Shimonoseki

Shimonoseki (下関市 Shimonoseki-shi) is a city in Yamaguchi prefecture and the westernmost municipality on Honshu. The city has been at the center of Japanese history for centuries, but it's best known to culinary daredevils as the home of fugu, a pufferfish as cute looking as it is potentially lethal.



Understand
Guarding the entrance to the Kanmon Straits that separate Honshu from Kyushu, the strategically located "Lower Barrier" played a role in three battles that triggered major changes in Japanese history. In 1185, the Battle of Dan-no-ura took place in the Straits, ending in a decisive victory for the Minamoto clan; the victory brought the Genpei War to a close, and with it the classical Heian period of Japanese culture. Shortly afterward, a new shogunate was established in Kamakura.

In 1863, another battle thrust Shimonoseki onto the world stage. Fueled by disgust with the terms of the treaty that opened Japanese ports to Western nations, warriors of the Choshu domain rebelled, expelling foreigners and blocking the passage of trade ships through the Kanmon Straits. The Bombardment of Shimonoseki was conducted twice by a fleet of warships from England, the Netherlands, France, and the United States (in the midst of its own civil war), in July 1863 and September 1864, and forced the Choshu domain to surrender. Their open defiance served to undermine the Tokugawa shogunate, however, which fell only three years later.

Although the fighting took place elsewhere, the treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 was signed in Shimonoseki, marking a stage in the ascent of the newly-modernized Japanese Navy &mdash; and the nation as a major regional military power. The treaty also ceded Taiwan to Japan, and it was not returned to China before Japan's defeat in World War II.

Today, Shimonoseki has a busy international port, with frequent traffic from China and South Korea, among others. It faces Kitakyushu across the Kanmon Straits, forming one of the world's busiest lanes of maritime shipping.

Tourist information
Tourist information is available at JR Shimonoseki Station and JR Shin-Shimonoseki Station.



The local tourist association has a partly multilingual guide site.

By train


If you're coming from a long distance, the best option is to take a Nozomi or Hikari train to Kokura on Kyushu, and then backtrack on the San'yo Main Line via Moji Station in Kitakyushu. By this route, Shimonoseki can be reached by Nozomi in about 5 1/2 hours from Tokyo and 2 1/2 hours from Osaka.

By bus
The Dream Fukufuku bus runs overnight from Tokyo and Yokohama (15 1/2 hours, ¥13000). Another Fukufuku departs nightly from Osaka Umeda (10 hours, ¥9150).

By ferry

 * Busan-Shimonoseki:
 * Busan-Shimonoseki:

By car
For those travelling the expressways and only wanting a bit of fugu, even the Nexco Parking Areas either side of the Kanmon Bridge offer it in a variety of pre-prepared forms including frozen sashimi omiyage platters. The views are rather nice too making it a worthwhile break regardless.

For those travelling by way of thumb, note the aforementioned parking areas are easily accessible on foot and frequented almost as much as the standard Service Area. The Kyushu side stop services northbound traffic and the Honshu southbound.

By bus
City buses are run by Sanden Kotsu, with stops that include both major train stations and the tourist attractions in the port and Chofu areas. When you board, take a ticket from the dispenser; when the bus reaches your destination, compare the number on your ticket to the numbers at the front of the bus, and that will tell you how much to pay. Short trips cost ¥170.

Shimonoseki was given one of London's distinctive red double-decker buses as that city phased them out. It now runs along the coast on weekends.

On foot
Almost all of the attractions are reachable on foot along Route 9, which runs parallel to the coastline. The Chofu area is a much longer walk, though.

Port area



 * Near the Kanmon Bridge, there is a marker for the site of the Battle of Dan-no-ura. The Bombardment of Shimonoseki is also commemorated nearby &mdash; there are a few replica cannons, positioned at the point where the allied troops came ashore. Now perfectly willing to do trade with foreign barbarians, the cannons will puff out a bit of smoke and a 'boom' in exchange for a few coins.

Karato area
Meiji-era foreign buildings mixed with modern ferroconcrete in the Karato area, which are illuminated at night.



Chofu area
The Mori clan lived in this well-preserved castle town and samurai quarter in the northeastern part of the city, which makes a nice, atmospheric walk at any hour. Buses run to stops for Matsubara and Joka-machi (25 minutes, ¥340). There is a Chōfu station on the San'yo Main Line, but it's a bit of a walk from there to the attractions.



Do

 * Although the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp are geographically closer, many local baseball fans retain a loyalty to the Yokohama BayStars, which began in 1950 as the Shimonoseki-based Taiyo Whales. If you want to impress a native, pick up a blue and white BayStars jersey with "birthplace of the team: Shimonoseki" in Japanese (球団発祥の地 下関) on the back.
 * Leaving already? A pedestrian tunnel allows visitors to walk the Kanmon Straits to Moji in about fifteen minutes, with about 780 meters of the walk under the sea. Access to the tunnel is free, 06:00-20:00.
 * There are several hot spring resorts in town, but most are well off the tourist track, and will require a car or a long taxi ride.

Festivals

 * The Little Busan Fest celebrates Shimonoseki's Korean culture every November at the Green Mall.
 * The Little Busan Fest celebrates Shimonoseki's Korean culture every November at the Green Mall.
 * The Little Busan Fest celebrates Shimonoseki's Korean culture every November at the Green Mall.
 * The Little Busan Fest celebrates Shimonoseki's Korean culture every November at the Green Mall.

Buy
If you'd like a plush, adorable poisonous fish to bring home, visit the Fukufuku World on the fourth floor of the Kaikyo Yume Tower (see above) for the full line of fugu character goods.



Eat
Even if you don't usually eat seafood, you may want to make an exception for Shimonoseki's most famous dish: fugu (ふぐ) (pronounced "fuku" locally). While the flesh and skin are often completely harmless, the internal organs of some species of pufferfish pack enough lethal toxins to paralyze every muscle in the human body. "Fugu" is a generic term that covers many types of pufferfish; Torafugu (Tiger puffer), arguably the most popular type, has extraordinarily poisonous livers, ovaries, and intestines that must be carefully removed before preparation.

In order to serve fugu, chefs must be specially licensed, which entails several years of apprenticeship and a rigorous exam that sees a 70% failure rate. These steps ensure that fugu fatalities at restaurants are virtually unheard of. The city maintains a list of restaurants licensed to serve it.

The most popular form is fugu sashimi, thinly sliced. But it can also be served as part of a salad (yubiki), a stew (fugu-chiri), fried with hot sake (fugu hire-zake), or deep fried (fugu-kara-age). Most restaurants serving the dish will be pricey, but set meals with a bit of fugu can be had near the Kanmon Wharf or Karato Pier for ¥1100 or so.

Some people are underwhelmed by the taste of fugu &mdash; the flavor is more subtle than that of more oily fish like maguro (tuna), but it has a distinctive taste that keeps aficionados coming back for more than just thrills. A few diners report their lips, tongues, or even fingertips tingling while eating fugu (a condition referred to as shibireru), supposedly the result of chefs leaving trace amounts of the toxin on the fish. But given the legal ramifications of an even accidental poisoning, many dismiss the sensation as urban legend, all in the diners' imagination.

The other infamous local specialty is whale (鯨 kujira), which tastes like fishy steak and is served both raw and cooked. Shimonoseki has been the base for some of Japan's controversial whaling expeditions.

Budget
There are cheap food courts with the likes of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Mr Donut on the fourth floor of Sea Mall (10:00-22:00) and the seventh floor of Daimaru (11:00-21:00). For Korean BBQ, check the Green Mall area.



Splurge

 * The restaurants for Shimonoseki Marine Hotel and Shunpanro (see Sleep) are also acclaimed for their fugu.
 * The restaurants for Shimonoseki Marine Hotel and Shunpanro (see Sleep) are also acclaimed for their fugu.
 * The restaurants for Shimonoseki Marine Hotel and Shunpanro (see Sleep) are also acclaimed for their fugu.
 * The restaurants for Shimonoseki Marine Hotel and Shunpanro (see Sleep) are also acclaimed for their fugu.

Drink
Buzenda-cho (豊前田町) is the local red-light district, packed with karaoke boxes, hostess bars, and restaurants, a short walk east of JR Shimonoseki Station. Bars are also clustered on Hisashi-guchi, near Green Mall.



Sleep
There are more plentiful accommodations over the water in Fukuoka.

Go next

 * Kitakyushu on Kyushu is a short train ride from Shimonoseki. It's also reachable via ferry and bridge. There is a tunnel for walkers at the narrowest point across the Kanmon Straits.
 * Nagato
 * Hagi is one of the most beautiful castle towns in Japan.
 * Sanyo-Onoda
 * Ube
 * Yamaguchi city is the prefectural capital.
 * Hofu
 * Mine
 * Shunan