Things to Do in Chugoku, Japan

Tottori Sand Museum

Large sand sculptures in an indoor gallery beside the Tottori dunes, with exhibitions rebuilt aro...

Akiyoshidai Plateau

An open karst plateau of grassland and pale limestone above Akiyoshido Cave, with viewpoints and ...

Kinojo Castle Ruins

A reconstructed gate above the Kibi Plain introduces a much older kind of Japanese fortress. Kino...

Rakan-ji Gohyaku Rakan

Five Hundred Stone Arhats in Rock-Cut Caves, Carved for the Silver Miners of Iwami Ginzan

Two caves cut into a rock face across the stream from Rakan-ji in Omori, each holding 250 small s...

Sandankyo Gorge

A 16 km Mountain Gorge Where Some Stretches Are Only Reached by Boat

A gorge of about 16 km along the Shibaki River in the mountains of northwest Hiroshima, with a ri...

Matsue Vogel Park

Begonias, owls and a penguin walk under glass by Lake Shinji

A flower and bird park on the north shore of Lake Shinji, built around a heated greenhouse of abo...

Mount Misen

Miyajima's 535-Metre Sacred Mountain, by Ropeway or a Two-Hour Climb Through the Forest Behind Itsukushima Shrine

The 535-metre peak in the middle of Miyajima, rising behind Itsukushima Shrine. The forest centre...

Hagi Castle Ruins

At the foot of Mount Shizuki beside Kikugahama Beach, Hagi’s moats and stone walls mark the forme...

Michi-no-Eki Shinwa-no-Sato Shirousagi

Seafood and a rabbit myth on the Hakuto coast

A roadside station on Route 9 facing Hakuto Beach, where the Hare of Inaba myth is set. Upstairs ...

Michi-no-Eki Yuhi Park Hamada

Port views and Donchicchi fish above Hamada

A hilltop station on the Route 9 Hamada Bypass that looks over Hamada's fishing port to the Sea o...

Mizuki Shigeru Road

A walk through Sakaiminato lined with bronze yokai from the manga of Mizuki Shigeru.

Nageiredo (Mitokusan Sanbutsuji)

A Heian-Era Hall Set Into a Cliff, Reached by Chains and Tree Roots

The inner hall of Sanbutsuji temple, built on stilts inside a cliff hollow on Mount Mitoku and th...

Yunotsu

Yunotsu, the Old Silver Port of Iwami Ginzan Where Two Public Baths Face Each Other Across One Street

A one-street onsen town running down a narrow valley to a small Sea of Japan harbour, once the po...

Iwakuni Castle

A reconstructed hilltop castle above Kintaikyo Bridge, with views over the Nishiki River and Iwak...

Michi-no-Eki Hagi Sea Mart

A fish market next to Hagi's harbor

A roadside station built as a public market beside Hagi's fishing port and fish auction. Fishmong...