Who loves Yatsushiro? - Giant cruise ships, apparently! Their love of that magnificent town is such that the 36 days heretofore assigned to cruise ships at the berth sufficiently deep to handle them will be tripled to 100 (for the mathematically challenged, that’s almost 1/3 of the year) thanks to cooperation with cargo lines. Priority will be given to cruises which dock in town for multiple days, ensuring tourists ample time to tour the many sites Yatsushiro has to offer. The town expects 70 cruise ship visits in 2017, a huge increase from the 16 this year and 10 last. This compares with 400 berthings in Hakata this year and 190 in Nagasaki. Local shops may want to prepare for some explosive shopping. Banpeiyu, anyone?

http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160406001.xhtml