Yamaguchi Prefecture offers tourist attractions such as Kakushima, Akiyoshidai, and Kintai Bridge; sightseeing events such as the Kanmon Kaikyo Fireworks Festival, Hagiyaki Festival, and Yamaguchi Tanabata Chochin Festival; and local delicacies such as Uiro, kawara soba, and summer orange sweets.
Yamaguchi Prefecture is in the Sanyo region, and the lands that were once Suo Province and Nagato Province were ruled by the Mori Family. In the Edo period (1603-1867), it was known as the Choshu domain and led the upheavals at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). Yamaguchi City is the prefectural capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture, but it is also known as the Kyoto of the west, with cities such as Shimonoseki, Ube, Shunan, and Iwakuni surpassing the prefectural capital.
Yamaguchi Prefecture has played various roles in history. In the Asuka Period (710-794), a defeat in the Baekje Revival War led to the construction of a Korean-style mountain castle, in the Nara Period (710-794), the only coin foundry in Japan, and in the Heian Period (794-1185), it was the site of the Genpei Battle in which the Heike clan was defeated at Dannoura.
In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the Nagato governorate was established to counter the Genko invasion, and in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), the city prospered under the rule of the Ouchi clan, becoming known as Kyoto in the west. Yamaguchi Prefecture, known as the Choshu domain at the end of the Edo period, is famous as the domain that led the Meiji Restoration.
Ganryujima Island, the site of the duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, is also located in the Kanmon Straits in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. With such a history, Yamaguchi Prefecture is dotted with historical sites and places with historical ties that serve as historical footprints, and is full of attractive tourist spots for history fans.
In addition, Yamaguchi Prefecture contains the largest karst plateau made of limestone in Japan, and is home to popular tourist spots such as Akiyoshido Cave. The limestone karst plateau is permeated by water, creating underground limestone caves such as Akiyoshido, Taisho-do, Keisei-ana, and Nakao-do.
Akiyoshido Cave is the largest limestone cave in Japan, and research has revealed that its total length is approximately 8,500 meters. A tourist trail has been set up to open the caves to the public, and visitors can see the mysterious space created by the limestone rocks.
In addition to history and rich nature, Yamaguchi Prefecture also offers food and folk crafts. Spicy cod roe seasoned with red pepper is now a specialty of Hakata and Kyushu, but it is actually a food born in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
There are also surprising dishes such as kawara soba (kawara soba), which is made by placing tea soba and other ingredients on a hot kawara tile, as well as Awasuki, which is famous as a souvenir confectionery, and Hagiyaki, which is a type of pottery favored by tea masters.
One of the most famous limestone caves in the East, Akiyoshidai Cave is located 100 to 200 meters below the ground at the foot of Akiyoshidai Mountain.Of the total length of 10,300 meters, approximately 1 km is open to the public as a tourist route.It is the largest limestone cave in Japan. An underground river flows down for about 1 km from Kotogafuchi at the back of the cave to the cave mouth. ...»
This is one of the best wooden bridges in Japan, spanning the clear waters of the 200-meter-long Nishiki River.It is one of the three most famous bridges in Japan and one of the three most unusual bridges in Japan. The wooden bridge with five rows of arches is rare even in the world. It was built in 1673 during the Edo period by the lord of the Iwakuni domain. The bridge is 193.3 meters long and ...»
The Tsunoshima Ohhashi Bridge is one of the longest bridges (1,780 m) on a remote island in Japan that can be crossed free of charge. Straddling the cobalt blue Amagase, which is unique to this area, the bridge is the most scenic spot on the Nishinagato Coast, with its majestic appearance in harmony with the landscape....»
The shrine stands on a basalt cape with sea-eroded terrain.The 123 vermilion torii gates stand in a row for more than 100 meters, creating a beautiful contrast between the red of the torii gates, the blue of the Sea of Japan, and the green of the surrounding vegetation. In the sea-eroded cave below the cliff, visitors can see the "tidal blast of Ryugu," a phenomenon in which seawater blows up hig...»
This stone lighthouse stands at Yumegasaki, the northwestern tip of Kakunoshima, a mountain in the Sea of Japan.The light tower is made entirely of granite, and is one of only two lighthouses in Japan that is not painted. The last lighthouse designed by the British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, known as the "father of lighthouses," and the first Western-style lighthouse on the Sea of Japan, it ...»
Located in the precincts of Itsukushima Shrine, Beppu Benten Pond is a cobalt blue spring pond of mystery and legend.The bottom of the pond is transparent, making it appear shallow at first glance, but the water is approximately 4 meters deep. The pond is part of the Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau, and is a doline (a depression) formed by rainwater erosion on a plateau made of limestone and other rock...»
Iwakuni Castle was built in 1608 on the top of Yokoyama Mountain.Iwakuni Castle was built over a period of six and a half years by Hiroie Yoshikawa, who was transferred to Iwakuni after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The castle was a four-storied, six-story Chinese-style castle tower, but it was torn down only seven years after its construction due to the Tokugawa shogunate's One-Castle Order. ...»
This shrine is dedicated to Shoin Yoshida, the driving force behind the Meiji Restoration, and was built in 1907 by his pupil Hirobumi Ito, who served as the first, fifth, seventh, and tenth Prime Minister of Japan, and others. In 1890, Shoin's brother built a small shrine in a storehouse inside the residence of Shoin's parents, the Sugi family, and enshrined it. Hirobumi Ito and Yasushi Nomura, ...»
Located in the Seto Inland Sea National Park, which is called the Mediterranean Sea of Japan, Katazoegahama Beach is a tropical beach with a wide open white beach lined with phoenix trees and avenues of palm trees.It is also called "Banana Beach" because of the shape of the entire beach. Suo Oshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea is dotted with beaches of rich individuality, and Katazoegahama Beach...»
Tokiwa Park is a comprehensive leisure land that stretches around Lake Tokiwa and boasts an expansive area of 189 hectares (about 40 times the size of Tokyo Dome). The park is decorated with 3,500 cherry trees in spring, 80,000 irises, azaleas, and hydrangeas in early summer, chrysanthemums in fall, and an illumination event every winter, adding color to the park throughout the four seasons. The...»
Also known as the "Maritime Alps" because of its array of oddly shaped rocks, Cheonghae Island is a representative scenic spot of the Kita-Nagato Kaigan National Park. The island is approximately 40 kilometers in circumference. The Aomi Bridge crosses the island at its narrowest point, about 50 meters from the mainland, and can be crossed by car. The three sides of the island, east, west, north,...»
Hofu Tenmangu Shrine is "Japan's first Tenmangu Shrine" dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, who is revered as the god of learning.Together with Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto and Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka, it is said to be one of the three Tenmangu shrines in Japan. The main shrine, the hall of offerings, the hall of worship, and the Shunpu Tower are registered as tangible cultural prop...»
The straits are approximately 700 meters wide between Shimonoseki City and Moji Ward, Kitakyushu City. The direction of the current changes four times a day due to the ebb and flow of the tide. The narrowest part of the strait is only about 500 meters wide, and the S-shaped bend of the strait makes visibility difficult, and the currents are fast, leaving many reefs and reefs in its path. Despite...»
This shrine is dedicated to the infant emperor Antoku, who entered the water while being embraced by a nun of the second rank during the Battle of Dannoura in the Genpei Era (the final battle in which the flourishing Heike clan was defeated and destroyed by the Minamoto clan). It is also famous for the mound enshrining a member of the Heike clan. The temple was founded in 859 as Amidadera Temple,...»
This famous temple was founded in 1327. The Butsuden (Buddhist hall), which preserves the oldest Zen temple style in Japan, is designated as a National Treasure and, together with Zenpukuin Shakado, is a representative example of the Kamakura period style of Zen Buddhist architecture in the Tang style. In 1333, the temple was designated as an imperial temple by Emperor Godaigo, and in 1336, Ashik...»
This is a zoo where visitors can observe free-ranging animals from their own cars, in a safari style, in a state close to that of the wild. There is also a petting zoo where visitors can interact with cute animals. There is also an amusement park with roller coasters and go-karts....»
The 153-meter-long, 143-meter-high observation deck offers a magnificent 360-degree view of the Kanmon Straits, the Seto Inland Sea, Ganryu Island, the Kyushu mountain range, and the Sea of Japan. The see-through elevator takes only 70 seconds.The world's first observation deck with a spherical all-glass top consisting of three layers. Visitors can enjoy the sunset over the Hibikinada Sea, the s...»
The ropeway connects the foot of the mountain to the summit of Iwakuni Castle, about 200 meters above sea level, where the castle tower is located. The 412-meter ride from the foot of the castle to the summit station takes about 3 minutes with a view of the Nishiki River and Kintai Bridge spread out below. From the summit plaza, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city of Iwakuni and even the ...»
Tawarayama Onsen is an elegant hot spring resort town in a quiet mountainous area upstream from the Kiya River, where inns with small Japanese-style houses are clustered together, retaining the original landscape of a therapeutic hot spring. The hot springs are designated as a national health spa and a national health spa. It is a sacred hot spring with a tradition of more than 1,000 years, and i...»
This is a scenic area of approximately 26,400 square meters of grassland on a 333-meter-high plateau facing the Sea of Japan.To the north, the Sea of Japan stretches all around, and Aomi Island, the Alps of the Sea of Japan, can be seen in the distance. Located at the top of a peninsula, strong winds blow constantly in this area, so several windmills for wind power generation have been installed,...»
The Akita Shokai Building is a unique building with a blend of Japanese and Western styles that represents the history of modern architecture in Japan.It is a steel-framed reinforced concrete structure with three stories above ground and one below, with a tower roof, a Japanese garden on the roof, and a tea ceremony room (detached tatami room). The first floor is a purely Western-style office spa...»
The oldest surviving consulate building in Japan.Designed by a British architectural engineer, the two-story brick building was completed in 1906. After World War II, it was used as the Shimonoseki Police Station and Shimonoseki City Archaeological Museum from 1954, and is now used as a memorial hall, civic gallery, and other public facilities.Designated as a National Important Cultural Property....»
A private school where Yoshida Shoin educated children of low-ranking samurai and commoners for two and a half years from 1857 in a tiled one-story house with two rooms (8 and 10.5 tatami mats) located in the precincts of Shoin Shrine. The school produced many talented individuals who were active during the Meiji Restoration, including Takasugi Shinsaku, Kusaka Genzui, and Ito Hirobumi....»
This Catholic church was built in 1952 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Xavier's arrival in Yamaguchi.Regrettably, it was destroyed by fire in 1991, but was rebuilt in 1998. The reconstructed cathedral was designed by Italian priest Constantino Ruggieri and architect Luigi Leoni. The novel shape of the church, backed by two 53-meter high towers, was built under the overall themes of "wate...»
Yuda Onsen is known as a famous hot spring with the largest quantity of hot water in Sanyoji. It is characterized by its alkaline simple hot spring water, which is soft and comfortable on the skin. The origin of this hot spring is old, dating back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573). It is said that a wounded white fox soaked its feet in the hot spring to heal its wounds....»
Chomonkyo Gorge is a gorge formed by erosion of rhyolitic tuff and dacite lava from the Mesozoic Cretaceous Period in the upper reaches of the Abugawa River.A 5.1-km promenade has been developed, and the scenery is rich in variety, including the murmuring of the Abugawa River that flows along the promenade, strange stones, rapids, and abysses. Cherry blossoms in spring, fresh greenery in summer, ...»