Hagi is a historic castle town established over 400 years ago. It is known for producing many key figures in Japan’s modernization, including the country’s first Prime Minister.
Today, the town remains remarkably well preserved, and visitors can even explore it using historical maps from that time. Castle ruins, samurai residences, post towns, old roads, and beautiful rural scenery – rice fields, the sea, and surrounding mountains—can all be experienced within a compact area where samurai once lived and traveled.
Hagi was also one of the earliest towns designated under Japan’s Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings system. The preserved area is approximately 8 times larger than Kyoto’s, 9 times larger than Takayama’s. Meanwhile, Kyoto receives roughly 1,200 times, Takayama about 110 times, Kanazawa about 324 times, and nearby Hiroshima about 995 times as many international visitors as Hagi, leading to issues of overcrowding in these destinations.
Located about 1.5 hours from Hiroshima and Fukuoka, Hagi is easy to access while remaining peaceful and uncrowded.
Through Discover HAGI Tours, we invite you to experience the “Authentic Japan” that guidebooks rarely show.
