Unknowingly we did save the best for last on our 8-day excursion down Japan's rugged San'in Coast.
The seafood capital of Matsue was appetizing as promised, and the unfamiliar Yunotsu and Iwami Ginzan surprised us with 1300-year-old hotsprings in addition to an exotic theatrical spectacle, but as a well-rounded package of photogenic townscapes, fascinating local culture and an abundance of fresh seafood, nothing could beat this distant little gem known as Hagi.
I knew Hagi as a UNESCO World Heritage Site prior to arrival, but nobody told me to expect arguably Japan's best-preserved feudal town on a grand city-wide scale, ten times larger than Takayama's Sanmachi and a hundred times friendlier than Kyoto. For fellow independent travelers wishing to fully immerse into traditional Japanese culture, this is actually my top recommendation in West Japan -- above Miyajima and its world-famous Torii in the sea.
For centuries this isolated corner of Western Honshu has been happily ignored by the rest of Japan, thanks to its notorious inaccessibility that once frustrated ruling Shoguns and still thwarts modern day visitors. The Shinkansen is two train transfers away, and the nearest highway interchange can only be reached via treacherous mountain passes that occasionally get cut off by landslides in Tsuyu season or by heavy snow, even in the 21st century.
Fortunately we were less hurried than the average Japanese traveler, and managed to combine Hagi and nearby Tsuwano, another picturesque feudal town, into a 3-day side-trip before swinging back towards Hiroshima for another 4 days. From Tsuwano we opted for the 90-minute bus ride through winding mountain roads; the alternative would have been 4 hours by train with a transfer at Masuda.
This was late November, a season synonymous with fiery autumn foliage in most of Japan except here in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where all attention is on the seasonal gastronomic speciality of Fugu, the mildly sweet yet deadly poisonous fish with an avid following especially west of Kansai. Our itinerary of Hagi would follow conventional Japanese wisdom: Fugu Sashimi, Mikan juice and shopping for Hagi-yaki earthenware.
Our bus from Tsuwano dropped off at Higashi-Hagi train station where we simply handed our heavy luggage to the tourist info counter. A major benefit of booking with a reputable Ryokan in Hagi was the luggage forwarding service to our inn, leaving our shoulders light and hands free for sightseeing.
We started our day at a humble yet iconic house now protected as UNESCO World Heritage. As modest and inconspicuous as Shoka Sonjuku Academy may appear, this was the indisputable epicentre of revolutionist movements that gave birth to modern Japan, 160 years ago in the twilight years of the Tokugawa Shoguns.
Under a leaky thatched roof the academy nurtured some of the brightest revolutionaries of the era including one Ito Hirobumi, who went on to become Japan's first ever Prime Minister in its modern era. Shoin Sensei never lived to witness the fruits of his own teaching however as he was beheaded by the Shogun before the age of 30.
Nearby stands Ito Hirobumi's former residence, still partially fitted with a thatched roof in 1850s fashion and graced with the former prime minister's family photos. The little village road would continue east past a number of historic pottery kilns en route to one of Hagi's most photogenic sights.
Situated at the town's eastern edge and thus undeservedly ignored by most visitors, the 300-year-old temple of Tokoji is best known for one of the most gorgeous cemeteries anywhere, the hallowed resting place of the Mori lords who founded Hagi as a feudal stronghold in the early 1600s.
Adorning the burial grounds are 500 stone lanterns erected individually by the Samurai and bureaucrats serving the Mori clan, once the most feared military presence in West Japan before being demoted by the Shogun to govern little Hagi and Yamaguchi. The Mori laid low for centuries, secretly holding their grudge against the Shoguns until time was ripe for a revolution ...
It was the Mori who spearheaded the revolt against the Shogun and smuggled Ito Hirobumi and four of his contemporaries out of feudal Japan to attend university in London, producing some of the greatest statesmen of the coming Meiji Era. Four years after Ito's return from London, the Shogun was forced to abdicate and Japan was on its way to become the only industrialized nation in the Far East within a couple decades.
From Tokoji we took to Hagi's historic town centre by the cheap (100 yen!) and trusty community shuttle known as Maru Bus, the town's only public transport with two routes that essentially cover all major sights. Thanks to an excellent tip from a local resident we found an impossibly cheap lunch spot for poisonous Fugu and Abalone Sushi, which will be reviewed in an upcoming post.
Hagi is one of the only Japanese cities where one can still navigate by 200-year-old maps from the Shogun's era, as its medieval townplan has remained largely untouched for centuries. These traditional Machiya houses with slatted windows and whitewashed walls, now extinct in most Japanese cities, are still quite common.
North of town centre stands arguably the most underrated attraction in an underrated city, a 400-year-old feudal neighborhood that has somehow survived into the 21st century. Once a bustling harbour district under the Mori lords, Hamasaki was a maritime crossroad for merchant fleets swapping smuggled medicine from Qing Dynasty China for dried seafood from Hokkaido and beyond.
We met the first of several exceptionally friendly curators at the former residence of Umeya Shichibei, a Sake-maker-turned-revolutionary-hero vital in smuggling a thousand British firearms that secured victory against the Shogun's armies. His 200-year-old house has now been partially modernized as a model for the protection and renewal of heritage residences in Hagi.
This charming waterfront district is just one of four neighborhoods in Hagi nationally designated as Important Traditional Architecture. The only other cities with the same level of distinction? Kyoto of course, plus beautiful Kanazawa.
Further down the street we were greeted at the Yamanaka Residence by another cheery curator, who subsequently introduced us to two more elderly curators eager to present their cultural heritage to two awestruck Canadians, despite mutual difficulties in communication.
The friendliness of the staff went miles beyond what one would expect at tourist-crazy Kyoto or worst still, metropolitan Tokyo. Our curator simply asked a friend to cover his post, lent us a 2-person umbrella and took us around the neighborhood as our personal guide for free. The first stop was a large stone structure with a locked gate which he had the keys to open.
Revealed before our eyes was a medieval dry dock, capacious enough for the Daimyo's seafaring ships, now situated three blocks from shore as the river delta became silted over the centuries. It was a shame to see these heritage buildings locked up most of the time, rarely visited even among domestic Japanese tourists.
Our curator then brought us to another locked building, a discreet 19th century warehouse holding some colossal lanterns and an obviously antique Mikoshi shrine, ornamented with sparkling gold leaves and fashioned in the form of a fishing boat with wheels. Apparently this was the sacred centerpiece of the parade at their annual Natsu Matsuri festival.
We must have spent nearly two hours in the neighborhood before bidding farewell to our gracious curators, certainly the friendliest we encountered on our 16-day journey. In better weather we could have taken the free ferry that bridged Hamasaki with the residential neighborhood of Tsurue across the river, but on this drizzly day we opted for the next Maru Bus to our hotspring Ryokan.
As expected our luggage was already waiting for us at the Ryokan ... along with the allure of a hotspring bath. Needless to say we lost the willpower to set foot outside our Ryokan for the rest of the day, spent mostly between the communal bathhouse and the dining hall where a traditional dinner of (what else?) poisonous Fugu was served. Most of the sightseeing would be left for Day 2.
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