Hirado is a rather large island off the coast of Kyushu, near Sasebo. Given its sparse population, a hybrid of economies emerges with the unusually high percentage of land ownership by the acre here.

This photo shows Hirado Castle's Kaiju Yagura tower in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, on March 16, 2021. In the background is the Hirado Bridge. (Mainichi/Noriko Tokuno) HIRADO, Nagasaki -- Hirado ...

It is bitterly cold and overcast on a December afternoon on Hirado Island. The sea is angry and sends winds whipping across the chop toward land. Fishermen can be seen huddling in their boats just ...

MANILA, Philippines – Far away from Tokyo Metropolis, the historic island of Hirado in Nagasaki prefecture offers a refreshing experience for visitors who prefer to witness how life in Japanese ...

Consider it R&R, with a little something extra: royalty. After debuting a trial program at Nagasaki Prefecture’s Hirado Castle in 2017 as the first-ever castle stay in Japan, the Japanese government ...

For nearly a thousand years the three-circle symbol of the Matsuura clan has been blazoned on castle turrets, battle flags, richly gilded palanquins, and lacquered ceremonial implements of this small, ...

A field of withered plume grass is burned back to stimulate growth at scenic Kawachi Pass in the city of Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, in western Japan, on Feb. 10, 2019. Views from the hill on the ...

The arrival of the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier (1506–52) on Hirado in the summer of 1550 marked a major historical turning point for the remote Kyūshū island as it developed into a center for ...

HIRADO, Japan -- A group of "hidden Christians" on Ikitsuki Island in Hirado where believers have practiced their faith for 466 years since 1558, has dissolved.

For many centuries from the medieval to the early modern era, the island port of Hirado on the northwestern tip of Kyushu in Japan was the epicenter of piracy in East Asia. From bases in Hirado the ...