Hirado Island

What it is

• A large island in Nagasaki Prefecture that is part of Saikai National Park.
• A historic international port where Portuguese, Dutch, and British trading posts were established.
• A former military base used during the Mongol invasions of Japan.
• The site of Hirado Castle which construction began in 1599 by Matsuura Shigenobu.

What to see

• The red Hirado Bridge that connects the island to mainland Kyushu.
• Hirado Castle which stands as a prominent historical landmark on the island.
• The Ikitsuki Bridge linking the territory to neighboring Ikitsuki Island.
• A landscape designated as an Important Cultural Landscape of Japan.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.