Michi-no-Eki Kashima

What you come to Michi-no-Eki Kashima for is the tide. The Ariake Sea has some of the largest tidal ranges in Japan, and when the water pulls back the shore below the station turns into a sheet of grey mud. The station sits on Route 207 in the Nanaura area of Kashima, and it was the first in Saga Prefecture to be registered, in 1994.

There is more here than a car park and a shop. The produce market, Senjaichi, sells local farm and sea products. The tidal flat observation building has free telescopes for looking out over the bay, and the Kashima tideland exchange center, Nanami, has a small aquarium of Ariake Sea creatures. From spring to the end of October you can also try the mudflat experience, but only while the tide is out and only on the days it is open to the public.

The famous event is the Gatalympics, held on the mudflats in late spring or early summer since 1985: races and games in mud up to your knees. If you want to join in or watch, check the organizers' dates well ahead. On an ordinary day, look at a tide table before you go, because at high tide the mud is simply sea.