Nakatsu City

He came at 18 months old, and left at 19.

Fukuzawa Yukichi's old home

Photo by STA3816 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Ao no Domon

The tunnel Zenkai spent 30 years digging,is also called Japan's first toll road.

In 1735, the monk Zenkai (禅海) began carving through the cliff by hand, hoping to end a deadly stretch of path along the gorge. With hired stonemasons, working only with a chisel and hammer, he finished in 1764 -- a 342m tunnel (144m of it underground). Tolls paid for the work, and it is also said to be Japan's first toll road. A Meiji-era renovation reshaped most of it; only a few hand-carved skylights remain from the original.

02 ／ Nakatsu Castle

Kuroda Kanbei built Nakatsu Castle,named 'Fan Castle' for its shape.

In 1588, Kuroda Kanbei (Yoshitaka, 黒田官兵衛) began building the castle at the mouth of the Yamakuni River. Its fan-shaped layout earned it the nickname 'Fan Castle' (扇城). Seawater flows into its moat, so the water level rises and falls with the tide -- also making it, along with Imabari and Takamatsu castles, one of Japan's so-called three water castles. Its lords later passed from the Hosokawa to the Ogasawara and then the Okudaira clan.

03 ／ Nakatsu Tidal Flat

482 species live in this tidal flat --about 166 of them are at risk.

Facing the Suo Sea, the tidal flat (中津干潟) is home to the horseshoe crab (カブトガニ), often called a living fossil, along with the endangered aogisu fish and lancelets. In winter, the endangered black-headed gull (ズグロカモメ) comes here to overwinter, and in spring and autumn, flocks of sandpipers and plovers pass through.

Living here

The city hospital is now a regional emergency center.

about 80,000 people

In April 2025, Nakatsu Municipal Hospital was designated a 'Regional Emergency Lifesaving Center' (地域救命救急センター) for the northern Oita medical region. It takes in nearly 3,500 ambulances a year, serving as the area's hub for emergency care.

People living here: 82,863people
Area: 491.44km²
Households: 37,571households
Rent (average for rentals): 45,349yen
Healthcare: 11 hospitals ／ 69 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-03-01 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —28 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Nakatsu City in Japan33.598°N 131.188°E

to OsakaHighway bus541min
to KyotoHighway bus601min

Travel times follow 夜行高速バス「SORIN号」（近鉄バス・大分バス共同運行）の下り便（京都・大阪方面→大分方面）の事業者公式時刻表（近鉄バス routelist/7）。中津市内の停留所は「中津サンライズホテル前」（着6:31、すべて翌朝） (checked 2026-09-25). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Nakatsu City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

30.8km

Oita Prefecture: 玖珠町, 宇佐市, 日田市
Fukuoka Prefecture: 上毛町, 豊前市, みやこ町, 築上町, 添田町, 吉富町

Nakatsu City isthis kind of town.

01Fukuzawa Yukichi moved to Nakatsu at 18 months old and stayed in this house until he left for Nagasaki at 19. The storehouse he renovated himself still stands, now a National Historic Site.
02Zenkai spent 30 years digging the Ao no Domon tunnel; Kuroda Kanbei built Nakatsu Castle. Each still tells its history today, at the gateway to the Yabakei gorge and at the mouth of the Yamakuni River.
03The Nakatsu Tidal Flat, on the Suo Sea, is home to 482 species, and the city is also known as a 'sanctuary' for karaage fried chicken, with specialty shops lining its streets -- two kinds of richness, from the sea and from the table.

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nakatsu City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗