Wang Yuening

Hello, I’m a third-year undergraduate student at Kyushu University from Dalian, China. My name is Yuening. I am the representative of the Fukuoka International Student Association. Here I published an article on the travel experience to Yamaguchi Prefecture.

To be honest, although the scenic railway journey in Japan is very developed, there are many scenic spots that you can’t go without a car. Today, we went on a road trip to Yamaguchi Prefecture for a one-day tour. I have heard about the beautiful scenery of Tsunoshima bridge and the magnificent Motonosumi shrine before. I didn’t expect to have the honor to go there one day.

First of all, let me introduce you the geographical location of Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is located in the western end of Japan, surrounded by the sea on three sides, with a warm climate, few typhoons, few floods and few earthquakes. As a whole, it is called a livable place in Japan. There are many small islands in the Seto Naikai. We drove past Kanmon Bridge, which links Fukuoka and Yamaguchi Prefecture, and arrived at Tsunoshima bridge at the first stop.

Tsunoshima bridge (Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi)

Because it is sunny, we went to the end of June just after a week of rainy season, the clear and boundless sky is as blue as the calm sea, the air is hot and humid. I recommend that you choose a clear day, so you can see the super blue sea. I finally saw the Tsunoshima bridge with my own eyes.

Then, we came to the nearby Tsunoshima Lighthouse Park. There are some dried seafood selling near the parking lot. It costs 300 yen to climb up the lighthouse and look at the scenery on the top. It’s said that the stairs are very steep. We didn’t try that day because of the time.

Tsunoshima Todai (Lighthouse)Park

Take a walk next to Tsunoshima Todai Park, it is a park with an organized walkway, resting area, a multi-purpose area, Tsunoshima Todai memorial hall, observation gallery with the lighthouse from Meiji era designated as a cultural heritage in the center. In addition, the most impressive one is a very strange blue locked door. It is recommended that you take photos of the door as the background. Then, go along the coast, you will see a Torii near the sea. It is said that since ancient times, Yumesaki Myojin has been regarded by the people of Tsunoshima as the God to realize the safety of the sea and the great fishing. There is a red money box on the Torii. The teacher went with us said that if you can throw stones into the box and drop them into the box, you can get a good marriage. Please come here to have a try if you have a chance to go to Yamaguchi.

Senjojiki  (Yamaguchi Prefecture, Nagato City)

Then, we came to the nearby city, Nagato City, where there is the famous Senjojiki. Here, the boundless sea and sky unfold a panoramic view. The fresh wind across the sea conveys the noise of the waves. It is a vast grassland on the high land with an altitude of 333M. In front of us is an island floating on the Sea of Japan, a panoramic view of the vast sea and sky. You can see the distant mountains and a huge wind engine. It’s the best place to enjoy nature far away from people. It’s also a popular campsite for the spectacular view. We also met the young people who came to practice skydiving this time.

The next stop is the Motonosumi shrine. It is a shrine located in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. From the shrine overlooking the seaside of Japan, there is a “tidal wave of Dragon Palace”. When the waves hit the sea erosion cave under the cliff, the seawater will blow together with the air inside. Between the shrines, 123 vermilion Torii was consecrated from 1987 to 10 years ago. They are arranged more than 100 meters away from the Dragon Palace. Unfortunately, we didn’t go near Torii to take photos. We only looked at the panorama view.

We came to the observatory of Hinoyama Park. You can see the road bridge across the Kanmon Channel between Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture and Moji Ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. If you are lucky, you can see Oita Prefecture. I heard that the construction of the Kanmon tunnel was completed in 1958, the Sanyo Shinkansen also runs through this sea tunnel. Since there is a pedestrian passageway at the submarine tunnel, you can walk from Honshu to Kyushu in 15 minutes.

Hinoyama Park

One day trip ends here. Do you want to take a go on a road trip to the Yamaguchi Prefecture?