When to travel?
Yamaguchi is surrounded by ocean and mountains, which is generally a comfortable prefecture to live in. There is only one ski resort called Tokusagamine (十種ヶ峰).
Best season: Mar-Nov (Jun is monsoon, Jul-Aug could be hot and humid, Sep is typhoon)
Cherry blossoms: end of Mar-Apr
Foliage: Nov-Dec
Events / Festivals
Feb: Akiyoshidai Yamayaki (秋吉台山焼き), Mine 美祢
May: Senteisai festival (先帝祭), Shimonoseki 下関
Aug: Tanagata Chochin lantern festival (七夕提灯祭), Yamaguchi
Nov: Hofu Tenmangu Gojinko festival (防府天満宮御神幸祭), Hofu 防府
Touristic spots
Capital city: Yamaguchi (山口)
Located right in the middle of the prefecture, with the population nearly 200,000. The city is not so much known as Shimonoseki or Hagi. There is more population in Shimonoseki city. Because of the location of the city, access to the other cities in Yamaguchi is very convenient, which takes maximum of 1.5 hours.
Hagi (萩)
Hagi is an amazing city for foreign tourists to feel Japanese nostalgy. The city was developed under the governance of Military General Mouri and his family. Unfortunately, there is no more Hagi castle, but even nowadays, there are a lot of nostalgic buildings in the city where we can feel a long history.
The city is also nominated as a World Heritage site, whose description is available in Chugoku article.
Motonosumi shrine (元乃隅神社)
The most famous Shrine gates is in Kyoto, however, the one in Yamaguchi is also attracting many tourists. There are numerous gates on the cliff that reaches to the end. What makes it beautiful is the color of the ocean. The red gates look brilliant thanks to the blue ocean.
Kintaikyo bridge (錦帯橋)
One of the three bridges of Japan, constructed originally in 1673. The length of the bridge is about 200 meters long, and beautifully curved shape of the bridge is something that amazes visitors. One of the most-visited places in Yamaguchi.
Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau (秋吉台)
Huge limestone was created more than 350 million years ago, and the water from rain and wind have created more than 400 limestone caves around this area. It is also nominated as a Geo Park where we can feel the history of the Earth.
Chomonkyo valley (長門峡)
This valley is full of nature and the best hiking spot. It is accessible from Hagi city so it will be a great idea to pay a visit to this valley along with a city walk. The steam train is also in operation for tourists.
