Yamaguchi

We are planning on staying 2 nights at the hotel at Shin Yamaguchi station, most likely in a February.
We plan to do a day trip from there by JR Bus to Hagi as my husband is a ceramist, and it is the one pottery town we have not yet explored. We would prefer to not stay in Hagi, as getting there from Fukuoka, and then on to Kanazawa is not as easy as staying at Shin Yamaguchi.
On arrival at Shinyamaguchi from Fukuoka we will have a good portion of a day to fill in
Investigating options appear to be
1. Iwakuni for the famous bridge, or
2. Around Yamaguchi itself

Both destinations appeal.

But I am having trouble working out how 2 elderlies (mid and late 70's) could get around Yamaguchi: bicycles are definitely not an option.

How available would taxi's be at the various Shrines/Temples?
Would the "GO taxi " app work there? Or is Yamaguchi one of the 2 Prefectures where it is not available?

From Yamaguchi eki, you can board JR bus chugoku,cost 1800 yen to hagi eki

Iwakuni is much closer to hiroshima. From Yamaguchi woyld be a big day trip.

Thought about Tsuwano instead?

Tsuwano is feasible if you get to Shin Yamaguchi early enough to get the first limited express train (Super Oki) to go there. Then it makes for a good day trip. But I don�ft know if I would go there if I didn�ft have time to drop off my luggage at my hotel in Shin Yamaguchi and catch the 8:57 Super Oki.

In Yamaguchi there are buses, but it�fs a little hard to get detailed information in English. That was my experience, at least. I recently had a route to some temples all planned out using buses, but it took me considerable effort (and some Japanese reading ability) to do so with any degree of confidence. Try Google Maps, maybe. I recently had an excellent three-night stay in Shin Yamaguchi and I was looking forward to exploring Yamaguchi a little, but the weather didn�ft cooperate. I am not sure about taxis there and how easy it is to call them using an app. (I�fm sure you could easily get a cab at Yamaguchi Station, but how to get back from the temples I�fm not sure.)

Did you see the New York Times piece about Yamaguchi? It was oddly the #3 spot on their list of places to visit in 2024.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/travel/places-to-travel-desti...

I went to Akiyoshidai and Akiyoshido as a day trip (I liked the plateau better than the cave, actually, although the cave was interesting enough). But the buses that go there from Shin Yamaguchi are infrequent. I took the first one (and it was crowded, by the way; I got in line very early and barely got a seat), but you might not get to Shin Yamaguchi in time.

There is an excellent tourist information center in Shin Yamaguchi, if you want any input after you get there. Actually there are two. The one on the shinkansen side of the station is quite small, but if you cross over the tracks there is a bigger one. I spoke to a very nice woman at the smaller place, but for detailed bus information in English I went to the other side. I�fm sure they could help you plan a day in Yamaguchi. You are definitely going to want to find something to do if you have the better part of a day after getting to Shin Yamaguchi. I really liked it as a place to stay as a home base for a few nights (with a rail pass), and will probably stay there again. Cost performance was outstanding. But there isn�ft much around the station area in terms of restaurants or shops, or anything to do.

I don�ft know anything about Iwakuni. There are some other possible things you can do in that part of western Honshu, especially if you have a rail pass. But if you can�ft figure anything else out maybe you could spend more time around Fukuoka and then get to Shin Yamaguchi later in the day. I do think Yamaguchi would be lovely, though, and I don�ft think that getting around would prove to be all that difficult. But I do understand the need to have these details worked out in advance. I am no spring chicken myself and have learned not to leave these sorts of things up in the air, just assuming that things will work out�c Ha!

By the way, Rurikoji in Yamaguchi is currently undergoing renovations, and apparently you can�ft see the pagoda in all its glory. I read that some people got all bent out of shape when they went there because of the New York Times article, only to find a big scaffold around the pagoda. So apparently the temple people there tried to lessen the visual impacts of the infrastructure needed in the renovation. I forgot the details, though. None of this bothered me because I have seen lots of pagodas in Japan and what I tend to find most compelling about temples there are the gardens and natural settings, and sometimes other unique features. And there are lots of other nice things to see in Yamaguchi. But if you have a particular itch to see this famous pagoda, you should investigate the status of the renovation work.

Wow, Kim, that info is amazing! Thank you so much.
And thanks to others for the input. I am aware of the JR Bus to Hagi from Shin Yamaguchi, hence the idea of staying there.

We will have a JR Pass, we won't have luggage (sending it on to Kanazawa) but will need to drop off hand luggage.

And yes, I have read the NYT article.

The suggestion to spend more time in Fukuoka and just get to Shin Yamaguchi later in the day is excellent common sense. We will have been extremely busy in the week in Fukuoka doing many day trips (we do like a couple of hours on a comfy train, lol) : Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Karatsu, Nagasaki (have been to Nagasaki for 4 days before, just want to revisit some favourites) Daizafu, nankin temple etc, so a relaxing day will be a great idea. Thank you.

We have limited Japanese(enough for general tourism), read Hiragana and Katakana but no Kanji, so this is all becoming a bit hard.

It was a nice thought to spend time in Yamaguchi and beyond, but practicalities need to be addressed.

Kim, we would only need a very simple meal for dinner at ShinYamaguchi station: anything would be fine. We tend to avoid eating in hotels.
We are considering the Yamaguchi Grand hotel for its location. It seems to have a variety restaurants including an Izakaya, but apparently that his closing for a while according to the Google translation of the website.

Thanks for your input: invaluable.

In Shin Yamaguchi I stayed at the Hotel Active after considering the various options on either side of the station, and I was very happy with it. In particular, they have a really excellent breakfast that is included at no charge. It was the best free hotel breakfast I have ever gotten in Japan, by a long shot. So, very good cost performance there, and if I stay in Shin Yamaguchi again it will be my choice. It also has the best location of all of the hotels, if it happens to be raining. But it is a typical business hotel, and the rooms are small. I think you can get a bigger room at the Yamaguchi Grand, if that is important to you. It usually is to me, but size isn�ft everything. Hotel Active is clean and well-run, and the staff at the front are very nice.

There are three izakayas on the shinkansen side of the station complex (all of them specializing in seafood, but there are some other items you can get), and also a kaiten sushi place next to the Hotel Active. Also there is a 7-11 in the station complex and a Lawson near the Hotel Active. You won�ft have any trouble finding food as long as you aren�ft looking for something unusual or remarkable.

Brilliant Kim, many many thanks!
Hotel Active it is: we will hardly be in the room much so size isn't all that important for only 2 nights without luggage (only is when we have our suitcases with us)
Free breakfast for that price! Amazing!
We eat anything and everything, so long as its yummy and comes with a beer, or Sake...so all that sounds perfectly fine.
Might get there in time for a kaiten sushi lunch: now there's a thought.......
So thank you for sorting out our time around our pilgrimage to Hagi: you have made it so much easier.
very grateful.

I do not know much around shin-Yamaguchi, but Iwakuni and the Kintaikyo bridge area is less than an hour away (25 minute train and 15 minute bus). I was intriguied by the place having seen a report that there was "nothing" there, and then finding a local tourism page listing 21 different attractions.
I have probably been there ten times now, and I still have not been on the ropeway to the castle, visited the white snake museum or a few other local attractions. It is very nice in autumn season, has a bunch of cherry trees that blossom twice a year, a terrific cemetery, a couple of temples and a comorant training facility. Failing that, some shops selling misc ceramics and two stores vying for the most flavours of ice cream in Japan (as seen on tv, I think they are up to 167 flavours now).

Thanks, JCT! I'll have to check out the Iwakuni and Kintaikyo area when I'm in western Honshu again. Sounds like my kind of place...

Agree, thanks JCT: I hadn't completely discounted Iwakuni.

Guess the whole thing will depend on how we feel at the end of a busy week in Fukuoka, and on the weather!

I can't imagine seats to Iwakuni will be hard to find either in a February (not going until 2026, lol) but will investigate when in Fukuoka of thats what we feel like doing.

Kim and JCT you have both been invaluable.

Many thanks

Additional footnote: I usually visit Iwakuni from Hiroshima (less than an hour on the train). Most of the time just a morning visit and combined with an afternoon at Miyajima. Depends on the guests and what they are more interested in.
My first visit was part of a month long trip and the couple I was travelling with were up for something different that day. Having 30-days travelling around meant we could test out some alternatives and not all of the usual touristy things. It was a good trip.