Dine and Pray on the Ultimate Coastal Tour

Taste blowfish, visit the famous ocean shrine gates, and learn about sustainable farming in Nagato

Experience Japanese culture like never before in the seaside city of Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture. With the help of your English-speaking tour guide from Heartland Japan, you will visit a fish farm and a salt factory, both founded based on the concept of ensuring continuous resources for the future, as well as a unique shrine lined with striking torii gates.

Your guide will whisk you off to a fish farm that raises fugu (blowfish), flounder, and rare sea eel. You will tour the facilities, usually blocked off to the public, and learn about how the farm uses sustainable methods to breed sea life in the salty coastal waters. The highlight of this excursion is that you will actually be able to taste the local delicacy of fugu sashimi, which is available elsewhere, but not with the quality found here.

Keeping with the theme of culinary tradition, you will visit the Hyakusho-an salt farm. The salt made here has a mineral balance close to that of the ocean, thanks to a special technique called tenchi gaeshi that also makes the process uniquely self-sustaining. Round out your visit by dining on a lunch of seasonal, locally sourced vegetables.

To add to your Japan seaside experience, visit Motonosumi-jinja Shrine. Here, 123 torii shrine gates snake along the shore, leading to the calm sea. The contrast of the red torii, blue sea, brown stone, and green grass creates an awe-inspiring, unforgettable view.

By interacting with the locals, you will feel their passion for farming fish, salt, and produce using sustainable methods that can be continued for generations. These farms are unique in their production, and the shrine’s beauty is renowned even within Japan. Together, these three experiences form a foundation for life in coastal Yamaguchi Prefecture, and you will get an exclusive insight into the local culture.

Access: From Hakata Station, take the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Shin-Yamaguchi Station (about 50 minutes). Nagato is about 80 minutes by car from the station.