Hofu Tenmangu Mitokuji temple Izumo Taisha Omori Silver mine Xavier memorial church peace memorialpark miyajima sanctuary_outline Shukkeien Adachi garden Ikouji Rurikouji temple Amida-ji Sourin-ji Kourakuen Japanese trad.Garden_outline Matsue Yonago Shimonoseki Okayama Hiroshima HAB CITY_outline TSUYAMA TSUWANO MATSUE CHOFU IWAKUNI HAGI SAMURAI towns_outline ONOMICHI YANAI TAKEHARA KURASHIKI TOMO SHIMOKAMAGARI Xavier Cathedral SHIMONOSEKI Washi Touken Bizen Pottery Hagi Pottery & Kilns Japanese trad.artcrafts Experience-outline GEGEGENO Kitaro Matsuda museum Naval Base of Kure MAZDA,Hofu plant Modern Japan-outline Kirin beer Park in Okayama Tottori sand dune Mt.Fuji of Sanin DAISEN SHINJI Lake Iwami coast Oki Hagi coast Nagato SANIN COAST-outline SHUHODO Trail to Hikimi Hiruzen Highland Kibi Highland Tsuyama Travel with Stream locomotive Deep Inland Tour-outline SETO-OHASHI Seto-inland seas OANORAMA view Tiboli Park Tokiwa Park Inland-sea-outline List of Japanese terms Bathing in Japan 7seafood of the Lake Shinji Blow fish Stone fish Show Crab Oysters Buchwheat Noodles Peach and Other fruits Okonomiyaki
  The Chuugoku region has many places of interest, and if you had the time you could spend months traveling little-used railways and bus lines into remote areas. For tourists who are under more of a time constraint, however, a good option might be to choose one of the four major cities of western Japan and then plan day trips out from them as you see fit.

While the largest cities in the country (Tokyo, Osaka, etc.) are located outside of the Chuugoku region, cities such as Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimonoseki and Matsue all offer a very ample amount of things to do. Looking at a map, you will notice that the first three are all located on the southeast coast of the main island of Honshu. These are all connected by the shinkansen bullet train line, and it takes approximately an hour to travel from one to the next. Matsue is on the northwest coast, off the main bullet train line, but can be reached easily from most major cities in the country by airplane, or by local train or bus from anywhere else in the region. (If you can’t find a flight to Matsue itself, the city of Yonago, a major transportation nexus with several interesting sights of its own, is only about 30 minutes away.)		  
 
 
  For those who don’t want to spend a lot of time on trains, planning your trip around one or two hub cities makes a lot of sense. If you stayed in Okayama, for example, you could spend one day visiting Korakuen Garden and Okayama castle. Then, depending on the time of year, you might take in a festival the next. On your third day you could take a short train ride out to Bizen and spend the day learning about this famous pottery style and shopping for souvenirs. On the fourth day, you might make the slightly longer ride to either Osafune or Tsuyama to see how old-style craftsmen pursue their trades. Or you could schedule a cruise out on the Seto Inland Sea, or take a bus ride over the bridge to the island of Shikoku. There really is no end of possibilities.  
  The same could be said for any of the other cities as well. In Matsue, for example, one might spend a day seeing the castle and gardens, topping it off with a moat cruise. The next morning might be spent at the Lafcadio Hearn buildings, and the afternoon at one of the numerous museums in the city. The next day, Vogel Park and then on to the Izumo Taisha shrine. After that, you could take a ship out to the Oki Islands for the weekend or travel over to Mt. Daisen, both about an hour away.  
  Of course, all four of the hub cities have excellent hotels, Japanese style inns, restaurants and plenty of tourist advice in English and other languages. And access to all four is a simple matter once you get into Japan, as all have frequently-serviced domestic airports.