On the very eastern tip of the prefecture, brushing shoulders with Fukuoka, is Tosu city. The Chikushi River runs along it’s southern border, and the lowlands are used for paddy fields. To the north and northwest are Mount Ishidani, Kusenbu, and Shiroyama. Mount Asahiyama is a short distance from Shin Tosu station and easily walkable – the view from the top is fantastic!

Tosu has all tastes catered for – soccer at the Real Estate Ekimae Stadium, Frespo and the Tosu Premium Outlets for shopping, plenty of great bars and restaurants, and great nature walks in places like Mount Asahiyama or Ochozu Falls.

Places of Interest

• Ekimae Real Estate Stadium – Sagan Tosu might have been relegated to J2, but the city still gets super busy on match day! The stadium is a short walk from Tosu Station.
• Tosu Premium Outlets – a huge outlet park, which you can reach by catching the dedicated bus from outside Tosu station. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped into California for the day, and can enjoy shopping at many Western stores. There’s also food court to help fuel your shopping spree!
• Mount Asahiyama – next to Shin Tosu station. Once you’ve cycled/driven up the main slope, you can walk up to the summit in about fifteen minutes from the car park. At the top are the remains of a previous domain shrine, and a viewing platform where you can see the whole of Tosu city and out as far as Nagasaki on a clear day.
• Ochozu Falls – north of the city centre, and best accessed by car (although previous Tosu ALT Joey apparenly made it by bike!) there are many great hiking routes in this tranquil corner of the city.
• Tosu Berry Forest – for around 2400円 you can pick and eat a variety of strawberries for one hour. Saga has its own varieties of strawberry, so be sure to give some local produce a try!

Eateries

• Cafe de Blue – a very famous and long-standing local cafe, most well known for the huge parfait menu (three times bigger than the lunch menu!).
• Klee Blat Stone Bakery – famous for curry bread! A German-style bakery with many interesting pastries and bread, some in cute shapes.
• Patisseries Ange de CoCo – a decadent cake shop that will make you forget you’re in Japan! They have a really great selection of interesting and beautifully crafted cakes, and you can sit and enjoy them with a hot drink.
• Zen Ramen – a popular ALT and student haunt, you’ll be able to fill up on the most delicious ramen that 400円 (yes, really!) can buy.
• Banshakutei – a take-out skewer shop that’s also super popular with ALTs and Tosu Kogyo students, as it’s super close and skewers are only 100円 each. You can choose sauce (tare) or salt (shio).
• Everest – a family run Nepalese curry shop inside Frespo shopping center, with affordable set menus and some unique side dishes.
• Omuraisutei – also inside Frespo, this is an omurice specialty store but it offers other staples like hamburg and chicken nanban. If you have a sweet tooth, they also have a jumbo-sized parfait!
• Mitsubayashi 光林 – a Chinese restaurant that does a great lunch set for around 1000円 that will definitely fill you up! Sometimes they have interesting seasonal desserts or snacks.
• Antenato – if you want to feel fancy on a shoestring budget, check out Antenato. You can enjoy five courses of delicious Italian food for around 2000円 and the restaurant is both beautiful and peaceful.

Local Events and Traditions

• Central Park Illuminations – around November, the whole of Tosu Central Park is lit up with beautiful lights and other art objects. On the festival night there are usually music and dance perfomances from local children, and food stalls.
• Tosu Yayoi Matsuri – usually held on the last sunday in March, this festival in Tashiro Park runs from 10 ~ 1. As well as stage events, there are products available to purchase and activities such as magatama making and ancient fire-burning.
• Tosu Yamakasa – held on a weeked in mid to late July at Tosu Yasaka Shrine, including a parade through the city at 1pm. Six floats are run through the city to announce the summer, to calls of ‘wasshoi! wasshoi!’ and water sprayed from the roadside crowd.

Getting Around

Everything you could need or want in Tosu is readily accessible via bike. There are multiple and frequent bus routes throughout the city, and via both Tosu and Shin Tosu stations you’re incredibly well connected to both the rest of Saga and Fukuoka (you can be at Hakata within ~30 minutes!). For residents, you have a number of supermarkets and restaurants in easy walking distance if you so wish!