Yanai

Yanai (柳井市 Yanai-shi) is a city in Yamaguchi Prefecture approximately 70 km southwest of Hiroshima.

Understand
While not a major tourist destination, Yanai offers a variety of sites and activities that make this a good day trip from Miyajima or Hiroshima.

Tourist Information Site
The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.

By rail
Yanai can be reached via the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima (Westbound) or Tokuyama (Eastbound). Travelers on the shinkansen must disembark at either JR Tokuyama Station or Hiroshima Station.

By ferry
Regular ferry services connects Yanai by way of Yanai Minato JR Station to Mitsu, a suburb of Matsuyama (Ehime) and Beppu (Oita).

By car
Yanai can be reached by exiting the Sanyo Expressway at Kuga and proceeding Southbound on Prefectural Road 70.

See
Yanai's most famous attribute is the charming and picturesque Shirakabe No Machi (White walled town) located approximately 1 km north of the Yanai JR station. Most of the homes and buildings in the district date back to the Edo Period (1600-1867). There are many shops specializing in local handicrafts as well as a locally famous Soy Sauce factory.

Located in Shirakabe no Machi is the large and culturally important House of Kunimori Family. the house, built in the late 18th century is a good example of a typical merchant class residence from the mid-Edo period. Admission is ¥200 for adults and ¥100 for children.

A much larger museum and old merchant residence is Muroyama no Sono. The residence was constructed by the Oda family around 1702 from revenues generated from the family's control of the lucrative rapeseed oil trade in Western Japan. The complex, which has been faithfully preserved, includes several warehouses and ancestral home that showcase various antiques from the Edo period as well as items from the Meiji and Showa eras. An elderly man, who is a descendant of the Oda family, is the curator and can provide a wonderful insight into the building and many of its contents. Admission fee is ¥350 for adults and ¥200 for children. The museum is open from 09:00-17:00 every day except Wednesdays.

The Shoko-an Temple grounds hosts a small well with nearby willow tree that is reputed to be the origin of name of Yanai (Well of the Willow Tree in Japanese). According to legend, a princess traveling through the region 1400 years ago is said to have briefly stopped at the well to quench her thirst. A toothpick discarded near the well during this brief stop is said to have grown into the large willow tree that is now there.



Events
Yanai has several unique local festivals each year.

Golf
There are several golf courses surrounding Yanai:



Buy
Yanai's most famous souvenir is a paper goldfish lantern (kingyo chouchin). It can be found at various shops in and around Yanai. Yanaijima fabric goods are notable for the vivid colored striped pattern and smooth texture. Kanro soy sauce is a high quality soy sauce brewed at the locally famous Sagawa Soy Sauce Brewery. Its method of brewing adds a sweet flavor that makes it prized for use with sushi and sashimi throughout the Chugoku and Kansai region.



Eat
There are many reasonably priced and delicious dining options in Yanai.



Go next

 * Iwakuni - Famous for Kintaikyo (the Brocade Sash Bridge)
 * Shunan
 * Hirao - The Kaiten (kamikaze submarine) museum at the entrance of Hirao Bay
 * Suo-Oshima - Island near Yanai
 * Kaminoseki
 * Tabuse
 * Hikari
 * Kudamatsu
 * Otake