Iwakuni
Heading south along the coast from Miyajima, you’ll soon cross the border into western Honshū’s last prefecture, Yamaguchi-ken. The first place to pause briefly is the pleasant old castle town of IWAKUNI (岩国), 40km southwest of Hiroshima and home to an American military base, as well as one of Japan’s top three bridges, a scattering of samurai houses and a mildly interesting museum; it’s also one of the best places in the country to watch the ancient practice of cormorant fishing.
Iwakuni Practicalities
If you decide to stay the night, the cheapest option is Iwakuni Youth Hostel (岩国ユースホステル; dorm beds ¥2835/person), in the peaceful southwest corner of the park, ten minutes’ walk from the bus stop by the bridge; it has shared Japanese-style rooms with TVs. The best ryokan is the pretty Shiratame Ryokan (白為旅館; ¥30,001−40,000), with rooms overlooking the bridge; even if you can’t afford to stay, try to go for lunch. The Iwakuni Kokusai Kankō Hotel (岩国国際観光ホテル; ¥20,001−30,000) has branches on both sides of the river.
There are several eating options on the east side of the bridge; try the local fish dishes, such as Iwakuni-zushi, a block of vinegared rice topped with bits of cooked fish and vegetables, at Yoshida, which lies just beyond some interesting antique shops leading up to the Kintai-kyō. Kikkō, across from the cable-car station, has picture menus of Iwakuni-zushi sets and deep-fried renkon (lotus root), another regional speciality. In the summer be sure to try the ayu, a sweet fish caught by cormorants, available at many of the restaurants near the bridge. Otherwise, pack a picnic and enjoy it in the park.
Matsue
Straddling the strip of land between the lagoons of Nakaumi and Shinji-ko is MATSUE (松江), the appealing prefectural capital of Shimane-ken, 180km east of Tsuwano, and one of the highlights of the San’in coast. Although the city’s main sights – one of Japan’s few original castles, Matsue-jō, an area of samurai residences and the museum and one-time home of nineteenth-century expat writer Lafcadio Hearn – are so closely grouped together that they can all easily be seen in half a day, it’s worth lingering here. The lakes, rivers and castle moat lend this modern city a soothing, faintly Venetian atmosphere, and it’s still possible to catch glimpses of the old Japan that so enchanted Hearn a century ago, such as fishermen casting their nets in Shinji-ko, or prodding the lake bed with poles, searching out shellfish.
There’s also plenty to see in the area around Matsue, including the stunning landscapes at the Adachi Museum of Art, the shrines and burial mounds at Fudoki-no-Oka, and Izumo Taisha, one of Japan’s most important shrines, holiday home of the Shinto pantheon of deities, and the reason that Matsue was dubbed “chief city of the province of the gods” by Hearn. Some 130km east of Matsue, Mount Daisen, the cluster of hot-spring resorts around Kurayoshi and the coastal sand dunes around the Tottori prefecture’s eponymous capital all offer stunning scenery.
Adachi Museum of Art
While in Matsue, don’t miss taking a trip to the stunning Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館), some 20km east of the city near the village of Yasugi, en route to Yonago. The large collection of Japanese artworks, dating from 1870 to the present day, includes masterpieces by Yokoyama Taikan and Uemura Shoen. The surrounding gardens are also exquisite, covering 43,000 square metres.
The museum’s founder, Adachi Zenkō, was an enthusiastic gardener, and his passion for the artform shows through in the beautiful landscapes that envelop the galleries and steal your attention at every turn. The museum is designed so that as you move around, the views of the Dry Landscape Garden, the White Gravel and Pine Garden, the Moss Garden and the Pond Garden appear like living picture scrolls when viewed through carefully placed windows. A couple of the gardens have traditional teahouses where you can take macha and sweets (from ¥1500). Juryū-an is a copy of a teahouse in the former Imperial Palace, Katsura Rikyū, in Kyoto, and looks over a peaceful moss-covered garden; in the smaller Juraku-an visitors are served a bowl of green tea made with water boiled in a kettle of pure gold, said to aid longevity. The two coffee shops in the museum are less atmospheric but cheaper, and the views just as fine.
Give yourself plenty of time here because, once you’ve dragged yourself away from the gardens, the art itself isn’t bad either. The museum has the largest collection of paintings by Yokoyama Taikan, whose delicate ink drawings and deep colour screens set the standard for modern Japanese art. There is also a section on kitsch art from children’s books, and a ceramics hall which includes works by Kawai Kanjirō – a brilliant local potter who participated actively in the mingei (folk art) movement begun by Yanagi Sōetsu – and Kitaōji Rosanjin, a potter and cook, whose pieces were designed to complement and enhance the food served on them.
Lafcadio Hearn
There is some charm unutterable in the morning air, cool with the coolness of Japanese spring and wind-waves from the snowy cone of Fuji…
- Lafcadio Hearn, My First Day in the Orient
The journalist Lafcadio Hearn was enchanted by Japan, and of all expat writers is by far the most respected by the Japanese. Celebrated by Matsue as an adopted son, his books, including Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan and Kwaidan, are considered classics.
The offspring of a passionate but doomed liaison between an Anglo-Irish army surgeon and a Greek girl, and named after the Greek island of Lefkada on which he was born on June 27, 1850, Hearn grew up in Dublin, a contemporary of Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. A schoolyard accident in 1866 left him permanently blind in his left eye, and in 1869 the young and penniless Hearn decided to chance his fortune in the United States. Over the course of the next fourteen years Hearn worked as a reporter and writer in Cincinatti, New Orleans and the West Indian island of Martinique (where he penned his first novel, Chita), with a brief marriage to an African-American girl along the way.
Commissioned by Harper’s Monthly to write about Japan, Hearn arrived in Yokohama on April 4, 1890. By the end of the day he had decided to stay, get a teaching job and write a book. The teaching post brought Hearn to Matsue, where he met and married Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of an impoverished samurai family.
Hearn would happily have stayed in Matsue, but the freezing winter weather made him ill and in 1891 they moved south to Kumamoto, in Kyūshū, closer to Setsu’s relatives. The couple had four children and in 1896 he adopted the name Koizumi Yakumo (Eight Clouds) and secured Japanese nationality. By the turn of the century, Hearn’s novels and articles had become a great success; he had started teaching at Tokyo’s prestigious Waseda University, and was invited to give a series of lectures at London University and in the United States. But, on September 30, 1904, at the age of 54, Hearn suffered a series of heart attacks and died. His gravestone in Zoshigaya cemetery near Ikebukuro in Tokyo proclaims him a “man of faith, similar to the undefiled flower blooming like eight rising clouds who dwells in the mansion of right enlightenment”.
Hearn’s books stand as paeans to the beauty and mystery of old Japan, something he believed worth recording because it seemed to be fast disappearing in the nonstop modernization of the early Meiji years.
Mount Daisen
The main rail and road routes along the coast east of Matsue cross into the neighbouring prefecture of Tottori-ken and through the uninteresting industrial city of Yonago (米子); trains from Okayama on the JR Hakubi line terminate here. Yonago is the gateway to Mount Daisen (大山), at 1711m the highest mountain in the Chugoku region, and home to beautiful beech forests and ancient temples.
Daisen has the largest ski slopes in western Japan and sees heavy snowfall from November to April; it’s also known for the Daisen Ice and Snow Festival, which takes place over three days at the end of January, with fireworks lighting up the night sky and an amazing display of ice sculptures. A couple of minutes’ walk east from the bus stop, the tourist information booth has plenty of maps of the area and staff can help book accommodation.
Okayama
The main reason for stopping off in the capital of Okayama-ken, OKAYAMA (岡山), 730km west of Tokyo, is to stretch your legs in its famous garden, Kōrakuen, considered one of Japan’s top three. It’s overlooked by the castle, Okayama-jō, around which the city developed in the Edo period, but aside from the intriguing Okayama Orient Museum there’s little else of note in this modern town.
Okayama is also the transport hub for trips out to surrounding attractions. Kurashiki has a well-preserved enclave of picturesque old merchant houses and canals. From there you can head inland to Takahashi to discover Japan’s highest castle, Bitchū Matsuyama, looking down from its mountain-top over a town of old temples. For a spectacular view of both the Inland Sea and the Seto Ōhashi bridge, aim for the mountain of Washū-zan on the southern tip of the prefecture, while fragments of the area’s ancient history can be seen along the Kibi Plain bicycle route, which runs past fifth-century burial mounds and rustic temples and shrines.
Kibi Plain bicycle road
The 15min-long Kibi Plain bicycle road (吉備路サイクリングロード), accessed from either Okayama or Kurashiki, is an enjoyable way to see an area of countryside studded with ancient burial grounds, shrines and temples. Running from Bizen-Ichinomiya Station in the east to Sōja Station in the west, the route takes about four hours to cycle, or a full day to walk. Bikes can be rented at either station (¥200/hr, or ¥1000/day) and dropped off at the other end.
In the fourth century this area, known as Kibi-no-kuni, was the centre of early Japanese civilization. Lords were buried in giant keyhole-shaped mounds known as kofun, one of which can be visited along the cycle route. Starting from Bizen-Ichinomiya Station (備前一宮駅), three stops from Okayama on the JR Kibi line, cross the tracks and follow the cycle path to Kibitsuhiko-jinja, an ordinary shrine beside a pond notable only for its huge stone lantern, one of the largest in Japan. Around 300m further southwest is the much more impressive Kibitsu-jinja (吉備津神社), dating from 1425 and dedicated to Kibitsu-no-mikoto, the valiant prince who served as the inspiration for the legend of Momotarō, the boy who popped out of the centre of a giant peach rescued from a river by a childless farmer’s wife. This shrine nestles at the foot of Mount Naka and has a magnificently roofed outer sanctum, with twin gables.
Several kilometres further west is the Tsukuriyama-kofun (造山古墳), a burial mound constructed in the fifth century in the characteristic keyhole-shape (only really appreciated from the air). Measuring 350m in length and 30m at its highest point, this wooded mound in the midst of rice fields is the fourth-largest kofun in Japan. Around 1km east of here is a cluster of sights, including the foundation stones of Bitchū Kokubun-niji, an eighth-century convent, another burial mound and the five-storey pagoda of Bitchū Kokubun-ji (備中国分寺), a temple dating from the seventeenth century.
It’s another couple of kilometres to the train station at Sōja (総社), from where you can return to either Okayama or to Kurashiki. Before leaving, check out Iyama Hōfuku-ji (井山宝福寺), a pretty Zen Buddhist temple, 1km north of Sōja Station along a footpath that follows the railway line. The celebrated artist and landscape gardener Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506) trained here as a priest.
Kojima and Seto Ōhashi
About 25km south of Okayama, KOJIMA (児島), with its sprawling shopping centres and newly laid roads, has boomed since the opening in 1988 of the nearby 12.3km-long Seto Ōhashi (瀬戸大橋), a series of six bridges and four viaducts hopping from island to island across the Inland Sea to Shikoku. One of the most memorable ways to view this engineering wonder is to take a 45-minute-long boat tour from the sightseeing pier immediately to the east of Kojima station.
If you’d prefer to view the Seto Ōhashi and islands from dry land, head 4km south of Kojima to Washū-zan (鷲羽山), a 134m-high hill jutting out into the Inland Sea. Regular buses run to the lookout point from Kojima station. Stay on the bus past the fishing hamlet of Shimotsui and Washū-zan Highland, a tacky amusement park, and get off at the car park by the official lookout spot. From here you can climb to Washū-zan’s summit and take in what has to be one of Japan’s most glorious panoramas. If you have time, stop off in Shimotsui and check out the interesting Mukashi Shimotsui Kaisendonya (むかし下津井回船問屋), a museum of fisherfolk life, and wander around the old streets, taking in the castle ruins, the covered wells from which passing boats stocked up on fresh water and the Gion-jinja shrine.
Back in Kojima the Bridge Museum (瀬戸大橋記念館), a fifteen-minute walk west of the train station, is an unusual attraction, displaying scale models of bridges from around the world. You can actually walk over the arched museum building, inspired by a taiko-bashi (drum bridge), and enjoy the small park over the road containing eleven amusingly miniature bridges, a chessboard-like square decorated with bizarre silver statues (supposedly symbolizing the seasons) and a model of Stephenson’s famous steam engine, the Rocket. Inside the museum, the eye is drawn immediately to the ceiling, painted with a lively mural of Edo-era travelling performers, craftsmen, merchants and priests.
Kōrakuen
Okayama’s star attraction, Kōrakuen (後楽園) was founded in 1686 by Lord Ikeda Tsunamasa. This landscaped garden is notable for its wide, lush lawns, which are highly unusual in Japanese garden design. Otherwise, all the traditional elements, including teahouses, artificial lakes, islands and hills, are present, and the black keep of Okayama-jō has been nicely incorporated into the scenery. The strange bleating sound you’ll hear on entering the garden comes from a flock of caged red-crested cranes. Fortunately, Kōrakuen is large enough to soak up the kinds of crowds that deluge other famous gardens, such as Kenroku-en in Kanazawa and Ritsurin-kōen in Takamatsu.
Pottery in Imbe
Only dedicated lovers of ceramics will want to linger in drab IMBE (伊部), 30km east of Okayama and home of Bizen-yaki, Japan’s oldest method of making pottery, developed here over a thousand years ago. The ceramics’ distinctive earthy colour and texture are achieved without the use of glazes by firing in wood-fuelled kilns, whose brick chimneys you’ll see dotted around Imbe Station. Beside the station is a tourist information counter (9am–6pm; closed Tues), where you can pick up an English leaflet about Bizen-yaki and get directions to the local pottery museums, the best being the Bizen Pottery Traditional and Contemporary Art Museum (9.30am–4.30pm; closed Mon), in the grey concrete block immediately north of the station; it displays both old and new examples of the ceramics, providing an overview of the pottery’s style and development. There are plenty of kilns with attached shops in which you can mooch around, and at some there are studios where you can sculpt your own blob of clay, for around ¥3000. This is then fired and shipped to your home (for overseas deliveries you’ll need to pay extra). The most convenient place to try your hand at making pottery is the Bizen-yaki Traditional Pottery Centre, on the third floor of Imbe Station, where workshops are held each weekend and on holidays.
Takahashi
Some 40km northwest of Okayama, in the foothills of the mountain range that divides western Honshū, TAKAHASHI (高梁) is a small and charming time-warped castle town. Few visitors venture here despite the fine old buildings and temples in the Ishibiya-chō Furusato Mura (“Hometown Village”) area, a name evoking images of a long-lost Japan. Except for the steep hike up to the castle – Japan’s highest – all of Takahashi’s sights are within easy walking distance of Bitchū Takahashi Station and can be covered in half a day. Finding your way around is simple, since there are plenty of direction signs in English.
Shimonoseki
Most travellers pass through the port of SHIMONOSEKI (下関) at the southern tip of Honshū, 65km west of Yamaguchi, as quickly as possible en route to Kyūshū, or to Pusan in South Korea on the daily ferry. However, this unpretentious city is not without its attractions. The narrow Kanmon Channel, which separates Honshū from Kyūshū, is best viewed from Hino-yama, the mountain park that rises above the port. The channel was the scene of the battle of Dannoura, the decisive clash between the Taira and Minamoto clans in 1185, and the colourful shrine Akama-jingū is dedicated to the defeated Taira. If you have enough time, make the short trip to the neighbouring town of Chōfu, with its authentic enclave of samurai houses and streets, sleepy temples and lovely garden.
Fugu
Shimonoseki revels in its role as Japan’s centre for fugu, the potentially deadly blowfish or globefish, which provides inspiration for many local sculptures and souvenirs of spiky, balloon-shaped fish. It is known in Shimonoseki as fuku, homonymous with the character for fortune and wealth, in order to attract good luck and happiness. About half the entire national catch (3000 tonnes a year) passes through Haedomari, the main market for fugu, at the tip of the island of Hiko-shima, some 3km west of Shimonoseki Station.
Chomping on the translucent slivers of the fish, which are practically tasteless, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. However, it is the presence of tetrodotoxin – a poison more lethal than potassium cyanide – found in the fugu’s ovaries, liver and a few other internal organs, that make this culinary adventure both dangerous and appealing. Fugu chefs spend up to seven years in training before they can obtain a government licence to prepare the fish. Even so, a small number of people do die, the most famous fatality being kabuki actor Bandō Mitsugorō – a national treasure – who dropped dead after a globefish banquet in Kyoto in January 1975.
