Kitagawa Wetlands is a wetland that spreads across the Ieda and Kawasaka districts of Kitagawa Town, Nobeoka City, and is located just a few minutes' drive from Kitagawa Interchange (Kitagawa Hayuma Roadside Station) on the Higashi Kyushu Expressway. Ieda Wetlands (18 hectares) and Kawasaka Wetlands (2 hectares) are collectively called Kitagawa Wetlands.
It has been designated as a potential Ramsar Convention wetland candidate site (Ministry of the Environment in 22), an important habitat for Miyazaki Prefecture (20), and one of Japan's 500 important wetlands (Ministry of the Environment in 13). It is also an extremely valuable wetland from an academic perspective, as it is home to over 50 endangered species of flora and fauna.
The marsh is best known for its water lily plant, the water lily. Over 1000 plants grow along the Ieda River and Kawasaka River, making it the largest such plant in Japan.
The leaves resemble those of a water lily, and yellow flowers grow on long, slender stems that extend above the water and can be enjoyed from April to November.
In addition to water lilies, you can enjoy rare plants throughout the year, such as Kitagawa waterweed, Vallisneria, Sadekusa, and Long-eared lily.
Kitagawa Marsh is also known as a paradise for dragonflies, with over 40 species of dragonflies having been identified so far.
There are many damselflies in particular, and a typical example is the Gumbaito-tombo. The male has white leaf-like things on its four middle and hind legs, which resemble the fan held by a sumo referee, hence the name Gumbaito-tombo. They fly around the marshland from May to July.
In addition, you can regularly observe endangered fish and aquatic life such as killifish, loaches, catfish, diving beetles, water striders, and Japanese pond turtles.