Located at the western end of Honshu, Shimonoseki is one of those places that people tend to travel through rather than travel to. With Kyushu only 700 meters away across the Kanmon Strait, Shimonoseki is the main access point to that island, and as visa-run veterans are aware, the Korean port of Pusan is just an inexpensive ferry ride away.

Shimonoseki certainly sees a lot of through-traffic, but there is plenty in this agreeable town to warrant the attention of any visitor. For those with an interest in history, Shimonoseki is close to the site of one of the most decisive naval battles Japan has ever seen. It was at the Battle of Dannoura in 1185 where the Taira Clan were utterly defeated by the Minamoto Clan, ending the long, bitter Gempei War and ushering in almost seven centuries of warrior government.

Dannoura is on the Inland Sea coast just a few kilometers from Shimonoseki Station, and a memorial marks the spot where the famous sea battle took place. At the memorial, two statues have been erected, depicting the rival military leaders in that battle. Many of the Taira took their own lives, and the statue of Taira no Tomomori shows him holding aloft the anchor he grabbed to speed his descent to the seabed. Adjacent to him is the statue of his nemesis, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. As well as being one of Japan's greatest romantic heroes, Yoshitsune was a brilliant general, though the curiously effete statue of him shows the victor of Dannoura looking as if he has just wandered into the battle after a ballet rehearsal.