Kawahara Oike Koen Kawahara Oike Park

This park is home to Kawahara Oike, the largest natural lake in the prefecture.

Located in the center of Nomo Peninsula Prefectural Park, with a circumference of approximately 2 km, it is known as the largest natural freshwater lake in the prefecture. Originally it was a cove, but sand banks gradually built up, cutting it off from the sea and giving it its current shape.
Long ago, the legend of Achihime, a beautiful princess who lived near here sank into the pond along with her ship, and eventually turned into a dragon, is still passed down to this day.
The area is blessed with a rich natural environment, rich in wild birds and freshwater fish, and is also blessed with valuable plants, and has been designated as a natural monument by Nagasaki Prefecture as the Kawahara Oike Forest. The park also has a beach and campground, and during the season it is crowded with families and groups of people enjoying the outdoors.
There is a promenade along the lakeside, so you can enjoy walking while relaxing and interacting with nature, such as bird watching or collecting insects.

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Busan Area: Iojima/Nomozaki area (Dinosaur Museum, Gunkanjima, etc.)

Categories: History/cultural assets park

travel theme: Enjoy the scenery and night view Recommended for summer

Let's find out more! Kawahara Oike Park

Mysterious folk tales about the origins of Kawahara Oike

The time is the middle of the Heian period, around the time of Emperor Ichijo (reigned 986-1011).
Okuradayu Takamitsu, the lord of Kawahara Village (present-day Kawahara) in Takagi District, Hizen Province, had a beautiful daughter named Ochihime.
Princess Achi became familiar with the large camphor tree that was located on the large mountain in her territory from an early age, and those around her were rumored to have fallen in love with the large camphor tree.
A few years later, Takamitsu built a ship from the same large camphor tree. However, when they tried to pull the boat out to shore, it stopped moving at all.
When Takamitsu had his fortune told, he was told, ``If you put a girl named Achihime on a boat, the boat will float on the sea by itself without any human effort.''
Immediately, Takamitsu decorated Princess Achi beautifully and put her on board the ship, and strangely, the ship began to move on its own.
However, when they reached the large pond, the sky changed completely, a huge storm arose, and thunder roared.
Then, the ground split apart, and the ground one mile square sank and instantly became a pond.
It is said that Princess Achi disappeared without a trace, along with her boat.

But there's more to this story.

Even after this incident, people were unable to approach Oike due to the presence of a ghostly spirit, so Takamitsu invited his brother Tomoyuki, an ascetic ascetic monk, from Kumano to pray to ward off the ghostly spirit. Then, on the night of the prayer, a dragon appeared with sharp eyes, a red tongue, and five horns. Once the dragon dived into the pond, it reappeared in the form of the beautiful Achihime and said, ``I (Achihime) am actually the Bodhisattva Monju.After this, if you worship me as Kawahara Gongen, you will become the guardian deity of this land.'' "Yo," he said. For this reason, Chiyuki built Gongen-do Hall to the west of the pond, and carved and enshrined a statue of Monju Bosatsu himself. Ikenogomae Shrine, which still stands at Kawahara Oike, was built at that time.
The dragon that appeared in this large pond is enshrined in the temple, and the sad ``Aike Hime Legend'' is still passed down to this day.

Basic Information

Address	851-0408 Miyazakicho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 969-1
Phone	095-892-1114(Nagasaki City Minami General Office Regional Development Division)
FAX	095-892-1240
Transportation access	Approximately 50 minutes by bus (bound for Kawahara) from JR Nagasaki Station, 5 minutes walk from Kawahara Koen-mae stop.
Remarks	Advance registration is required to use the campsite.
Link URL	Nagasaki City official website trip advisor