Roadside Station Himawari

The only roadside station on the Shimabara Peninsula is
Newly started as Himawari Roadside Station!

The "Old Roadside Station MIZUNASHI Honjin Fukae" was built in the area damaged by the eruption of Fugendake in June 1991. It is the only roadside station on the Shimabara Peninsula. Outside, buried houses damaged by the Fugendake Great Pyroclastic Flow are on display, and the Volcano Learning Center Great Pyroclastic Flow Experience Hall tells of the disaster and the road to recovery. The station was closed for business in November 2021 due to the Corona and other factors, but in April 2023, it will be reopened as "Roadside Station Himawari" with a new name and new contents. It also exchanges products with regions outside Kyushu, and the restaurant reopened for business in the summer of the same year.

Roadside Station Sunflower Map

Roadside Station Sunflower Gourmet Information

The taste of Shimabara (garnish zoni and somen noodles)

The newly opened restaurant has a skilled chef who has worked at Unzen Kanko Hotel, a long-established hotel in Unzen, and other hotels. The restaurant's recommendation is the local cuisine of Shimabara, "Zoni" (a kind of stew with vegetables and other ingredients). It is said to have originated when the revolting forces holed up in the castle during the Shimabara Rebellion brought rice cakes and products from the mountains and sea into the castle and simmered them to stave off the cold and hunger. The soup stock used in the chef's zoni is made from bonito flakes, kelp, and iriko, and is carefully simmered one by one at a temperature that allows the ingredients of each soup stock to take full advantage of their individual qualities. This is said to bring out the best flavor. Rice cakes, shiitake mushrooms, fish cakes, dried tofu, enoki mushrooms, and other ingredients are simmered on top of chicken. A single serving of orthodox zoni with various ingredients costs 1,100 yen, and a set meal is 1,430 yen.

Shimabara, on the other hand, boasts the second largest production of somen in Japan, and most of it is produced in Minamishimabara City. One of the theories about the origin of Shimabara Somen is again related to the "Shimabara Rebellion. It is said that people from Shodoshima spread the production of somen in Shimabara, which had a drastically reduced population after the revolt. Shimabara's hand-pulled somen noodles, made from high-quality Kyushu wheat flour, salt, and limpid subterranean water from Mount Unzen, are smooth and silky, with a good thirst-quenching texture. The noodles are served hot in winter. In winter, hot somen noodles are served. A la carte 880 yen, set meal 1,320 yen.

This is the one to buy! Castella

In Nagasaki, there are sponge cake makers throughout the prefecture, and there are ten in the area around the Shimabara Peninsula. Naturally, roadside stations are lined with a variety of local sponge cakes. We selected two long-established products from among them. The first is "Premium Shoyu" (top photo, 972 yen including tax for 5 slices), a new product from Sugitani Honpo in Isahaya City, which will go on sale in the summer of 2023. They used "Yamada's soy sauce" from Yamada-machi, Iwate Prefecture. Yamada, like Nagasaki, has a historical relationship with the Netherlands, and this collaboration is a result of that relationship. The sweetness of "Yamada's soy sauce" matches the sweetness of the sponge cake, creating a taste that is completely natural.

On the other hand, "Nagasaki Houjun Castella" (photo below, 2,160 yen including tax for 5 slices, 3,570 yen including tax for 10 slices) is made by Matsui Roho in Shimabara City. It is a "Gosan-yaki Castella" made with a dough consisting of five egg yolks and three egg whites. Gosan-yaki, which is rich and full-bodied, is said to require skilled craftsmanship to bake. Gosan-yaki is one of the highest class of sponge cakes. Gosan-yaki is sold in a paulownia wood box. As the name suggests, it is moist and rich in flavor.

Let's buy this one too! Unzen Ham

Unzen ham is now a common sight at taverns in Hakata, but until a decade or two ago, it was virtually unknown outside of Nagasaki Prefecture. It is not a "ham" at all, but actually a bologna sausage, and each piece is nearly 30 centimeters long. One piece is nearly 30 cm long. It is unclear why it was named "ham," but it is delicious when sliced into 5 mm-thick rounds and browned in a frying pan! It is made from Japanese pork, onions, salt, pepper, potato starch, and seasonings, with minimal additives. The secret of its deliciousness lies in the saltiness of the seasonings. It can be simply grilled or used as an ingredient in fried rice, minestrone, pizza, yakisoba, or any other dish. 700 yen including tax.

Takeout: Purufuwa Milk Parfait Mashimashi Chocolate

Mi-cafe" has reappeared at a roadside station! Along with the drink menu, there is a wide selection of chilly sweets. Among them, the "Purufuwa Milk Parfait Mashimashi Chocolate" (800 yen including tax) is a must for lovers of chilly sweets. The soft-serve ice cream topped with chocolate sauce from the "Purufuwa Milk Parfait Chocolate" has been upgraded to chocolate soft-serve ice cream. It is full of chocolate flavor. The "Purufuwa Milk" is made from milk that is pudding-like using a unique manufacturing method. When you shake the container, it shakes. It is a sweet that cannot be tasted anywhere else. (Closed on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month)

Around Roadside Station Sunflower

Don't miss the Mudslide Damaged Houses Preservation Park

You can't leave this place out.

The park, located on the station site, exhibits 10 houses that were actually damaged by the mudslide from the Fugendake eruption and one that was relocated. At the time, the area was buried under around 3 meters of earth and sand material, but the speed of the flow was so slow that the structures did not collapse. Today, natural disasters occur one after another all over the country, and the purpose of this park is to preserve and tell the story of the disaster for future generations. The park is open to the public 24 hours a day, free of charge. (The preserved houses in the tent are open to the public from 9:00 to 17:00)