So Sasebo has some cool stuff near it. Aside from Huis Ten Bosch, it has the 99 islands. In reality there are over 200 islands in this area, but in Japanese 99 has the connotation of there being a lot of something, so they call it the 99 islands. Plus it sounds cool. Like any sightseeing area in Japan that's by the ocean, there is an awesome aquarium. In fact, I imagine Japan has the highest number of aquariums per person in the world. It's funny to think about the super sorry national aquarium in Washington DC I used to go to (basically some fishtanks in a basement) as a kid and then think about these unbelievable aquariums in Japan. There were cool turtles and such here, but the best part was for the kids to get to pick an oyster out of the water and get their very own pearls. The 99 islands are known for their pearls and in fact the water is just loaded with oyster farms. We both did this as kids (Mike in Hawaii and Sara in Japan) and remember how fun it was to open up the Oyster and find a Pearl. Our kids were no different, they loved it.
Next to the aquarium were a variety of sight seeing boats, the Pearl Queen (which we took), sailboats, a big pirate ship, and kayaks. This definitely would be a fun place to go kayaking. We sailed around the islands with the kids spending most of the trip in the crow's nest enjoying the wind. It reminded me a lot of the San Juan Islands in Washington State, only more pearl farms here. Lots of cool little coves and sandy beaches. This would be a great place to spend some more time, but an afternoon in the islands was just right for us.
