Niji no Matsubara

"Niji no Matsubara", which stretches along Karatsu Bay, is a green arc made up of about 1 million Japanese black pines that stretches for about 4.5 km. This magnificent pine forest was first planted in the early 17th century by Hirotaka Terasawa, the first lord of the Karatsu domain, as a wind and tide barrier. The scenery, which gives off a thousand-year-old romance, has not only been designated as a special scenic spot by the country, but has also been included in poems from the Manyoshu.