Traveling through the mountains and sea in one day - Self-driving tour from Kyushu to Honshu

🚗 Kyushu to Honshu: A one-day self-driving tour for parents and children in Japan Starting from Fukuoka in northern Kyushu, we set off at 7am in the cool morning, aiming for several popular attractions in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The itinerary includes the magnificent Kanmon Bridge, the sweet fruit picking experience at the strawberry farm, praying at the stunning shrine, and eating sushi at Karato Market. This is a one-day round-trip self-driving trip! 🌉 The magnificent bridge between the islands, "Kanmon Bridge" This bridge, which is more than 1 km long, crosses the Kanmon Strait. The bridge is spacious and stable, and driving on it is refreshing. Looking out of the car window, on the left is the sparkling Seto Inland Sea, and on the right is the historic Shimonoseki Port view, which is a combination of nature and human engineering. 📍 Location Information • Japanese name: Kanmon Bridge (かんもんきょう) • Address: 〒751-0814 Dan-no-ura-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture • Transportation: Drive via the Kyushu Expressway to the Sanyo Expressway (tolls required) 📝 Recommendation: Kanmon Bridge is part of the expressway (Sanyo Expressway) and tolls are required. If you want to save money, you can also choose to pass through the "Kanmon Tunnel" below. 🍓 Sweet parent-child time: Hana no Omi Strawberry Farm After arriving in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, we came to the strawberry tourist farm "Hana no Omi" that we had booked. The strawberry farm here is open for experience from December to May of the following year, which is the sweetest season for strawberries! Walking into the greenhouse, the fragrance is fragrant, and the eyes are full of bright red and plump strawberries, which makes people salivate. We picked and ate the fruits at the same time. The flesh was delicate and juicy, with a balance of sweet and sour. It was a fresh taste that you would never get in the supermarket. Each person also had a small bag to hold strawberry leaves. The park's promotion of environmental protection was commendable. In addition to strawberries, the park also has a mini animal area: goats strolled leisurely on the grass, and rabbits jumped cutely. You can buy feed to feed them. 📍 Location Information • Japanese name: Flower Sea (はなのうみ) • Address: 〒757-0012 Yamaguchi Prefecture Sanyo Onoda City 3392 Haniwa • Transportation: About 40 minutes drive from Shimonoseki / take JR to "Haiwa Station" and transfer to a taxi for about 10 minutes 📝 Recommendation: Make an appointment in advance on the official website (especially on holidays). The ticket includes the all-you-can-eat time limit. Feed for the animal area needs to be purchased separately, and you can bring your own wet wipes for cleaning. ⛩️ Coin-throwing Blessing Wonder: Motonosumi Shrine In the afternoon, we drove to the coastal hills of Nagato City to visit the legendary Motonosumi Shrine. The most famous thing about this shrine is the rows of red torii gates winding down, forming a beautiful visual corridor, which contrasts with the Sea of ​​Japan behind it, which is breathtaking. The "offering challenge" of the shrine is also very interesting. The money box is set high above the torii gate, and you need to throw coins into it to "seek good luck." We took turns to challenge, laughing and clapping, and at that moment it was really as lively as attending a festival! The cliffs next to the shrine have a wide view, the waves hit the rocky shore, and the salty sea breeze blows on your face, which cleanses your heart. This is not only a place for prayer, but also a hot spot for stunning photography. 📍 Location Information • Japanese name: Motonosumi Shrine (もとのすみじんじゃ) • Address: 〒759-4712 498 Aburatsugu, Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture • Transportation: About 1 hour by car from Hana no Hai / JR "Nagato City Station" transfer to the bus for about 30 minutes (few buses) • Parking lot: Yes (easy to be full during peak season) 📝 Suggestion: There is a parking lot at the shrine, but there are not many vacancies. It is recommended to arrive early during peak season. The seaside is windy, remember to wear a warm windproof jacket. 🍣 Delicious food by the harbor - Karato Market At dusk, we returned to Shimonoseki City and ended our trip at the popular seafood market "Karato Market". Although there are fewer stalls at night than during the day, the sushi stalls and seafood restaurants are still open and bustling. We chose several popular vendors and bought freshly made sushi to enjoy. Grilled yellowtail, pufferfish sushi, salmon roe gunkan... everything is so fresh that it's amazing. Paired with miso soup and local beer, it's a perfect ending! After eating, you can also visit the market and take some local specialties such as mentaiko, dried scallops, and seaweed gift boxes to bring the aftertaste of the journey home. 📍 Location Information • Japanese name: Karato Market (からといちば) • Address: 750-0005 〒50 Karato-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture • Transportation: About 10 minutes drive after getting off the Kanmon Bridge • Business hours: Generally open 5:00-15:00 (closed on Mondays) 📝 Suggestion: The market is most crowded during the day, and the morning market on weekends is particularly lively. If you want to avoid the crowds, it is recommended to visit in the evening, and there are many choices in the cafeteria. Although this one-day self-driving tour in Japan is only a round trip, it seems to have traveled through many wonderful worlds: from the magnificence of the cross-sea bridge to the sweet parent-child time in the strawberry garden; from the fun of praying at the shrine to the satisfying taste buds of sushi in the market, each stop left a deep memory. The charm of Japan lies in the perfect interweaving of these big and small, nature and humanity.