Geosites in Mine: West area
Click photos on the map to read explanations.
Geosite
1.Mine Inclined Shaft Mine Ruins(Mugikawa)
The Mine Inclined Shaft Mine was one of the most important coalmine shafts in the Ohmine Coalfield, which produced anthracite coal (coal that emits little smoke when burned). A large amount of coal mined underground was carried through this shaft to the ground. In olden times, there was a railway station near here, so the coal could be immediately transported.
Geosite
2.Arakawa Mine Gallery Ruins
The Arakawa Mine Gallery was mined for anthracite coal (which emits little smoke when burned). Completed in 1905, this is the oldest existing gallery/shaft in the Ohmine Coalfield. At this valuable heritage site dating back to the Meiji Era, you can still see old brick walls inside the shaft.
* Only guided visitors can enter the shaft.
Geosite
3.Momonoki Open-Pit Mine Ruins
At the site of the Momonoki Open-Pit Mine Ruins, coal was mined right on the ground surface from 1966 to 1970.
* Only guided visitors can visit this geosite.
Geosite
4.Kaigun (Navy) Keystone
The Kaigun (Navy) Keystone used to stand at the entry into a coalmine shaft built by the Japanese Navy in 1908. The keystone bears an engraving of the navy’s symbol: a cherry blossom and an anchor. It was relocated to its current location in 2007.
Geosite
5.Kijima Matabe statue
Kijima Matabe was born in present-day Sanyo Onoda City in 1816. As a master of military arts, he organized a force named Yugekitai and became its leader. In the Kinmon Incident in August 1864, during the final years of the Edo Period, he was shot to death.
Geosite
6.Sea of Clouds’ View Highway Park
Located on a hill overlooking the urban area, Sea of Clouds’ View Highway Park is an excellent place to observe the surrounding geomorphological features. Fog often descends over the surrounding area in spring, fall and early winter, providing a spectacular view of the urban area blanketed in a sea of clouds from the park. This park is very popular for its other wonderful, seasonal views.
a.Mine City Museum of History and Folklore
This museum exhibits fossil specimens owned by the late paleontologist Okazaki Goro from Mine City, as well as many materials about the Ohmine Coalfield, and drugs produced in Isa and sold by peddlers. The museum explains clearly the history and culture of Mine.
- Location: 279-1 Higashibun, Ohmine-cho, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Hours: 9:00-17:00 (entry accepted until 16:30)
- Admission: Senior high school students or older - 100 yen; elementary and junior high school students - 50 yen
- Closed: National holidays, New Year holidays, and Mondays (If a national holiday falls on a Monday, the museum will be closed on both the Monday and the following day.)
- Access: (1) 5 min. on foot from JR Mine Sta., or (2) 10 min. by car from Mine IC on the Chugoku Expressway
- Inquiries: Mine City Museum of History and Folklore Tel. & Fax: +81 (0)837-53-0189
b.Mine Fossil Museum
Mainly featuring fossils from Mine City, this museum provides plain explanations of fossils under the three themes of “vertebrates,” “ammonites” and “insects.” Exhibits displayed here include ammonite fossils from various eras, and insect fossils preserved in amber. Large limestone specimens housed in the museum’s repository also contain many fossils.
- Location: 315-12 Higashibun, Ohmine-cho, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Hours: 9:00-17:00 (entry accepted until 16:30)
- Admission: ≪Individual≫ Senior high school students or older - 100 yen; elementary and junior high school students - 50 yen
- ≪Group≫ Senior high school students or older - 80 yen; elementary and junior high school students - 30 yen * The group fees apply to visitors in groups of 20 or more members.
- Closed: National holidays, New Year holidays, and Mondays (If a national holiday falls on a Monday, the museum will be closed on both the Monday and the following day.)
- Access: 5 min. on foot from JR Mine Sta.
- Inquiries: Mine Fossil Museum Tel.: +81 (0)837-52-5474
c.Mori-no-Eki (Forest Station)
This is Yamaguchi Prefecture’s only Mori-no-Eki (Forest Station), an 18-hectare forest featuring log houses, a camping ground, roundwood houses, an insect forest, a charcoal kiln, a shiitake mushroom house, accommodations, an orchard, and other facilities. You can fully enjoy walking in the fresh verdure of a sawtooth oak forest, and savor “forest dishes” such as pizzas topped with edible wild plants.
- Location: Mitsusugi, Ohmine-cho, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Admission: 100 yen
- Access: (1) 15 min. by bus from JR Mine Sta. and 10 min. on foot from Mitsusugi, or (2) 15 min. by car from Mine West IC
- Inquiries: Mori-no-Eki (Forest Station) Tel.: +81 (0)837-52-1644
d.Suijin Park
This is a beautiful natural park featuring the refreshing landscapes of a mountain stream running along a mountain trail in Nishidera, Ofuku-cho, Mine City, at the foot of Mt. Ganpi. In the park, a “waterfall-opening” ceremony takes place on the first Sunday of July every year. You can enjoy somen-nagashi (catching somen noodles from a flow of water with chopsticks, and eating them) in summer, and colored leaves in fall. Somen-nagashi in Suijin Park is offered from April 29 to the second Sunday of September (only on Sundays and holidays until the end of June). You can savor somen noodles while enjoying the cool environment with a beautiful view of waterfalls.
- Location: Nishidera, Ofuku-cho, Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Hours (somen-nagashi): 9:00-18:00
- Access: (1) 10 min. on foot from JR Ofuku Sta., or (2) 20 min. by car from Mine IC
- Inquiries: Tel.: +81 (0)837-56-0817 * Outside of the somen-nagashi season, contact the Mine City General Tourism Department on:+81 (0)837-62-0305
