Hagi & Tsuwano

Hometown of the Meiji Restoration's revolutionaries: Hagi's World Heritage castle town and Hagi ware pottery, plus Tsuwano, the "Little Kyoto of San'in," with its carp-filled canals and Inari shrine.

Hagi & Tsuwano straddle northern Yamaguchi Prefecture and the western tip of Shimane Prefecture. The birthplace of the Meiji Restoration, they form the most atmospheric pair of castle towns on the Sea of Japan coast. Hagi was the castle town of the Mori clan of the Choshu Domain; the Hagi Castle ruins, the castle town, Shokasonjuku Academy and the Hagi Reflecting Furnace are all part of the World Heritage Site "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution." White-walled lanes with summer-orange trees and Hagi ware pottery give the town its distinctive character, with Tokoji Temple and Mount Kasa on the eastern outskirts and the Susa Hornfels to the north. Tsuwano lies in a mountain basin about 35 km southeast of Hagi and is known as the "Little Kyoto of San'in"; its three highlights are the carp-filled canals of Tonomachi Street, the thousand torii gates of Taikodani Inari Shrine, and the Tsuwano Castle ruins. Side trips include the five-storied pagoda of Rurikoji Temple in Yamaguchi City, Nagato-Yumoto Onsen and Omijima Island. The best times are cherry blossom season in April, Tsuwano's irises in May–Jun and autumn foliage in November; June brings heavy rainy-season showers, and winters on the Sea of Japan side are windy. Getting there: from Shin-Yamaguchi Station, take a bus to Hagi (about 1 hour), or the JR Yamaguchi Line / SL Yamaguchi steam train to Tsuwano; buses link Hagi and Tsuwano in about 1 hr 45 min. The nearest airports are Iwami Airport and Yamaguchi Ube Airport. Allow 2–3 days; renting a bicycle is the easiest way to get around Hagi.

Top sights

Hagi Castle Town (Kikuya Yokocho) – A World Heritage castle town that keeps its Edo-period street layout, with whitewashed samurai residences, the Kikuya House and the birthpl…
Shoin Shrine & Shoka Sonjuku – A World Heritage private academy where Yoshida Shoin taught. It produced Meiji Restoration figures such as Ito Hirobumi and Takasugi Shinsa…
Tsuwano Tonomachi Street – The heart of Tsuwano, known as the “Little Kyoto of San'in.” It has white walls, canals where koi swim, and a Gothic-style Catholic church.
Hagi Castle Ruins & Shizuki Park – The ruins of the Mori clan's Chōshū domain castle. The stone walls of the main tower base are reflected in the moat, and in spring, cherry…
Tokoji Temple – The family temple of the Mori clan. Around 500 stone lanterns line the mausoleum grounds, and on August 15 the Manto-e lantern festival tur…
Hagi Reverberatory Furnace – The remains of the reverberatory furnace chimney built by the Chōshū domain in the late Edo period while trial-producing Western-style cann…
Mount Kasayama & Myojin Pond – One of Japan's smallest active volcanoes. The summit offers views over the islands of the Sea of Japan, and the nearby Myojin Pond and Febr…
Hagi Museum – A comprehensive museum in the castle town that covers Hagi's history and nature, along with materials on Takasugi Shinsaku and other Meiji…
Hagi Meirin Gakusha – A cultural facility converted from the wooden building of the former Meirin Elementary School. It houses a World Heritage visitor centre an…
Hagi Uragami Museum – A prefectural art museum known for its ukiyo-e and East Asian ceramics collection, with an additional gallery dedicated to Hagi ware that o…
Michi-no-Eki Hagi Seamart – A seafood market and roadside rest stop beside Hagi Fishing Port, where you can eat seafood rice bowls and buy Hagi dried goods and local s…
Kikugahama Beach – A white-sand beach beside Hagi Castle, backed by Mount Shizuki and the castle town. It becomes a swimming beach in summer and is a spot for…
Susa Hornfels – Striped cliffs on the northern coast of Hagi, where grey, white and black layers of rock drop straight into the Sea of Japan. It is the sig…
Taikodani Inari Shrine – One of Japan's five great Inari shrines, with about a thousand vermilion torii gates winding up the hillside. From the shrine you can look…
Tsuwano Castle Ruins – The stone-walled castle ruins on a hilltop at 367 m, reached by a sightseeing chairlift. On autumn mornings, the sea of clouds seen from he…
Mori Ogai Former Residence & Memorial Museum – The birthplace of the Meiji literary giant Mori Ōgai, with his childhood home preserved on site. The adjoining museum displays manuscripts…
Anno Mitsumasa Art Museum – The personal art museum of Anno Mitsumasa, the picture-book artist from Tsuwano. It displays his watercolour originals and has a reconstruc…
Otometoge Maria Chapel – A small mountain chapel commemorating the Urakami Catholics exiled and martyred in the early Meiji period. The setting is quiet and peacefu…
SL Yamaguchi Steam Train – A steam-locomotive sightseeing train running between Shin-Yamaguchi and Tsuwano. Its retro passenger carriages make it a popular way to rea…
Rurikoji Five-storied Pagoda – One of Japan's three most famous pagodas. This National Treasure five-storey pagoda from the Muromachi period stands beside a pond and is t…
Nagato Yumoto Onsen – One of the oldest hot spring towns in Yamaguchi Prefecture, redeveloped along the Ontsugawa River. Riverside strolls, foot baths and the pu…
Omijima Island – An island known as the “Alps of the Sea,” where sightseeing boats take you close to strange rock formations, caves and sheer cliffs.
Higashi-Ushirobata Rice Terraces – Stepped terraced paddies facing the Sea of Japan. In late spring, when the fields are flooded, you can see both the sunset and squid-fishin…

Where to eat

Amiyaki Restaurant Kenran – A yakiniku restaurant run by the farm-direct meat shop Midoriya, serving Hagi’s rare local Wagyu brand “Kenran beef” an…
Kihagi Restaurant (Hagi Seafood Market) – A seafood eatery inside the Hagi Seamart roadside station. Its “Kihagi Special” seafood bowl, topped with eight kinds o…
Saranoki (Tsuwano) – A long-established group of restaurants on Tonomachi-dori in Tsuwano. At the tea house or main building you can eat the…
Waraji Meal House – A local-style restaurant near Kikuya Yokocho in Hagi Castle Town, known for Hagi-coast sea urchin bowls and udon with n…
Yuki Local Cuisine – A long-established local restaurant near Tsuwano Station. Its interior has a waterway with koi and yamame trout, and it…

Itineraries

Yamaguchi Coast & Karst Road Trip – Drive north from Shimonoseki along the Sea of Japan, cross the Tsunoshima Bridge, explore the Hagi Castle Town, and tra…
San'in Sea of Japan Railway Traverse – From Kyoto to Shin-Yamaguchi, travel along the Sea of Japan to visit hot springs, sand dunes, Izumo, Iwami Ginzan, and…
Chugoku Region San'in & Sanyo Grand Loop Self-Drive – Depart from Okayama to loop around western Honshu, covering both the Sea of Japan and the Seto Inland Sea sides in one…