my friends and took a taxi to the Hakata Station (1,800 yen). I was on Shinkanshen at 4:45 pm heading to Okayama where I had to take another train to Yonago. (I chose Yonago as I could stay in Toyoku Inn opposite the station). As I had more than 45 minutes at the Okayama station, I had time for dinner. I got off the train after 9:35 pm and was able to reach my hotel before 10 pm despite the rain!
Conclusion (to add)