The town of Takeo in Saga Pref. is in the valley surrounded by mountains, among which the most famous is Mt. Mifuneyama. The Mifuneyama Rakuen is a large garden located at the foot of this mountain. It is said that Nabeshima Shigeyoshi, the 28th domain lord of Saga Prefecture, called an artist painter of Kano School from Kyoto to work out a design and took 3 years to build this landscaped garden. The garden against the rocky mountainside of Mt. Mifune covers an area of 495 hectare. Visitors can enjoy flowers all through the year; 5,000 cherry blossom trees, azalea plants, and alpine roses in spring, iris and hydrangea in early summer, autumn leaves, and Camellia sasanqua in winter. The especially impressive scene is 50,000 azaleas blooming altogether. There are many other must-see historical spots such as Gohyaku-Rakan (the 500 disciples of Buddha) and Hizen-no-kami-jaya (the tea house of the lord).