Things to Do

Hagi is best explored slowly, preferably by bicycle. Split your day between the castle town and beach on the west side, the Shoin Shrine area to the east, and one or two temple or industrial-history stops in between.

Guide

Things to Do

01

Hagi Castle Town

Preserved samurai and merchant quarter whose walls, lanes, and houses explain Choshu power.

Sight
02

Shokasonjuku Academy and Shoin Shrine

Preserved private school of Yoshida Shoin, whose students became major figures in Meiji Japan.

Sight
03

Tokoji Temple

Mori clan temple with Chinese-influenced buildings, warlord graves, and hundreds of stone lanterns.

Sight
04

Hagi Castle Ruins

Stone walls, moat, and parkland of the Mori clan castle at the foot of Mount Shizuki.

Sight
05

Chomon Gorge

Chomon Gorge follows the Abu River through a narrow, wooded valley between Yamaguchi and Hagi. It was recognised as a National Place of Scenic …

Sight
06

Hagi Reverberatory Furnace

Stone remains of an experimental 1850s furnace built as Choshu tried to copy Western cannon technology.

Sight
07

Kikuya House

Kikuya House preserves the home of a wealthy Hagi merchant family, with tatami rooms, storehouses, and a small garden that show how the town's …

Museum
08

Ebisugahana Shipyard

Ebisugahana Shipyard is a historic shipbuilding site from the last years of the Tokugawa period, when the Choshu Domain began building Western-style warships. It …
09

Hirobumi Ito House

Hirobumi Ito House preserves the childhood home of Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first prime minister, alongside the later Tokyo residence moved here after his rise …
10

Ohitayama-tatara Iron Smelting Works

The Ohitayama-tatara Iron Smelting Works are ruins tied to Hagi's World Heritage industrial sites. Traditional tatara iron-smelting, better known for sword steel, was adapted …

Sight
11

Kikugahama Beach

Sandy Sea of Japan beach below Mount Shizuki, giving Hagi's old town a bright coastal edge.

Sight
12

Shizuki Park

Shizuki Park surrounds the ruins of Hagi Castle and is a popular cherry-blossom spot in spring. The grounds include a small shrine, a teahouse, …
13

Daishoin

Daishoin is one of Hagi's quieter historic temples and burial places. Several Mori lords are buried here, along with retainers who committed seppuku after …
14

Katsura Taro Residence

This was the childhood home of Katsura Taro, the general and prime minister who led Japan during the Russo-Japanese War era. The house and …
15

Aoki Shusuke Residence

Aoki Shusuke Residence preserves the home and doctor's office of Aoki Shusuke, a 19th-century physician and scholar of Dutch medicine. The house shows both …
16

Asa Mōri Samurai Residence

The Asa Mōri Samurai Residence is an 1856 longhouse connected to the Asa Mōri family, descendants of the powerful Mōri clan. It is one …
17

Hagi Museum

Hagi Museum is a compact local history museum near Hagi Castle Town. Exhibits cover the city's samurai families, castle-town culture, and figures such as …

Museum
18

Kannon-in

Kannon-in, also known as Tamae Kannon, is a temple above the Hashimoto River and part of the Chugoku 33 Temple Pilgrimage. It is linked …
19

Kuchiba Residence

Kuchiba Residence is one of Hagi's surviving samurai houses, built between the late 18th and early 19th centuries for a senior official of the …
20

Kumaya Art Museum

Kumaya Art Museum occupies the former residence of the Kumaya family, wealthy salt merchants in Hagi. Its collection includes paintings, household objects, and a …

Museum
21

Meirin-kan

Meirin-kan was the Choshu domain school, moved to this site in 1863. Parts of the historic school grounds can be visited, giving context to …

Sight
22

Yukawa Residence

Yukawa Residence is a preserved samurai house where canal water is drawn into the grounds and worked into the garden and domestic spaces. It …

Sight
23

Kasayama

Kasayama is a small active volcano on Hagi's coast, known for broad views over the Sea of Japan. The scale is gentle rather than …

Sight
24

Kodama Residence Garden

Kodama Residence Garden preserves the home and garden of a high-ranking samurai family in Hagi. Its most distinctive feature is the private docking port …
25

Tanaka Villa

Tanaka Villa was the summer villa of Tanaka Giichi, the Hagi-born army officer who became prime minister of Japan from 1927 to 1929. Displays …
26

Hagi Christian Martyrs Memorial Park

Hagi Christian Martyrs Memorial Park preserves the graves of Christians exiled from Nagasaki to Hagi in 1868. A memorial in the park marks the …
27

Former Hagi Domain Boathouse

The Former Hagi Domain Boathouse was built to shelter ships made to defend Hagi from attacks by sea. The shoreline has shifted since then, …
28

Tamaki Bunnoshin Residence

The Tamaki Bunnoshin Residence is a preserved Hagi house connected to Yoshida Shoin's family and the early teaching that led to Shoka Sonjuku Academy. …

Sight
29

Watanabe Kozo Residence

Watanabe Kozo Residence preserves the home of a Hagi shipbuilding figure who studied naval architecture overseas before helping lead the Nagasaki Shipyard. The property …
30

Yamamura Residence

Yamamura Residence preserves the former home compound of a wealthy Hagi family, with a main house, teahouse, storehouse, and central garden. It is a …

Sight
31

Aibagawa Canal

Aibagawa Canal was built to move goods through Hagi and to provide water for firefighting. Today the canal path is a quiet place for …

Sight
32

Takasugi Shinsaku's Birthplace

Takasugi Shinsaku's Birthplace marks the early home of one of Hagi's most important late-Edo figures. Takasugi trained at Shoka Sonjuku and later formed the …

Sight
33

Yamanaka Residence

Yamanaka Residence preserves the house and working spaces of a local seafood merchant family. Displays show tools and everyday objects from the business, giving …

Museum