Travel Highlights & Tips - Yamaguchi: The Land of Scattered Beautiful Scenery

Motonosumi Shrine

Yamaguchi is one of 47 prefectures in Japan and I guess most foreign people have not heard about, as a survey showed that Yamaguchi was ranked in 30th place about its recognition from foreign visitors. However, it has many remarkable places as many people may have seen the scenery above.

Yamaguchi tends to be considered just a local prefecture, but it took a very important role when Japan tried to transform into a modern state. There are numbers of ambitious people grown in Yamaguchi and they contributed in many different fields in the beginning of Meiji Era (about 150 years ago). Surprisingly, the biggest numbers of Japanese Prime Ministers are from Yamaguchi Prefecture including the current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Although the sightseeing spots in Yamaguchi are scattered in many areas, it is not very convenient to travel around. So, if you plan a travel to Yamaguchi, the first thing is to think how you move around. If you take a flight, the gateway will be Yamaguchi-Ube Airport or Hagi-Iwami Airport. Also, there are several shinkansen stations in Yamaguchi such as Shin-Yamaguchi.


[Must-visits in Yamaguchi]

• Kintaikyo Bridge, Iwakuni

It was originally built in 17th century and is one of the most famous wooden bridges in Japan. In Spring thousands of cherry trees make the area the most photogenic in a year.

• Hagi Castle Town

Hagi is the best place to stroll through the town. Beautiful scenery of earthen walls and summer oranges has not been changed from the old era.

Shizukiyama Shrine

  

• Rurikoji Temple, Yamaguchi

The iconic landscape of the beautiful five-storied pagoda and cherry blossoms is one of the must-visits in Yamaguchi.

Five-Storied Pagoda at Rurikoji Temple

• Akiyoshidai & Akiyoshido, Mine

The stunning view of rocky fields makes you feel you are at the end of this world. It is worth visiting.

Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau

Akiyoshido Cave

• Karato Ichiba Market, Shimonoseki

It is a vibrant fish market where many locals and tourists visit every day. You can find and eat fresh seafood whatever you like.It is a vibrant fish market where many locals and tourists visit every day. You can find and eat fresh seafood whatever you like.

[Travel Tips]

• Consider a car rental or taking a bus tour.

You will find some places are very difficult to reach by public transportation. Private car is the most convenient way to move around Yamaguchi, especially if you would like to visit many places in the prefecture. You can grasp the location of each place here.

• They have great food!! Try local cuisine.

Yamaguchi boasts many kinds of local cuisine you shouldn't miss. Here are some recommendations;

Fugu (Puffer Fish) Sashimi, Shimonoseki

Fugu (Puffer Fish) Karaage, Shimonoseki

Summer Orange Yokan from Mitsukuni Honten, Hagi

Mitsukuni Honten, Hagi

Kawara (Roof Tile) Soba Noodle

"Soft Cream" at Kintaikyo Bridge, Iwakuni
(more than 100 flavors you can choose from!!)

[Useful links]

• Yamaguchi Prefectural Tourism Federation
• Japan National Tourism Organization
• japan-guide.com

[Contact & More]

• Travel Advice & Inquiries
• More Photos on Tumblr

Travel Highlights & Tips - Okunoshima: A Real Rabbit Wonderland

Okunoshima, well known as "Usagijima", is literally a rabbit wonderland. Usagi means rabbit and jima (shima) means island in Japanese. The island is located off the coast of Mihara in Hiroshima Prefecture, which is western part of Honshu main island and can be accessed by scheduled ferry. Okunoshima is just a small island with scenic beauty of Setonaikai Inland Sea unless two remarkable facts.

The first one, needless to say, is rabbit. There are about thousand rabbits living in the whole island and they are so friendly that they run to tourists getting off the ferry and beg for food. Since the rabbits are everywhere in the island, you shouldn't spend much of your time near the port as many visitors do.

The second fact, I'm not sure if the tourists especially from overseas notice about, is that the island has a dark history. If you walk around the island, you can see several remains from WW2. The island used to be a base of the Japanese Imperial Army and there secretly produced poisonous gas. There is also a small historical museum telling the fact quietly.

Remains of Power Plant

[Travel tips]

• Don't forget to buy some vegetables before taking ferry.

The rabbits are waiting for your feeding. You can buy a small portion of rabbit food in the island, but I highly recommend to stop by at a supermarket or a convenience store to get some cabbage and carrots, before taking ferry. Supermarket "Mommy" is just about a couple minutes' walk from Tadanoumi Port.

• Secure your time to climb to the observatory deck.

Most visitors spend time around the port or the large field area in front of Kyukamura Okunoshima (hotel). But it is very much worth visiting the observatory deck which is on the hill in the middle of the island. Along the trail you can feel history from the historical remains from WW2, enjoy the stunning view of beautiful islands and calm sea, and witness more lovely and modest rabbits. 

• Avoid visiting on weekends if possible.

Okunoshima and the surrounding area is quite local. However the island is now a popular tourist destination, so you are advised to travel on weekdays. There are quite a lot of Japanese visitors as well as tourists from overseas and ferry can get full on weekends or holiday seasons. The ferry do not take prior reservations so you will need to wait another 1 hour or so if the ferry is full.

• Plan to visit the island in the morning.

As mentioned above, there is a possibility that the ferries get full. So it is safer to visit the port in the morning. In most case visitors get ferry from Tadanoumi Port and it takes just about 15 minutes to the island. You can see the ferry timetable here.

[Other must-visits around the area]

• Takehara

[Useful links]

• General Information of Okunoshima
• Okunoshima Map

[Contact & More]

• Travel Advice & Inquiries
• More Photos on Tumblr

Travel Highlights & Tips- Tsumago & Magome Historic Trail Walking

Main Street in Magome

Tsumago & Magome Historic Walking Trail has been attracting many tourists from overseas in recent years. Once this area had been abondoned and lost people's attention even from Japanese, even though this trail is a part of the main street connecting Tokyo and Kyoto and historically important since Edo Period (about 400-200 years ago).

Both Tsumago and Magome are old post towns from Edo Period. The histrical walking trail which is about 9km or 5.6mi long connects the two towns and toursits can easily walk while enjoying the scenic beauty.


[Travel tips]

• Walk from Magome, not Tsumago.

As you can see from the map, Magome is located on a higher elevation than Tsumago. Therefore, it is much less hard to walk from Magome and head to Tsumago.

• Set plenty of time for walking.

It usually takes about 3 hours for walking between Magome and Tsumago. There are scheduled bus service around the area, but the buses don't run so often as you can see the bus timetable here.

• Walk comfortably but be careful with bears.

The walking trail doesn't need a heavy equipment. Even you can walk with sneakers and jeans. But there are possibilities to encounter wild bears, it is said. So you are recommended to attach a small bell to your backpack or ring bells you will find along the trail.


[Other must-visits around the area]

• Wakihonjin Okuya (Tsumago)

• Narai Old Post Town (Narai)

• Kisouma no Sato (Kiso)

[Useful links]

• Official Travel Website of the Kiso Region
• Magome-Tsumago Trail (Japan-guide.com)

[Contact & More]

• Travel Advice & Inquiries
• More Photos on Tumblr