Yamaguchi Prefecture

Understand

Situated at Honshu's westernmost tip, Yamaguchi Prefecture is largely rural. It is well-known as having produced 8 of Japan's Prime Ministers, more than any other prefecture. Choshu Domain (one of the prefecture's former names) was instrumental in defeating the shogunate and establishing the new government during the Meiji Restoration.

Tourist Information Site Yamaguchi Travel Guide is the prefecture's official guide site in English.

Getting there

By plane 1 Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ IATA). The prefectural airport is in Ube city. Yamaguchi Ube Airport regularly connects to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Both JAL and ANA are offering the flights from Haneda to Ube. It's about 90 minutes' flight from Haneda to Ube. 2 Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport (IWK IATA). Service to Tokyo-Haneda and Naha.

By train There are five shinkansen stations in this prefecture: Shin-Shimonoseki, Asa, Shin-Yamaguchi, Tokuyama and Shin-Iwakuni.

By bus

By ferry Several ferries depart from Shimonoseki Port International Terminal:

The Kampu ferry to Busan in South Korea regularly. The Orient ferry to Qingdao in China regularly. The Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly.

See

Walk across Kintai-kyo Bridge, one of the nation's most iconic and picturesque bridges (Iwakuni) Explore the Akiyoshido Caverns then traverse Akiyoshidai Karst landscape above (Mine) Meditate around Joeiji Temple's Sesshu garden (Yamaguchi) Visit Ganryujima where Musashi Miyamoto defeated his rival Kojiro Sasaki (Shimonoseki)

Eat

Fugu. Yamaguchi prefecture is famous for its Fugu (Globe fish). Kawarasoba. This is a kind of soba (buckwheat noodle) boiled, stir-fried, and put on a tile together with beef, liver, shredded omelet (kinshi-tamago), spring onion and lemon. The famous restaurant of this soba is in Kawatana Grand Hotel.

Drink & nightlife

Bars are concentrated in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and Shunan.

Go next

Kitakyushu on Kyushu island is just 650m from Shimonoseki. You can walk under the Kanmon strait through an undersea tunnel. Miyajima is twenty minutes' ride on train from Iwakuni.