Current Time in Shimonoseki, Japan

Shimonoseki occupies the very western tip of Honshu, the main island of Japan, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, facing the island of Kyushu across the narrow Kanmon Straits. At its narrowest the channel is barely six hundred metres wide, with fierce tidal currents rushing between the Sea of Japan and the Inland Sea, and ships pass in a constant procession beneath a great suspension bridge. Hills rise steeply behind the waterfront, and the climate is mild and maritime.

About two hundred and fifty thousand people live in the city. Shimonoseki has always been a place of passage, guarding the sea route between western Japan and the Asian mainland, and it remains a major fishing port, a ferry terminal for Korea and China, and a centre of shipbuilding and food processing. Above all it is known throughout Japan as the capital of fugu, the pufferfish whose careful preparation is a licensed art, with the national wholesale market for the fish located here.

The straits have witnessed some of the most decisive moments in Japanese history. In 1185 the naval battle of Dan-no-ura was fought in these waters, ending the Genpei War with the destruction of the Taira clan and the drowning of the child emperor Antoku, an event that echoes through Japanese literature and folklore. In the 1860s the local Choshu domain fired on foreign ships and was bombarded in reply, a shock that helped push Japan towards modernisation and made Choshu a leading force in the Meiji Restoration. In 1895 the treaty ending the war between Japan and China was signed in a restaurant overlooking the water, and the building where it took place is preserved and open to visitors.

Akama Shrine, painted brilliant vermilion beside the sea, honours the drowned young emperor and is connected to the ghostly tale of Hoichi the earless, a blind musician summoned to play for the spirits of the defeated warriors. Karato Market is the city's liveliest attraction, where on weekend mornings stalls sell sushi and sashimi to eat on the quayside. The Kaikyokan aquarium displays an unrivalled collection of pufferfish, and a pedestrian tunnel runs beneath the strait so that visitors can walk from Honshu to Kyushu in about fifteen minutes. Hinoyama hill gives a panoramic view of the bridge and the swirling tides, and the old castle town of Chofu preserves earthen walls, samurai gates and temple gardens.

The prefecture around the city is known for the striking Tsunoshima Bridge, the long line of red torii gates at Motonosumi Shrine above the cliffs, and the limestone caves of Akiyoshido. Local specialities include pufferfish, whale dishes, sea urchin and anglerfish.

Shinkansen trains stop at Shin-Shimonoseki, expressways cross the straits by bridge and tunnel, and international ferries sail to Busan and Qingdao. Shimonoseki City University and the National Fisheries University are based here.

Shimonoseki rewards visitors with dramatic seascapes, extraordinary seafood and a landscape saturated with Japanese history.