Yamaguchi » Shimonoseki, Tsunoshima
Shimonoseki is the westernmost port town in Honshu. There are many historical spots such as Ganryujima and Dannoura, as well as a wealth of culinary attractions such as fugu (blowfish) and kawara soba (tile-fish noodle). Kakunoshima Island is a spectacular driving spot that should be visited at least once.
The Shimonoseki/Kakushima area is located in western Yamaguchi Prefecture, the westernmost part of Honshu. It is also known for the Kanmon Straits, and is surrounded by the sea, with the Sea of Japan to the west and the Seto Inland Sea to the south.
Shimonoseki is also famous for its torafugu (blowfish), with approximately 80% of all wild caught torafugu coming from Shimonoseki.
The main attractions in Shimonoseki include Kakushima Island, famous for its TV commercials, the Kanmon Straits, which are an integral part of Japanese history, and Ganryujima Island, known as the site of the final battle between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro.
Kakunoshima Island, with an area of about 4 square kilometers, is located on the Sea of Japan side of Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The coastline around the island, including Kakunoshima, is designated as Kita-Nagato Kaigan National Park, and since the bridge connecting Kakunoshima to the mainland opened in 2000, the island has become a popular destination for many tourists.
Kakunoshima is one of the best places to visit when you are in Shimonoseki, as it has a beach where you can enjoy swimming in the beautiful emerald green sea, a lighthouse where you can enjoy a spectacular view, and a variety of facilities where you can enjoy gourmet food.
The Kanmon Straits separate Honshu and Kyushu, and the Kanmon Bridge, which serves as a bridge for traffic between the two areas, has been built across the straits. The straits are not only bridges for vehicles, but also provide an undersea tunnel for people to cross on foot, the "Kanmon Tunnel Humanitarian Tunnel.
The Kanmon Tunnel Humanitarian Tunnel allows visitors to cross between Honshu and Kyushu by taking an elevator down to approximately 50 m below the surface and walking through the tunnel for a distance of approximately 780 m. Inside the tunnel, there is an undersea bridge that connects Yamaguchi Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture. Inside the tunnel, there is a sign indicating the border between Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures, and it is a popular spot for tourists to take pictures with the sign in the background.
Ganryujima is an uninhabited island in the Kanmon Straits, known as the site of a duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, a great swordsman of the early Edo period. Today, Ganryujima Island is maintained as a park, and from the promenade on the east side of the island, visitors can enjoy a close-up view of large tankers and other vessels that ply the Kanmon Straits.
Ganryujima is also home to a monument that recreates the scene of the duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, making it a popular spot for many tourists.
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 harmon...»
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, k...»
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...»
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 ...»
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 sty...»
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...»
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, a...»