Cycled the Shimanami Kaido, and Yamaguchi, Saga, Nagasaki etc.

[rbjhan]

Shimonoseki 下関 is a very important city historically.
In chronological order:
1. During the Genpai War, the Heike and Genji fought their famous last battle here, near the Kanmon Bridge location now.
2. Meiji Restoration period, local Choshu clan played a key role in defeating the Tokugawa shoguante. Till this day, politicians from this region hold significant power in Japan thanks to that legacy （Abe was from Yamaguchi.）
3. 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed here and China handed over Taiwan to Japan at the end of First Sino-Japanese War (also ended China's tributary relations with Korea).

We'll talk about 1 & 3 more later.

 

[rbjhan]

First thing first, lunch!

Next to Karato Market there's a shopping centre called Kanmon Wharf.
Found a Kaiten Sushi place that looked promising.




More Fugu


Tuna


Another serve of seared Nodoguro


Crab miso

 

[rbjhan]

I'm not really a fan of markets, but Karato Market was just next door...




Wanna guess what's their best fish?

 

[rbjhan]

This period after lunch rain was the heaviest....ah yes my shoes were soaked....the mistakes when they came back to bite with force

Shunpanro (Sino Japanese Peace Memorial Hall)
The aforementioned Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed here.



Representing Japan, then Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi & Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu.
**Ito Hirobumi was from Yamaguchi which circles back to our Point 2 above.


Representing China, Li Hong Zhang & Li Jing Fang.


Calligraphy works by Li Hong Zhang & Ito Hirobumi.


The Treaty of Shimonoseki shattered the traditional Chinese dominance in this region. Had huge impact to all three countires in the region, China, Japan and Korea. Not to mention place Taiwan under Japanese rule which lasted till WWII and set the island on a much different trajectory leading to the tension we see now...

 

[rbjhan]

So obviouisly I like history

Next up Genpei War!
I'll try my best to make it short.

This was basically a civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans, fighting for control of the country, ending in a Minamoto victory and the establishment of Kamakura Shogunate (this was also when Emperors lost their absolute power).
**The name "Genpei" came from alternate readings of the Kanji "源 Minamoto/Gen" and "平 Taira/Hei".

The 5 year war concluded with the Battle of Dan-no-ura 壇ノ浦の戦い in 1185, took place in the Kanmon Strait (a naval battle!). This was one of the most famous battles in Japanese history. Emperor Antoku who was the grandson of Taira Kiyomori (his mother was Taira Tokuko, Kiyomori's daughter), was held by his maternal grandmother as she jump into the water, he was 6 years old...

***The Minamoto's general in this battle, Minamoto Yoshitsune, was another very famous historical figure, if anyone's interested...too long to start here

Finally we are back to 2026..
Akama Jingu 赤間神宮 is the shrine dedicated to Emperor Antoku, built on the waterfront of Kanmon Strait, as the Emperor's body was never recovered.

Now this was what I called artistic imagination....remember Emperor Antoku was 6 when he died...



The main hall


Suitenmon (Literally The Gate of Water and Sky)


Every year in Golden Week the shrine hosts its annual festival, this walkway was being built for it.


Got a very fancy Shuin here

 

[rbjhan]

My shoes and socks were soaked through by this point....
Plus I really came to see Akama Jingu and Shunpanro, so let's go back to Kokura and the suitcase, quickly!

JR Kyushu Station Hotel Kokura
I booked a newly renovated double room on the top floor.


Oooh look! A shoe dryer!! Exactly what I needed


Time to do some laundry


There's a lounge for superior floor guests.


No food here, but some drinks.


The Japanese have a vastly different idea about coffee, sadly

 

[rbjhan]

Back to the room.
On a good day the view should be nice.


USB-C port!


Bathroom was the weak point here... damn I hate shrubs...


At least they give you a fancy dryer
This one retails at 33000 Yen, if anyone's interested....

 

[rbjhan]

I was exhausted, plus it was still raining!
Decided I was not going to step outside the building again that day.
Luckily there's a department store (and other shops) attached to the JR Station!

See pic, below "Kokura Station" were the shops, above was the hotel.


Restaurants on the 6th floor.


I picked Tenjin Horumon for dinner, this is a Teppanyaki chain in Kyushu.
**Horumon means offals, but they do also serve normal steak!


711 Microwave Oden for snack


**Just noticed the English translation, I'm not sure if they could make it more un-appetising if they tried?!

 

[rbjhan]

The next morning, weather was equally bad!


Breakfast was at a cafe down at the ground level of the station.


Braved the rain to Kokura Castle.


This was taken inside a shopping centre opposite the castle.


Pretty impressive.

 

[rbjhan]

Didn't go inside the castle as this was also a rebuilt.

Instead I went to the free observation deck in Kitakyushu City Hall.


Towards JR Kokura Station


Kitakyushu City Library


The Castle

 

[rbjhan]

Back to the train station, monorail station was also in the same building complex.


Waiting room on the Shinkansen platform.


From Kokura to Ureshino onsen I needed to transfer twice.
First, Shinkansen to Hakata Station.
Then took a Limited Exp to Takeo onsen, from there transfer to the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen.

Why so much trouble?
Well you see, the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen was supposed to connect Nagasaki and Hakata. BUT Saga didn't want to pay for it...So only the Nagasaki part was done It was obviously much more complicated but mainly for financial reasons the two Prefectures fought.
End result is the shortest Shinkansen (66K) in Japan! And it's an isolated Shinkansen route not connected to anything other than the narrow gauge traditional lines.

Lunch was a Gyukatsu bento.

 

[rbjhan]

嬉野温泉 Ureshino onsen is a hot spring town in Saga Prefecture.
The onsen water here feels extremely smooth on skin (don't ask me why, not a chemist ), so it's called "Bihada no Yu" - roughly translates to onsen that beautifies...

The train station was a bit far from the centre of the onsen town. Booked the ryokan's shuttle bus.

Ureshino Motoyu


Welcome drink and snack


This ryokan was renovated in 2024.
All 26 rooms are now western style.
I can def feel the trend here, the younger generation prefer sleeping on beds than tatami.


Outside was a pond.


Bathroom, it was also onsen water here!


Apart from the onsen, Ureshino is also famous for tea.
Even the complimentary tea in the room was Gyokuro!

 

[rbjhan]

Of course first thing is to visit the bath!
A basket was prepared for you to take to the bath with towels and things.



Oooh no one was there!




It was really smooth! Loved the onsen water here
This was probably my 2nd favourite onsen town in terms of onsen water quality.
Who's No1 you ask? Kusatsu.

Next door was a super sento, belongs to the same group. Ryokan guests can visit for free.