Johor Bahru — almost always called JB — is the capital of Johor state and sits at the very tip of the Malay Peninsula, connected to Singapore by the Johor-Singapore Causeway (1,038 metres) and the newer Second Link bridge to the west. Most visitors treat it as a transit point, stepping off a bus from Singapore to stock up on cheaper goods before heading back. That is a shame. Give JB a day or two and you will find a genuine city with real history, good food, and enough to see that you will not regret the stop.
The most substantial attraction is the Sultan Abu Bakar Royal Museum, the former Istana Besar (Grand Palace) built in 1866 on a hill above the Strait of Johor. It is an extraordinary Victorian-Moorish building where you can wander through throne rooms and examine the Johor Sultanate's treasures — regalia, weaponry, gifts from foreign heads of state, the first Johor postal stamp. Not far away, the Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, completed in 1900, blends Gothic pointed windows and crenellated towers with Islamic forms in a way that makes perfect sense once you see it. On the waterfront below, Singapore is visible on clear days across the strait.
JB's old town quarter around Jalan Trus has a different kind of history. The Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, built in the 1870s by early immigrants representing five different dialect groups, survives squeezed improbably between office towers. Nearby, the Chinese Heritage Museum in a restored shophouse traces the community that built much of the city. For something unlike anything else in Malaysia, visit Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman — a Hindu temple covered inside and out with more than 300,000 pieces of glass and crystal, a project that began in 1998 and is still being expanded.
JB draws Singaporeans primarily for shopping and food. The exchange rate makes everything feel cheaper — from electronics at City Square (a short walk from the Causeway checkpoint) to factory outlets at Johor Premium Outlets in Kulai. On the food side, Johor has its own distinctive cuisine: Johor laksa uses spaghetti instead of rice noodles and sits in a rich fish-based sauce; lontong (compressed rice with vegetable coconut curry) is a Sunday morning staple; mee bandung is a spiced prawn-and-beef broth with egg noodles. The city is also the natural base for day trips — to Endau-Rompin rainforest, the beaches of Desaru, or the island snorkelling of Pulau Sibu.