Things to do in Shimonoseki
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Hino-yama
About 5km northeast of JR Shimonoseki Station there are superb views over the Kanmon-kaikyō from the top of 268m-high Hino-yama. Walk or drive to the top, as the ropeway is closed. Take a Ropeway-mae bus (¥360) to the Mimosusōgawa bus stop and walk up to the ropeway station, or take a Kokuminshukusha-mae bus straight to the bottom of the ropeway.
By the Mimosusōgawa-kōen bus stop are lifts that take you down to a free cross-strait walker's tunnel, popular with local joggers, for a 780-metre submarine walk to Kyūshū. It's a nice stroll around the seaside promenade on the Kyūshū side, but there are no restaurants.
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Karato Ichiba Fish Markets
A highlight of any trip to Shimonoseki is an early rise and a visit to the Karato Ichiba fish markets. The interesting stuff is on show from 04:00 to 08:00, so if you like to sleep in, forget it. The markets kick off at 02:00 for those in the industry, but the public is welcome from 04:00 - the earlier you get there the better. It's a great opportunity to try sashimi for breakfast or lunch, and the fish doesn't get any fresher - a fair bit will still be moving.
People-watching is almost as much fun as goggling at the many different sea creatures.
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Akama-jingū shrine
Bright vermilion, this postwar Akama-jingū shrine is dedicated to the 8-year-old emperor Antoku, who died in 1185 in the naval battle of Dan-no-ura. In the Hōichi Hall stands a statue of the splendidly monikered Earless Hōichi, the hero of a traditional ghost story retold by Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn. The shrine is between Karato and Hino-yama. Get off the bus (¥230, 10 minutes) at the Akama-jingū-mae bus stop.
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Kappo Nakao
This is a sophisticated fugu restaurant in Karato, with graceful service and splendidly prepared dishes. The presentation and relaxed atmosphere are worth it even if you don't try the fugu. The set lunches, such as the fuku kaiseki (fugu course), are decent value. Look for the stone lantern and wooden gate at the front.
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Kōji
This busy, elegant Chinese eatery on the 7th floor of the Daimaru shopping complex claims a lineage with one of the oldest soba shops in Tokyo's Asakusa. There's a variety of tasty noodle dishes and stir-fries here like gyūniku to gurīn asupara no atamemono (beef and asparagus stir-fry). Large daily lunch specials are ¥1365.
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Yabure-Kabure
There's only one thing on the menu in this boisterous spot: pick from a range of fugu set menus, such as the Ebisu course (¥5250), which features the cute little puffer in raw, seared, fried and drowned-in-sake incarnations. A lunchtime tetsuyaki setto (set meal with grilled fugu) is ¥3150. You can also order individual dishes. Look for the blue-and-white puffer fish outside.
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Dan-no-ura Memorial
The Dan-no-ura Memorial marks the spot where the decisive clash between the Minamoto and Taira clans took place in 1185. This is where one of the ladies of the House of Taira plunged into the sea with the infant emperor Antoku in her arms instead of surrendering to the enemy.
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Kōzan-ji
Chōfu is the old castle town area and, while little remains of the coastal castle itself, there are earth walls and samurai gates, along with a museum and some important temples and shrines. National treasure Kōzan-ji has a Zen-style hall dating from 1327.
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Shimonoseki Ijinkan
Tucked away in the old British Consulate courtyard, the Ijinkan coffee house has bygone European elegance and the theatrical ministrations of bow-tied 'coffee meister' Kunio Kanegae, who puts on a delightful little show if you order the café au lait.
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Sentei Festival
The Sentei Festival is held at Akama-Jingū Shrine from 2 May to 4 May to remember the Heike women who worked as prostitutes to pay for rites for their fallen kin. On 3 May women dressed as Heian-era courtesans form a colourful procession at the shrine.
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Former British Consulate
The Meiji-era former British Consulate building of 1906 has an interesting façade, and there's a small museum inside with the consul's desk still in place. There's a unique coffee house at the rear.
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Kaikyō-kan aquarium
In Karato, the Kaikyō-kan aquarium has stacks of impressive fish, shows, displays, a huge blue-whale skeleton and a special tank of fugu.
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Shimonoseki City Art Museum
Shimonoseki City Art Museum features contemporary Japanese artists. It is in Chōfu, the old castle town area.
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Shimonoseki Kaikyō-kan
In Karato, a short walk from the market, Shimonoseki's aquarium has penguins, dolphins, and sea-lion shows, plus a blue-whale skeleton and tanks of fugu.
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Karato Ichiba
A highlight of a trip to Shimonoseki is an early-morning visit to the Karato fish market. It's a great opportunity to try sashimi for breakfast or lunch, and the fish doesn't get any fresher – a fair bit of it will still be moving. Note that the market is occasionally closed on Wednesday.
Buses to Karato (¥190) leave from outside the station, the earliest at 6.27am, and take about seven minutes.
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Kanmon Tunnel
This is where you come to get that picture of yourself with one foot in Honshū and the other in Kyūshū. For the 780m submarine walk to Kyūshū, head down to the tunnel via the lifts by the Mimosusōgawa bus stop.
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Kaiten Karato Ichiba Sushi
This revolving sushi restaurant on the 2nd floor, right above the fish market, is a great place to get your hands on the freshest fish without needing to know what they're all called. It's closed when the market closes on some Wednesdays.
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Hino-yama Park
About 5km northeast of JR Shimonoseki Station, there are superb views over the Kanmon Straits from the top of 268m-high Hino- yama. To get to the ropeway (火の山ロープウエイ), get off the bus at Mimosusōgawa (御裳川; ¥230). From here it's a steep 10- minute walk to the ropeway entrance. There are buses that drop you at the entrance (Hino-yama ropeway stop), but they only run once an hour from the station.
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Dan-no-ura Memorial
Across the road from the Mimosusōgawa bus stop is a memorial(壇ノ浦銅像) marking the spot where the decisive clash between the Minamoto and Taira clans took place in 1185. This is where Taira no Tokiko plunged into the sea with the young emperor Antoku in her arms, rather than surrender to the enemy. The statues depict Yoshitsune (the victorious Minamoto general) and Taira no Tomomori, who tied an anchor to his feet and leapt into the sea at Dan-no-ura when it became clear that his side had lost. Local legend holds that the Heike crabs that live in these waters and have strange face-like patternings on their shells are the reincarnations of angry Taira warriors.
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Akama-jingū
Bright vermilion, Akama-jinjū is a shrine dedicated to the seven-year-old emperor Antoku, who died in 1185 in the battle of Dan-no-ura. At the left side of the shrine is a statue of Mimi-nashi Hōichi (Earless Hōichi), the blind bard whose musical talents get him into trouble with ghosts in a story made famous by Lafcadio Hearn.
The shrine is between Karato and Hino-yama, about a five-minute walk from the Karato market area. From the station, get off the bus (¥230, 10 minutes) at the Akama-jingū-mae bus stop.
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