25 Popular Tourist Spots to Visit in San'in and Sanyo (Chugoku Region) for First-Time Travelers

If you are planning a trip to the San'in and Sanyo region, fall is the best season for enjoying its wide variety of autumn foliage spots.
Vivid leaves coloring the valleys and landscapes filled with richly colored Japanese gardens offer both beauty and a distinctly Japanese atmosphere.
Miyajima in Hiroshima is especially famous for fall foliage, and its beauty is well worth seeing.

The San'in and Sanyo region has nine airports, and the Sanyo Shinkansen runs between Tokyo and Fukuoka.
From major cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, the region can be reached in a short time by plane, in Approx. 1.5 to 2 hours.
Hiroshima Airport, Yonago Kitaro Airport, and Okayama Momotaro Airport also have regular international flights, making access from overseas convenient as well.

Urban areas in the San'in and Sanyo region have well-developed public transportation, and you can reach major tourist spots using just trains and buses.
However, it can be difficult to get around mountainous areas or travel between certain regions using only public transportation.
If you plan to explore the San'in and Sanyo region, you will need to check access by public transportation in advance and plan carefully, such as focusing on prefectures that are easier to travel around.
For more efficient travel, renting a car is also recommended.
In some areas, sightseeing taxis are available, making it possible to visit tourist spots efficiently even without renting a car.

One of the largest sand dunes in Japan, stretching 16 km east to west and 2.4 km north to south along the Sea of Japan coast in Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture.
It is one of Tottori Prefecture’s most iconic sightseeing spots, designated as a special protection area and also as a national natural monument.
Admission to Tottori Sand Dunes is free, but activities and other experiences require separate fees.

The world’s first museum dedicated to sand sculptures.
Produced by Katsuhiko Chaen, who was also selected as one of the “100 Japanese People the World Respects,” it invites sand sculptors from around the world to create sand artworks of the highest level.
The theme changes every year, and once the exhibition period ends, all of the sculptures are returned to sand, making them viewable only for a limited time.

Mizuki Shigeru Road was created in 1993.
Along this Approx. 800 m street stretching from Sakaiminato Station to the Mizuki Shigeru Museum, visitors are welcomed by 177 bronze yokai statues, including characters from Shigeru Mizuki’s manga such as Kitaro, Medama Oyaji, and Nezumi Otoko, as well as yokai like Korobokkuru and Sunakake Babaa.

The only shrine in Japan known for its lucky and auspicious name.
It enshrines Ame no Tokotachi no Mikoto, Yatsukamizu Omitsunu no Mikoto, and Omizunu no Mikoto, deities associated with governing the land, good fortune, and nation-building.
Because of legends of good luck, many lottery fans and self-employed business owners visit to pray for wealth, good fortune, and business success.

An Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, where old merchant houses and earthen storehouses built from the Edo period to the Taisho period line the Tamagawa River.
This historic area prospered as the castle town of Utsubuki Castle during the Muromachi period, and samurai residences were later built around the jin'ya government office in the Edo period. Its beautiful streetscape has earned it the nickname “Little Kyoto.”

Izumo Taisha is mentioned in Kojiki, Japan’s oldest historical record, compiled in 712, and is one of Japan’s most important ancient shrines alongside Ise Jingu.
Its main deity is Okuninushi no Okami, famous as the god of matchmaking.
The giant sacred straw rope hanging at the front of Kaguraden Hall is especially famous. Measuring 13 m long and weighing 5.2 tons, it is one of the largest of its kind in Japan.

Founded by businessman Zenko Adachi, who was born in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture.
It houses around 2,000 works, mainly a collection of modern and contemporary Japanese paintings by artists such as Taikan Yokoyama, Seiho Takeuchi, Shoen Uemura, Kansetsu Hashimoto, and Shiho Sakakibara, along with ceramics and wood carvings, which are displayed in rotation.
Its collection of Taikan Yokoyama’s works is especially notable, numbering around 120 pieces, earning it the nickname “Taikan Museum.” In the special exhibition room, around 20 of his works are always on display.

A hirayama-style castle standing on 29 m-high Kameda-yama near Lake Shinji, Matsue Castle was designated a National Treasure in 2015.
It was built around 400 years ago by Horio Yoshiharu, the lord of Izumo and Oki. Because its gables resemble a plover spreading its wings, it is also called “Chidori Castle.”
The castle tower has four roofs and five floors, plus one basement level. The top-floor watchtower room, known as Tengu no Ma, served as both an observation deck and command post, so it has no walls, only railings.

Standing on the cliffs of Hinomisaki at the western edge of Shimane Prefecture, this lighthouse rises 43 m from the ground to the top of the tower, and 63 m from sea level to its light, making it the tallest stone lighthouse in Japan.
It is one of Japan’s representative large Western-style stone lighthouses and has been selected as one of the “World’s 100 Lighthouses” and one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan.”
The outer walls are made from stone quarried in Taniai, Mihonoseki-cho, Matsue City, and the inner walls are built of brick in a double-wall structure. Visitors can also tour the inside.

One of the largest aquariums in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, located within Shimane Prefectural Iwami Seaside Park. It exhibits around 10,000 marine creatures from about 400 species.
It is also the only aquarium in western Japan that keeps beluga whales from the Arctic Ocean.
The belugas’ underwater performances are especially popular. Nicknamed “canaries of the sea,” they are famous for the “Bubble Ring of Happiness”®, in which they blow rings from their mouths, the “Magic Ring of Happiness,” which appears softly above their heads, and the “Miracle Ring of Happiness,” where they swim through the ring. These are must-sees.

Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter is known for its beautiful, atmospheric streets lined with white-walled storehouses, namako walls, and willow trees.
Its traditional buildings and retro-modern scenery stretching along the Kurashiki River are popular with visitors.
There are also many attractions, including the Ohara Museum of Art, Japan’s first private museum of Western art, and Kurashiki Ivy Square, a beautifully renovated complex converted from a Meiji-era factory.

A daimyo garden created by Ikeda Tsunamasa, lord of the Okayama domain, as a place of relaxation, it was more or less completed in 1700.
In Tsunamasa’s time, it was a garden meant to be viewed from the sitting rooms within the grounds, but over time, changes in social conditions and the preferences of successive lords altered the landscape, gradually making it more suitable for strolling as waterways and ponds were added.

The Great Seto Bridge connects Okayama Prefecture on Honshu with Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku. The name refers collectively to six bridges spanning a 9.4 km strait section.
With different types of bridges linked together, including suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, and truss bridges, it is one of the largest road-and-rail combined bridge systems in the world.
To enjoy the spectacular view of the Great Seto Bridge, Yoshima Parking Area, located almost at the center of the strait section on the Seto Chuo Expressway, is especially recommended.

There are only 12 castles in Japan with an original surviving keep, including Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, and it is the only one among them that is a mountain castle.
In addition to its two-story keep, parts of its double turret and earthen walls remain, and visitors can tour features such as rooms prepared for a siege inside the keep and a grand hall with an irori hearth.
Gagyu-zan, located in the northern part of the city at an elevation of Approx. 480 m, is a collective name for four peaks: Omatsuyama, Tenjin no Maru, Komatsuyama, and Maeyama. The castle was built around these four peaks.

Located on the northwestern foot of sacred Mount Kibi no Nakayama, the shrine enshrines Kibitsuhiko no Mikoto as its main deity.
The main hall and worship hall, designated as National Treasures, are directly connected and built in Kibitsu-zukuri, an architectural style unique to this shrine alone in Japan.
Although it burned down twice in the past, it was rebuilt in 1425 during the time of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Its grand scale is second only to Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, and it is more than twice the size of Izumo Taisha.

The Atomic Bomb Dome was originally completed on April 5, 1915, as the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, based on a design by Czech architect Jan Letzel.
However, when the atomic bomb was dropped, it was damaged at a point just 160 m from the hypocenter.
The exposed steel framework and shattered outer walls remain as they were at the time of the bombing, and at some point it came to be called the “Atomic Bomb Dome.”
It is a valuable structure that conveys this tragic history to the present day.

In 1945, Hiroshima became the first city in the world to suffer damage from an atomic bomb.
The museum opened in 1955 to tell people around the world about that tragedy and to contribute to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of lasting world peace.
Located inside Peace Memorial Park, widely known for the Atomic Bomb Dome, the museum consists of the Main Building and the East Building. The Main Building displays belongings left by victims and photographs showing the devastation caused by the bombing.

Itsukushima Shrine was built on Itsukushima, an island known as the island of the gods.
Most of the shrine buildings within the grounds are designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. The grand torii gate standing in the sea regained its vivid vermilion color after the “Reiwa Grand Restoration,” a major renovation that lasted three and a half years and was completed in 2022, giving it an even more impressive appearance.

Hiroshima Castle was built in 1589 by Mori Terumoto, known as one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Council of Five Elders.
Located in central Hiroshima City, it is famous as a major sightseeing spot with convenient access. The castle tower serves as an exhibition space displaying Japanese swords, armor, and more.
From the observation deck on the top floor, visitors can enjoy a view over Hiroshima’s cityscape. Buildings such as the Omote Gomon Gate and Taiko Yagura turret, which were destroyed in the atomic bombing, were also reconstructed in the 1990s, allowing visitors to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Tomonoura prospered from ancient times as a “tide-waiting port,” where ships waited for favorable tides.
It is also known as a place celebrated in the Manyoshu poetry anthology.
Designated as part of Japan’s first national park, it offers peaceful scenery with Sensui Island and Benten Island floating in the Seto Inland Sea.
Because of its beauty, it has been chosen as a filming location for famous Hollywood movies and as the setting for anime, making it a popular sightseeing spot.

Kintaikyo Bridge is one of Japan’s representative wooden bridges, designated as a nationally recognized Place of Scenic Beauty and counted among the Three Famous Bridges of Japan.
Spanning the Nishiki River, it is a large and beautiful five-arch bridge measuring 193.3 m in length and 5 m in width.
Its structure is unlike any other in the world, and it is aiming for inscription as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
Thanks to its robust interlocking wooden construction, pressure from above actually increases its strength. If you look up at it from below, you can clearly see the intricate joinery.

Tsunoshima Bridge opened in 2000.
Connecting the mainland side of Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, with the remote island of Tsunoshima, it stretches 1,780 m and is one of the longest toll-free bridges to a remote island in Japan.
Located within Kita-Nagato Kaigan Quasi-National Park, the bridge was designed with pillars limited to a height of 18 m in consideration of the surrounding scenery.
Because the road is close to the sea surface, you can enjoy a drive while feeling the sea up close.

Motonosumi Shrine in Tsuo, Yuya, Nagato City is often described as one of Yamaguchi’s power spots.
It is dedicated to deities believed to grant blessings for business prosperity, big catches, and maritime safety, as well as good relationships, fertility, protection from misfortune, traffic safety, academic success, and wish fulfillment.
An offering box is set on top of the 6 m-high grand torii gate within the shrine grounds, and it is said that if you successfully throw a coin into it, your wish will come true.

Akiyoshidai, one of the largest karst plateaus in Japan, spreads across the central to eastern part of Mine City in central Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Coral reefs from a warm sea around 300 million years ago gradually became limestone while moving on tectonic plates over a long period of time, were pushed up above ground, and eventually formed present-day Akiyoshidai. The white limestone emerging from the grasslands creates a striking sight.

This five-story pagoda is said to have been planned by Morimi, the younger brother of Ouchi Yoshihiro, who died in the Oei Rebellion, as a memorial for him in 1399, and completed in 1442.
It stands 31.2 m tall and is built mainly in Japanese style with some Chinese-style elements. Its cypress bark roof and tower body narrowing toward the upper levels give it a clean and refined appearance.