Considered one of Japan’s best kept secrets! Hagi, is a small castle town located on the western side of Yamaguchi Prefecture over looking the Sea of Japan. This castle town has been remarkably preserved. Although the castle lies in ruins much of the town including streets and buildings are as they were centuries ago.
Hagi was the seat of the Mori Clan. The Mori Clan (Japanese Samurai Clan) settled in this area for more then 250 years around the 1600’s. After this period ended, Hagi became a significant location during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). The Meiji Period was a period of renewal for Japan. During the Meiji Period, Japan quickly became industrialized and adopted many ideas from the Western World.
Today, Hagi is a quite town with a lot to offer. Visitors can stroll the streets of the Castle Town, explore some of the nearby shrines and temples, and enjoy multiple other activities and sites that are just a short drive away!
Jill and I have been to Hagi at least three times now. From Iwakuni it is a 2 hour drive with tolls and 2.5 hour drive when avoiding tolls. The first time we went to Hagi was with our friend Kimball. Our first time around, Japan was on full lock down so we were pretty restricted on what we could do. Thankfully the last couple times we’ve been able to fully enjoy Hagi without all the ridiculous restrictions brought upon us by COVID-19.
For being a small town, Hagi does offer a ton to see and do. Listed are some of the attractions we thoroughly enjoyed and recommend visiting.
Mount Kasayama
At 112 meters, Mt. Kasayama is the smallest active volcano in East Asia. There is a parking lot at the base of the mountain and visitors can walk down inside the crater via a short stair case. We did walk inside the crater, just enough time to snap a selfie and view what was beyond the fences. Afterwards, we walked to the observation deck on the volcano. The views of the Sea of Japan are incredible from this location.
Kasayama Camellia Groves
The Kasayama Camellia Groves were one of our favorite natural attractions in the area. The last time Jill and I visited Hagi was specifically to see the Camellia Trees. Apparently in winter they bloom a beautiful red flower and the ground is covered with the red flowers. Unfortunately, we came at the wrong time and some trees were starting to bud while others already lost the flower.
The Camellia trees and the park here is kind of eerie. The trees are tall and thin but provide a ton of shade making the entrance seem like you are entering a dark tunnel. There are miles of walking trails here, but we like to hug the trail along the coast and gaze out at the ocean and walk on the volcanic rocks.
Myojin Pond
Definitely a hidden gem. We drove past Myojin Pond our first time around and didn’t think to stop the second time, but it was a clear day and I wanted to take photos of the pond. I am not sure if we just got lucky but the day we were here there were hundreds of hawks, I believe Black Kite is the hawk species. People were feeding the hawks, which is probably why there were so many. Looking around, the hawks were on the houses, telephone wires, tress, street signs, statues, you name it.
The pond itself is pretty unique as it is a salt water pond. The water fluctuates depending on the tide and the water comes through cracks in rocks that lead out to the ocean. There are several salt water species of fish here including the cute little fugu or pufferfish.
Jill found her happy place here because there were four friendly felines here that were begging her for pets. Win win situation, I got to take photos of hawks while Jill got to relax and pet cute kitties.
Reverberatory Furnace
Not the most fascinating site, but the Reverberatory Furnace and other sites from the Meiji Industrial Revolution are a UNESCO site and worth checking out. There are a total of 23 sites around Japan that showcase the Meiji Industrial Revolution and five of those sites are found scattered around Hagi. I would say the most popular one is probably the Reverberatory Furnace. Last time we went to Hagi we drove by it and stopped for five minutes to see it. This furnace was built in 1858 and used in weapon production.
Tokoji Temple
Definitely in my list of top 3 favorite temples in all of Japan. The Tokoji Temple is a family temple of the Mori Clan. This temple was built in 1691, Daiohoden, the main hall is impressive and made entirely out of wood. The real draw to this temple is the 500 stone lanterns and tombs behind the main hall. Four Meiji Restoration leaders, eleven samurai warriors, and Mori Lords are all buried here. The lanterns line the walkways and many of the tombs are overgrown by moss, this site is truly magnificent and probably my number one recommendation in Hagi.
Hagi Castle Town
Hagi Castle Town has been well preserved for hundreds of years. The castle lies in ruins, but the town was relatively unaffected. To this day, you can walk around the castle town, view some of the old samurai mansions and merchant shops. Both times we’ve been here, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on, I am not sure if it’s because Covid, or it’s just a sleepy part of town during the day. Either way, it is nice to stroll the streets and take photos.
Hagi Castle
Built in 1604, Hagi Castle was the seat of the Mori Clan for over 250 years. Due to the feudal era of Japan, all the keeps and wooden structures were dismantled, leaving only the stone foundation and moat of the original castle. The castle is still well worth a visit. There is a ¥210 entrance fee. You didn’t hear this from me, but the castle can be accessed from the sculpture park area without going through the visitor gate, I’ve seen people come in and out this way both times I’ve visited. There are many Sakura Trees (Cherry Blossom) in the castle complex. During Sakura Season, this would be an incredible spot to visit.
Sculpture Park and Beach
The sculpture park is located right by the castle, between the ruins and beach. The sculptures are kind of modern, not really to my likings, but this park has great open spaces. We always see families here or locals walking their dogs and feeding cats. Just beyond the sculpture park is a very nice beach.
Day Trips from Hagi
Hagi is not the easiest town to get to. They do have a train station but it’s small and generally only connects the western towns. Japan doesn’t have a whole lot of trains running east to west, they mainly run north to south. If you look at a map of Japan, most cities are on the Eastern portion of the country facing the Pacific Ocean. After exploring both coasts, I do have to say I like the coast along western Japan facing the Sea of Japan. It seems more rugged, beautiful, and less touristy to me. I’m getting off track. One of the main draws to Hagi is its location and access to many attractions located along the coast. Jill and I took a road trip when we were restricted to our Prefecture and got to see a lot of this area, here are some of the attractions we stopped at that are within a short trip from Hagi.
Unrinji Cat Temple
About 30 minutes from Hagi is the Unrinji Cat Temple. Surprise, surprise this was on Jill’s to do list, so we had to make a brief stop here. The temple is off the beaten path, but the drive to the temple was gorgeous. One would think a cat temple would be flooded with our furry feline friends, but the cats were more in the form of wooden and stone sculptures. The entrance had a staircase full of beckoning cats. There are around a thousand cat statues in and around the temple. On normal non-Covid years, the inside is open but due to the virus the inside was closed to visitors, at least when we visited. We didn’t see any real kitties at all, but I saw signs of cats living here. It was cute seeing all the cat statues and other decorations resembling cats.
Hornfels
Jill and I both got our Open Water SCUBA certificate last year and took our open water courses at Hornfels. Hornfels is about 40 minutes north of Hagi. If Scuba Diving is not on your itinerary, Horfels offers hiking trails around the cliffs and observation points looking over the Sea of Japan. For Scuba diving, there is a great access point here. We dove down to about 60ft, and saw coral and various fish species. Around August time frame the water was clear but I was told it’s not ideal to dive here during the winter months.
Motonosumi Inari Shrine
About a 45 minute drive south from Hagi, is the Motonosumi Inari Shrine and perhaps considered to be Yamaguchi’s most iconic landmark. Anytime you see a tourist visitor center or train station you will see travel advertisements of all these red Torii gates leading up to the coast. It’s actually a magnificent area and very popular, meaning it gets crowded. When we were here, the parking lot was almost full, there must have been a hundred people here. There are no big temples here, instead there are 123 Torii Gates that follow a foot path toward a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean.
Tsunoshima
Another iconic Yamaguchi attraction is the long and scenic bridge toward Tsunoshima. A little over an hours drive from Hagi, visitors come from all over Japan to see the gorgeous 1.7 Km long bridge. “Shima” means Island in Japanese by the way. Once across the bridge, there are many activities to do on the small island, like camping, fishing, snorkeling, hiking, and visiting sites like the Tsunoshima Lighthouse and various temples scattered throughout the island.
Although on the smaller side, Hagi boosts a lot of tourists from around Japan due to its rich history, UNESCO sites, and access to other attractions and landmarks. Hagi is a bit off the beaten path and not easy to get to, especially for the common visitor to Japan that fly’s into Tokyo. I guess, we’ve been lucky to live in Yamaguchi and have had the chance to visit Hagi more then once.
It amazes me that so many towns Jill and I have visited while living here are unheard of to the rest of the world. Prior to living here, I’ve never heard of Hagi but now I highly recommend visitors go out of their way to travel to Southern Japan and visit Hagi and other sites and attractions outlined in this post.
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