Hagi and Akiyoshidai

Hagi sits on the northern coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture, at the western end of Honshu, on a delta between two river branches and the Sea of Japan. It was the capital of the Choshu domain, ruled by the Mori family from the early 17th century until shortly before the Meiji Restoration. The castle-town layout has been preserved: narrow streets and old walls shelter samurai and merchant houses, with natsumikan orange trees appearing in the yards.

In the 19th century, Hagi produced many of the men who overthrew the shogunate and modernized Japan, such as Ito Hirobumi, the country’s first prime minister, and Takasugi Shinsaku. Many studied at the small school of Yoshida Shoin, the Shokasonjuku. The school, the castle-town layout, a reverberatory furnace, a shipyard and an old iron foundry are listed by UNESCO as part of the Meiji sites.

Hagi is also the home of one of the ceramics most valued in the tea ceremony, Hagi-yaki, known for soft tones that change with use. kilns and potters’ shops are spread through the town, and some workshops welcome visitors.

About 35 km to the south, in the city of Mine, is Akiyoshidai, a limestone plateau covered in grass and gray rocks, the largest of its kind in Japan. Beneath it lies Akiyoshido cave, one of the country’s largest, with a route of about 1 km among limestone pools and columns. The two sites combine well on a two- or three-day trip.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Hagi, Mine.