involves a big tug-o-war between two factions in the town, the fishermen and farmers, and local legend says that if the hills faction wins, there will be a good harvest that year; and if the sea faction wins, there will be a good fishing harvest that year. Beaches Hamatama is one of the nicest beaches in Saga Prefecture. It is located close to central Karatsu and can be accessed by the JR Chikuhi Line. Sister cities Reihoku, Kumamoto, Japan Yangzhou, China Yeosu, South Korea Seogwipo, South Korea Education Prefectural senior high schools Karatsu Commercial High School Karatsu Higashi High School Karatsu Minami High School Karatsu Nishi High School Karatsu Seisho High School Karatsu Technical High School Kyūragi High School Municipal junior high and elementary schools Junior high schools: 25 Elementary schools: 44 National vocational schools Karatsu Maritime Polytechnical School Schools for the handicapped Saga Prefectural Hokubu School for the Handicapped Transportation Air The closest airports are Saga Airport and Fukuoka Airport. Rail JR Kyūshū Karatsu Line Kyūragi Station - Iwaya Station - Ōchi Station - Honmutabe Station - Yamamoto Station - Onizuka Station - Karatsu Station - Nishi-Karatsu Station Chikuhi Line (connected with the Fukuoka City Subway Kūkō Line) (from Fukuoka) Hamasaki Station - Nijinomatsubara Station - Higashi-Karatsu Station - Watada Station - Karatsu Station (to Imari) Honmutabe Station - Hizen-Kubo Station - Nishi-Ōchi Station - Sari Station Road Expressways: Nishi-Kyūshū Expressway National highways: Route 202 Route 203 Route 204 Route 323 Route 382 Major Prefectural roads: Karatsu-Yobiko Route 23 Imari-Hatagawachi-Kyūragi Route 32 Karatsu-Hizen Route 33 Kyūragi-Fuji Route 37 Ōchi-Yamauchi Route 38 Hamatama-Ōchi Route 40 Hizen-Yobiko Route 47 Karatsu-Kitahata Route 50 Yamamoto-Hatatsu Route 52 Notable people Ken Hisatomi (Footballer) Takeshi Kamura (Badminton player) In popular culture Karatsu is the setting for two manga and anime series, Yuri on Ice and Zombieland Saga. References External links Karatsu City official website Karatsu City official website Cities in Saga Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan