Chugoku

Chūgoku (中国) is the westernmost part of the main Japanese island Honshu.Aside from Hiroshima, most of Chugoku is probably well off the beaten track for a brief visit to Japan; but if time permits, you'll find a region full of memorable sights and experiences, and a side of Japan that's completely unlike the better-known destinations in Kansai and Kanto.

An Introduction to the Region of Chugoku

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Hiroshima (prefecture) (Hiroshima, Miyajima) Beyond the atomic bomb and the unforgettable Peace Memorial Park and there's also the lovely island of Miyajima, and busy lanes of traffic by sea to Shikoku and the Seto Inland Sea.

Okayama_(prefecture) (Okayama, Kurashiki) The region's easternmost prefecture features a bustling capital in Okayama and a wealth of old, charming merchant quarters.

Yamaguchi (prefecture) (Shimonoseki, Hagi) Gateway to Kyushu and exchange with South Korea and China, with scenes of major influence on Japanese history.

Tottori (prefecture) (Tottori, Kurayoshi) Known mainly for the enigmatic sand dunes of its capital city, a popular climbing destination at Mt. Daisen, and a long coastline.

Shimane (Matsue, Izumo) The second least populous prefecture in Japan also has its second holiest Shinto shrine and one of its few remaining original castles.

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Reference ##a9b6 Okayama_(prefecture) | Okayama. }}

Reference ##9b4 b6 Yamaguchi (prefecture) | Yamaguchi. }}

Reference ##4 b98b Tottori (prefecture) | Tottori. }}

Reference ##3ba7b Shimane

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Cities

Shukkeien_Path_Bridges - Bridges in Shukkei-en Garden, Hiroshima

Hiroshima - site of the infamous atomic bomb attack. Hagi - beautifully preserved castle town Izumo - Home to the great Izumo Shrine the second most holy Shinto Shrine in Japan. Kurashiki - site of one of Japan's largest and most beautiful historic areas and the Bikan Historic District, as well as the famous Ohara Museum of Art, which is full of famous works from Europe. Matsue - Famous for Matsue Castle, one of Japan's few remaining original castles Okayama - featuring Korakuen Garden, one of Japan's Top 3 gardens and the brooding black Okayama Castle. Shimonoseki - gateway to Kyushu and the Kanmon Straits, best known for turning poisonous fish into gourmet meals. Tottori - Home to Japan's only sand dunes and the Tottori Sand Dunes provide visitors with a highly unique experience, including camel rides. Yamaguchi - a city with many impeccably maintained temples.

More Destinations

• Akiyoshidai - has the largest plateau and cave in Japan.
• Bizen - home to Japan's oldest and most respected style of pottery.
• Daisen (Tottori) | Daisen - climbers flock to the beautiful Mount Daisen.
• Iwakuni - a town with the picturesque Kintai-kyo Bridge.
• Miyajima - Location of Itsukushima Shrine the most photographed shrine in all of Japan.
• Oda|Iwami Ginzan - Silver mines, registered as..
• Onomichi - hillside town with pleasant paths connecting dozens of small temples.
• Takahashi - a quaint town most famous for Bitchu Matsuyama Castle.
• Tsuyama - a relaxed town famous for the thousands of cherry blossoms around its castle ruins in Kakuzan Park.

Chugoku Halal Travel Guide

The name Chūgoku literally means "Middle Country" and the sole surviving relic of a historical division of Japan into "Near Countries" (近国 Kingoku), "Middle Countries" and "Far Countries" (遠国 Ongoku), based on distance from the capital Kyoto. Strictly speaking, today's Chugoku covers only the Middle Countries along the San'indo and San'yodo roads, and hence Okayama Prefecture|Okayama is sometimes not considered a full part of Chugoku, as only three of its five component provinces (Mimasaka, Bizen and Bitchu) were Middle Countries.

In Japanese phrasebook|Japanese and the characters 中国 and the reading Chūgoku are also used to mean "China". (The same characters are used in Chinese, but pronounced Zhongguo.) However, as the Chugoku region is always referred to with the qualifier "-chihō" and the People's Republic of China and Province of China can be referenced by their full names and there is little scope for confusion.

How to travel to Chugoku

Fly to Chugoku

Hiroshima, Okayama, and Yonago offer both domestic and international connections with other city's in Asia.

Izumo, Masuda, Yamaguchi, Iwakuni, and Tottori each offer domestic flights.

Travel by train to Chugoku

The San'yo Shinkansen line links Hiroshima, Okayama and other major towns to Kyushu in the southwest and Kansai, Nagoya, Yokohama and Tokyo to the east. The less populated northern Japan Sea coast is served by Limited Express Trains with connections to Osaka and Kyoto.

By ferry

• Ferries from Shimonoseki Port International Terminal
• The Kanpu ferry to Pusan in South Korea regularly.
• The Orient ferry to Qingdao in China regularly.
• The Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly.

How to get around in Chugoku

Travel by train to Chugoku

The JR West Sanyo San'in Area Pass allows unlimited travel during 7 days in an area approximatively between Fukuoka (on Kyūshū island) and Kyoto (excluding a patch in the north-east), and to the north-east of Shikoku. It includes bullet trains on the San'yō Shinansen (but not the Tokaidou and Kyushu Shinkansen) and many express and local trains. ¥29000 for adults if bought online or in a foreign travel agency, ¥20000 in JR West station ; half of that for children.

What to see in Chugoku

World Heritage Sites

The Chugoku region is home to four of Japan's s:

• Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution (Hagi) - This site contains a variety of sites across the nation. In Hagi the castle town, Ohitayama Tatara Iron Works, Hagi Reverberatory Furnace, Ebisugahana Shipyard, and Shokasonjuku Academy are the designated World Heritage Sites.
• Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and Its Cultural Landscape (Oda) - Registered as a World Heritage Site in 2007.
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) (Hiroshima) - Registered as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
• Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima) - Registered as a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Castles

File:Matsue castle01bs4592 - National Treasure, Matsue Castle

Original Castles

Only twelve original castles remain in Japan, and the Chugoku region is home to two of them:

• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle (Takahashi) - Japan's highest castle.
• Matsue Castle (Matsue) - One of only four castles designated as National Treasures.

Reconstructed Castles

• Okayama Castle, Okayama
• Hiroshima Castle, Hiroshima
• Fukuyama Castle, Fukuyama
• Iwakuni Castle, Iwakuni
• Kawahara Castle, Tottori

Castle Ruins

• Kakuzan Park (Tsuyama Castle), Tsuyama
• Tottori Castle, Tottori
• Tsuwano Castle, Tsuwano
• Hagi Castle, Hagi
• Mihara Castle, Mihara
• Shimotsui Castle, Kurashiki| Kurashiki (Kojima area)

Gardens

Korakuen 11 - Korakuen Garden

Thit is a list of some of the areas most famous gardens however and there are many other beautiful gardens throughout the region:

• Korakuen Garden (Okayama) Thit is the most famous garden in the Chugoku region, as well as one of the Japan's Top 3| top three gardens in all of Japan.
• RSK Rose Garden (Okayama) A large garden containing a wide variety of roses from all over the world.
• Shurakuen Garden (Tsuyama) A beautiful 17th century garden with no entry fee.
• Miyama English Garden (Tamano) An authentic English garden created by the British man Peter Thurman
• Adachi Museum of Art (Yasugi) Although there is a museum displaying over 1,000 works of art and the highlight of the museum for many is not the museum; it's the garden. Constructed in 1980 and the garden is quite new but what it lacks in history it makes up for in size and beauty. This garden has been voted the best garden in Japan by the American Journal of Japanese Gardening.
• Vogel Park (Matsue) One of the largest greenhouses in the world, as well as an aviary.
• Yuushien Garden (Matsue) Built for beauty in every season, including winter when the camellia's bloom.
• Enchoen Chinese Garden (Yurihama) One of the largest Chinese gardens in Japan. Enchoen was first built in China, disassembled, and then rebuilt in Yurihama as a symbol of friendship between Tottori (prefecture) | Tottori and China's Hebei Province.
• Tulip Fields (Hiezu) A garden full of beautiful red and yellow tulips.
• Shukkeien Garden (Hiroshima) An impressive garden built by Ueda Soko, considered to be one of the greatest masters of the tea ceremony.
• Sesshutei Garden (Yamaguchi) This garden is a reproduction of a scene from one of Sesshu's most famous landscape paintings.
• Chōfu Garden (Shimonoseki) One of the famous gardens in Castle town Chōfu.

Temples and Shrines

Japan Tottori MitokuSan Nageiredo DSC01248 - Sanbutsuji Temple

Although temples and shrines can be found in abundance throughout the region and these are some of the most important and most interesting temples and shrines in the Chugoku Region.

• Izumo Shrine (Izumo) The second holiest Shinto shrine (Ise Shrine in Ise being number one) and certainly one o the most impressive in Japan Izumo Shrine is dedicated to the god of marriage and happiness.
• Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima) As Japan's most photographed shrine, one of the Japan's Top 3| top three views in Japan, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site Itsukushima Shrine is highly valued for its spiritual, cultural, and historical significance and has the credentials to prove it.
• Saijō Inari (Okayama) Considered to be one of Japan's Japan's Top 3|three great Inari shrines, Saijō Inari is sometimes referred to as a temple, because of its interesting combination of Buddhist and Shinto elements.
• Mitokusan Nageire-dō (Misasa) A cliff-side temple that one has been able to determine how it was constructed.
• Miho Shrine (Mihonoseki)
• Rurikō-ji Temple (Yamaguchi)
• Hōfu Tenman-gū (Hofu) One of the Japan's Top 3|Three Great Tenjin Shrines of Japan, it's a popular place to view plum blossoms.
• Kōzan-ji (Shimonoseki) It is a national treasure, founded in 1327.
• Sumiyoshi Shrine (Shimonoseki) It is a national treasure.

Historic Districts

Joto Tsuyama Okayama05n3200 - Tsuyama's Joto Street

• Fukiya Furusato Village (Takahashi)
• Bikan Historic District (Kurashiki)
• Hagi Castle Town (Hagi)
• Storehouse District (Kurayoshi)
• Joto Street (Tsuyama)
• Shoukei Street (Takehara)
• Saijo Sakagura Street (Higashihiroshima)

Museums

There are many great museums in the region, and every prefecture has its own Prefectural Museum and Prefectural Art Museum that are worth visiting, but the following are some of the more unique and famous museums in the region.

• Ohara Museum of Art (Kurashiki) This museum has an impressive collection of Western art that anyone with even minimal knowledge about art should be able to recognize most of the artists. Although the European artwork is the museum's claim to fame, it also houses modern Japanese art and ancient Chinese artifacts in separate buildings of the museum grounds.
• Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum (Hiroshima) As one of only two city's to have ever been hit by an atomic bomb, this museum was built to educate people about the effects of atomic warfare on city's, objects, and of the greatest interest, people. The museums is well-designed and highly educational; a must-see for anyone travelling within the region.
• Denchu Art Museum (Ibara)
• Okayama Orient Museum (Okayama) An interesting little museum filled with artifacts from the ancient cultures of the Middle East.
• Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning (Tsuyama) One of the few museums dedicated to the teaching of Western learning and Japan's earliest interactions with the West.

Nature

USMC-090419-Monday - 8097K-002 - Akiyoshi-do Cave

• Seto Inland Sea Visible from Okayama Prefecture|Okayama, Hiroshima (prefecture) | Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi (prefecture) | Yamaguchi and the Seto Inland Sea contains many islands and the famous Seto Ohashi Bridge.
• Akiyoshidai Plateau (Akiyoshidai) The largest plateau in Japan
• Akiyoshi Cave (Akiyoshidai) The largest cave in Japan
• Tottori Sand Dunes (Tottori) Japan's famous sand dunes
• Mount Daisen (Daisen (Tottori) | Daisen) The highest mountain in Western Japan, often referred to as the Fuji of the West.
• Mount Fudekage (Mihara) A popular place to visit in the winter to witness the Sea of Fog over the Seto Inland Sea
• Taishakukyo Gorge (Shobara) A scenic gorge containing Lake Shinyu and Onbashi, one of the largest natural bridges in the world.

Top Muslim Travel Tips for Chugoku

• Chugoku 33 Kannon Temple Pilgrimage (中国三十三観音霊場) A pilgrimage through each prefecture in the region to see historic Kannon temples.
• 88 Temples of Innoshima

Halal Restaurants

Please be informed that on some destination such as Chugoku we had no local Muslim/a that has researched some of the area. If you are a Muslim/a and have been to Chugoku or would like to maintain the eHalal Guide to Chugoku, please contact us at guides@ehalal.io or email us your updates.

Famous dishes from the Chugoku region.

• Hiroshima Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima)
• Kibi Dango (Okayama)
• Fugu (Shimonoseki)
• Izumo Soba Noodles (Izumo)
• Matsuba Crab (Tottori)
• Momiji manjū (Miyajima)

Fruits

The region has the perfect climate for growing fruit, so the region is naturally famous throughout the nation for its delicious fruits.

• White Peach (Okayama)
• Muscat Grapes (Okayama)
• Peone Grapes (Okayama)
• Pears (Tottori)
• Hanagosho Persimmons (Tottori (prefecture) | Tottori)
• Lemons (Onomichi)

Some of the most famous beverages from the Chugoku region are:

• Daisen Water (Daisen (Tottori) | Daisen) The water from Mount Daisen has been bottled by Suntory, as well as Coke, and can be purchased throughout Japan in stores and vending machines.
• Jersey Milk (Hiruzen Heights, Maniwa) Milk from the cows raised in Hiruzen Heights, it's said to be quite healthy

Wine and Sake

• Hire-Sake (Shimonoseki) Sake produced with blowfish (fugu) fins.
• Maboroshi (Takehara) Popular from Hiroshima prefecture.
• Shimane Wine (Shimane)Unique for the usage of persimmons and ginseng
• Okayama Sake (Okayama Prefecture|Okayama) Famous for both Asahimai and Kibi no hana sake.
• Legend of Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi) The specialty of Yamaguchi City.

More Muslim friendly Destinations from Chugoku

• Shikoku - Japan's oft-ignored fourth island is easily accessed from the southern coast of Chugoku.
• Kyushu - Home to the bustling city of Fukuoka, historical Nagasaki, relaxing Beppu, and a variety of natural sites, such as Aso.
• Kansai - With the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara and the large metropolis that is Osaka, this area offers visitors an endless number of cultural and historical sites, along with great shopping and dining.

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