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Greetings from the proprietress

Thank you for your visiting Wataya’s website.

Since the founding of Wataya in 1876, we have stressed the importance of hospitality; and fine Japanese cuisine for over 130 years.

Karatsu located about one hour from Fukuoka city, is a traditional Japanese castle town. It is famous for its pottery Karatsu-yaki and its colorful local festival Karatsu-okunchi (Nov. 2-4).It also has many tourist spots such as Hikiyama-kaikan, Kagami-yama, Niji-no-Matsubara, Karatsu pottery kiln.

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Wataya is located in the center of Karatsu, in a building constructed in the Meiji era by Masahei Tashiro, the coal mine king, as his family home. This spacious building set in a large Japanese style garden was later converted into a Japanese-style restaurant and also provides accommodation in quiet and comfortable rooms.
 
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The building and gardens retain all the elegance of Masahei’s age. We believe all our customers will fully enjoy being surrounded by such traditional Japanese beauty.

In December 2003, after test drilling a borehole in one part of the grounds, we discovered natural hot spring water. We named this water ‘Kaguya hime no yu’, and our customers can now relax and enjoy an open-air bath, hinoki cypress bath or a ceramic bath.

We also provide an area where you can enjoy making and painting your own Karatsu pottery. Please take this opportunity to experience traditional pottery and at the some time create your own unique Souvenir of your visit.