[ Day-1 ] 10:00 Your hotel or HAKATA Station, KOKURA Station in Fukuoka At the airport, a driver with a name board will meet you at the arrival gate and guide you to the bus parking lot. If you can apply, please let us know your [arrival flight number] in advance. This product is based on the assumption that you have already completed sightseeing in Kyushu. Please check out of the hotel at a leisurely pace at 10am. * Pick-up starts 10 minutes before departure. *** Please specify the boarding location in advance if you are in Fukuoka. We will pick you up for free.

[ Day-1 ] 11:30-11:45 Dannoura Battlefield, 21-1 Mimosusogawa- cho, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi In 1180, the decades-long power struggle between the two pre-eminent warrior households of the Minamoto and Taira had finally boiled over into open conflict over an issue of Imperial succession, with the Taira leader Kiyomori maneuvering to place his infant grandson Antoku on the throne in place of the prince Mochihito, the son of the retired emperor. Mochihito sent out a call to the Minamoto family, led by Yoritomo, but was soonafter killed in the first skirmish of the war at Uji, near Kyoto.

[ Day-1 ] 12:00-13:00 Karato Fish Market, 5-50 Karatocho, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi At this lively market in Yamaguchi , local fishermen sell their freshly caught fish at very reasonable prices. Karato Market began as a street market in 1909, and now its ships fish all over Japan. Although the focus of Karato is seafood, you can also buy other local seasonal ingredients since many farmers come from Yamaguchi and the surrounding area to set up shop.

[ Day-1 ] 14:15-15:15 Ruriko-ji Five Story Pagoda, 1-28 Kimachi, Yamaguchi This pagoda was commissioned by Ouchi Morimi, one of the heads of the Ouchi clan that ruled Yamaguchi from the 14th to 16th centuries. Morimi had the pagoda built as a memorial to his older brother Ouchi Yoshihiro, who died leading a revolt against the country’s central government in 1399. The pagoda was completed in 1442 and is lauded as the most outstanding structure surviving from the middle of the Muromachi period, which ran from approximately 1336 to 1573. It is designated a national treasure. The pagoda is 31 meters tall, or about 102 feet. Its roofs are made of multiple layers of cypress bark held in place with bamboo nails. Moving upward, each story is progressively narrower, contributing to the structure’s balanced appearance. Except for a railing running around the second story, the pagoda has very little adornment for Muromachi period architecture.

[ Day-1 ] 16:45-17:30 Kintaikyo Bridge, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi The Kintaikyo Bridge (錦帯橋, Kintaikyō) has been Iwakuni's most distinguished landmark and a subject of admiration for hundreds of years. The elegant, wooden bridge makes five bold arches onto massive stone pillars as it crosses over the Nishiki River. Plans for the Kintaikyo were first drawn up when strong currents had once again destroyed a bridge crossing the Nishiki River. A more durable bridge was commissioned by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third feudal lord of Iwakuni, whose statue stands at the entrance to nearby Kikko Park. After the bridge's completion in 1673, it kept standing until 1950, when Iwakuni was struck by a violent typhoon.

[ Day-1 DROP OFF ] 18:15 *near Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima *The world cultural heritage "Miyajima" is crossed by ferry. The bus cannot go with you on that ferry. If you prefer, you can stay at a hotel in Miyajima, or stay at a hotel near the ferry terminal "Miyajimaguchi", or make a reservation in advance by yourself. *Our bus will pick you up again tomorrow morning or noon at the place where you dropped off. Miyajima (宮島) is a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views. While officially named Itsukushima, the island is more commonly referred to as Miyajima, Japanese for "shrine island". This is because the island is so closely related to its key shrine, Itsukushima Shrine, in the public's mind. Like the torii gate, the shrine's main buildings are built over water.