You won’t find these places on the average tourist’s map, but travellers who’ve seen Japan more than once know about Chugoku.
Not because it’s hidden or secret, but because it’s simply less crowded than the Golden Route.
This itinerary includes key sights in five prefectures:
- Hiroshima’s peace monuments and island shrine
- Okayama’s famous garden and castle
- Kurashiki’s preserved Edo-period canal district
- Tottori’s unique sand dunes
- Historic Matsue
- Yamaguchi’s temples
Standard tourist sites, but in a region where you can actually see them without fighting crowds.
After 26 years here, I’ve found that the best travel experiences happen when you visit famous places during quieter times.
It’s better than just looking for unknown spots.
Chugoku offers that opportunity.
Plan your 7-day Chugoku itinerary with these experiences:
Day 1: Hiroshima – Living With History
I’ve been to Hiroshima dozens of times.
Start at Peace Park before 8 AM, when it belongs to the joggers and the river sounds.
The museum will be difficult.
It’s meant to be.
This isn’t historical curiosity.
It’s the foundation of everything that came after.
The rebuilding, the politics, the way this city thinks about itself and Japan’s place in the world.
By afternoon, you’ll need the covered shopping streets to decompress.
Hondori stretches for blocks, connecting smaller streets where real life happens.
High school students buying crepes, office workers debating lunch options.
Ordinary Tuesday in a city that earned the right to be ordinary.
Day 2: Miyajima – Sacred and Profane
The floating torii at Itsukushima Shrine might be Japan’s most photographed sight, but photographs miss the point.
It’s not just the view, though that’s spectacular.
It’s the way sacred and mundane coexist on this small island.
Take the early ferry from Miyajimaguchi.
The JR ferry approaches closer to the torii, giving you the classic angle everyone wants.
But here’s what matters: the gate only floats at high tide.
Check the schedules.
Low tide lets you walk out to it, which feels different but equally worth doing.
The shrine itself is being renovated in stages.
Both pagodas are scaffolded until late 2026, but the main buildings remain open.
These things happen.
Japan maintains its heritage by constantly repairing it.
The deer are cute but do not feed them.
Most tourists skip the ropeway up Mount Misen because it takes time and costs extra.
Their loss.
The view from the summit shows the entire Inland Sea, island after island fading into distance.
On clear days, you can see the mountains of Shikoku.
If you can manage it, stay for sunset.
The torii gate catches the light differently as the day ends, and the last ferry doesn’t leave until around 10 PM.
The island empties of day visitors, leaving you with the people who live here and the few who planned ahead.
Day 3: Okayama – The Garden That Teaches You How to Walk
Okayama gets overshadowed by its neighbours, which works in its favour.
You can experience Korakuen Garden without fighting crowds for photograph angles.
This is one of Japan’s three great gardens, but it’s different from the others.
Korakuen was designed for walking, not viewing.
The paths take you through composed scenes, each revealing itself as you move.
Early morning visits reward you with perfect light and empty walkways.
The garden changes completely with seasons.
Spring brings cherry blossoms.
Summer shows vibrant greens.
Autumn glows with maple colors.
Winter reveals essential shapes.
The resident cranes add life to the carefully dead landscape.
Okayama Castle, the black “Crow Castle,” was rebuilt after the war but maintains its original proportions.
The view from the top floor perfectly frames the garden below.
You understand both better from this height.
The city produces exceptional fruit. Summer peaches and grapes here achieve remarkable quality.
The station area markets sell them fresh, and the difference from supermarket versions is striking.
If you have time, take the train to Bizen town.
They’ve been making pottery here for a thousand years.
You can watch potters work and buy directly from their kilns.
The pottery varies dramatically depending on where pieces sat in the kiln, creating unique patterns from fire and ash.
Day 4: Kurashiki – Where Time Moves Like Water
You can reach Kurashiki from Okayama in fifteen minutes by train.
Most people skip it because they think they’ve seen enough old buildings elsewhere.
This works in your favour.
The Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter keeps Edo and Meiji period buildings along canals that once carried rice and goods to Osaka markets.
Now the waterways reflect willow trees and white-walled warehouses that house museums and craft shops.
People call it the “Venice of Japan,” but that misses the point.
Venice performs its beauty for crowds who expect drama.
Kurashiki simply continues being what it always was: a working town that happens to be beautiful.
You should start early when morning light hits the white walls and black tile roofs.
The canal reflects everything perfectly, doubling the buildings in still water.
By 9 AM you’ll have the narrow streets mostly to yourself.
Kurashiki makes excellent sake, which you can buy directly from local breweries.
The traditional method uses underground fermentation in the historic district’s old storage buildings.
Tasting rooms let you compare different brewing styles whilst learning how rice quality affects the final taste.
The afternoon crowds arrive around noon, but they stick to the main canal walk.
You should wander the parallel streets where actual residents live among the tourist areas.
Vegetable shops, hardware stores, and family restaurants operate normally.
This creates the lived-in feeling that makes preservation meaningful.
Evening lights transform the quarter completely.
Day 5: Tottori – Japan’s Only Desert
The journey to Tottori takes most of the day: back to Okayama, then express train north to the coast.
About four hours total, but the destination justifies the travel time.
Tottori Sand Dunes are Japan’s only real desert.
The dunes shift with wind and weather, creating landscapes that change constantly.
Camel rides exist but feel gimmicky.
Walking the dunes gives you better understanding of the place.
The sand creates different moods depending on light and weather.
Morning and evening light turns everything golden.
Wind sculpts patterns that appear and disappear.
Clear days reveal mountain ranges beyond the dunes.
Your footprints vanish quickly, leaving no trace of your passage.
The Sand Museum near the dunes showcases remarkable sculptures created by international artists.
The detail and skill are extraordinary, and the displays change annually.
These aren’t permanent installations; they’re temporary art that accepts its own impermanence.
Most tourists don’t walk beyond the main dune area to reach the beach.
The coast here is beautiful and usually empty, perfect for quiet time after crowds at the sand museum.
Many hotels in Tottori have onsen hot springs.
After walking in sand all day, a hot bath feels essential rather than optional.
Day 6: Matsue – Castle Town That Remembers Itself
The express train from Tottori to Matsue takes two hours through countryside that feels unchanged for decades.
Matsue sits beside Lake Shinji, with one of Japan’s twelve remaining original wooden castles.
The Castle creaks authentically when you walk through it.
The wooden floors and steep stairs remind you that this was built for defence, not tourism.
From the top floor, Lake Shinji spreads below, changing colours throughout the day.
The Bukeyashiki samurai district has original houses.
You can see how warrior families lived there.
The houses are modest by modern standards, but the gardens demonstrate perfect use of limited space.
Lake Shinji is famous for sunset views.
The water changes from blue to orange to deep purple as the sun sets.
Many locals gather here daily for this free entertainment.
The lake also produces excellent freshwater clams, a local speciality.
Matsue supported tea ceremony culture for centuries, developing remarkable confectionery traditions.
The wagashi (traditional sweets) here are amazing.
You can find them at historic shops all over the city.
Even if you don’t care for tea ceremony, the sweets show skill that you should try.
Evening boat tours navigate the castle’s moat system.
The stone walls look different from water level, and evening lighting creates atmospheric effects.
The tours operate year-round, though schedules vary by season.
Day 7: Yamaguchi – Where Modern Japan Began
The express train from Matsue to Yamaguchi City takes two hours.
This small city was key to Japan’s shift from feudal isolation to a modern nation.
Its calm atmosphere today makes this history hard to believe.
Rurikoji Temple houses a five-storey pagoda built six centuries ago.
The pagoda sits in a garden setting that changes dramatically with seasons.
Morning light filtering through surrounding trees creates excellent photography opportunities.
Joeiji Temple receives fewer visitors but offers equally impressive architecture.
The meditation garden is made for contemplation. It’s a perfect spot to reflect on your week in Chugoku.
From Yamaguchi, you have a few options to get back to Tokyo.
You can take the shinkansen from Shin-Yamaguchi Station, which takes about four hours.
Alternatively, you can fly from Yamaguchi Ube Airport to Tokyo or Osaka.
If you want to extend your trip, you can also head south to Kyushu.
What This Region Teaches You
Chugoku reveals Japan’s complexity without trying to explain it.
Ancient traditions meet modern art.
Tragic history contrasts with a peaceful present.
Industrial cities sit alongside quiet islands.
All these elements coexist, yet remain unresolved.
Each prefecture maintains distinct character.
Hiroshima is known for its international awareness.
Okayama boasts agricultural abundance.
Tottori showcases natural beauty.
Shimane is famous for traditional crafts.
Yamaguchi holds historical significance.
These differences matter to people who live here.
The food varies dramatically by location.
Hiroshima has its layered okonomiyaki.
Okayama is known for perfect fruit.
Tottori offers winter crab.
Shimane is famous for lake clams.
Yamaguchi features fugu and sea urchin.
Each area developed cuisine based on local resources and climate.
Transportation works efficiently but requires attention.
Your JR Pass covers most travel, but some destinations need local buses or short walks.
The best experiences come from unexpected moments and genuine encounters with places and people.
Don’t try to see everything.
Choose what interests you and spend time with it properly.
This region rewards travellers who look beyond famous sights and engage with ordinary life.
They also arise from watching daily life unfold in places that could flaunt their beauty but don’t.
After 25 years here, I still discover new places and experiences.
The region changes slowly, preserving what matters while adapting to what’s necessary.
It’s Japan as it actually is, not as it performs for visitors.
