Thanks so much; I've been doing a bit of research on your suggestions and Sesebo sounds like a perfect day trip!

I'm a bit confused by Sakai though... it's a National Park that used to be a major base of the Imperial Japanese Navy, but the photos on TripAdvisor show a bunch of touristy pirate ship cruises, an aquarium, and lot of random city shots that don't look very much like a Nat'l Park. What exactly is present-day Sakai and is it worth visiting?

The cruise to Kujukushima looks like a lot of fun and we'll surely add this to our itinerary. Are all the small surrounding islands nature preserves and can you actually dock and set foot on any of them or are they protected lands?

I see that there's a "Kujukushima Zoological and Botanical Garden" which I assume is not actually on Kujukushima island but located on Sasebo, right? I've read that it opened in 1962, so it seems to be a staple of Sasebo. Is it worth a visit? What about Umikara Aquarium? Are either of these particularly well done or interesting?

Lastly, Huis ten Bosch sounds pretty quirky but apart from the replica architecture of old Dutch buildings and canals, what is actually comprised of this theme park? Are there activities and rides or is it mostly commercial shops? I've read that there's some poorly researched historical presentations about the Netherlands so I get the sense that this is more like a Vegas style commercial center than an actual museum. Would I be right about that?

What's the Biopark btw; I haven't been able to find that online - is it the zoological and botanical garden?

Thanks again for the great suggestions!


PS - Are you familiar at all with Sakamotoya ryokan at 2-13 Kanaya-machi? I get the sense that it's pretty centrally located and very walkable; is this correct?