To reach Yamaguchi by train , take the branch JR Yamaguchi line, which runs between Ogori on the southern coast (also a Shinkansen stop) and the north coast town of Masuda in Shimane-ken. From Ogori, the journey takes twenty minutes.

The line is famous because it's one of the very few left in Japan on which a steam train service, the SL Yamaguchi-go, operates most weekends and holidays between late March and November. A gleaming 1937 locomotive, pulling restored antique carriages, takes two hours to run from Ogori to the castle town of Tsuwano, where it waits for just under three hours before making the return journey. Seat bookings are essential for this highly popular service. For the current schedule, check with JR and tourist information offices. Regular bus services run to the city from Hagi and Tsuwano, and there are also connecting buses for flights into Yamaguchi Ube Airport , some 40km south near the coastal city of Ube. All buses stop in front of Yamaguchi Station.

The tourist information centre (daily 9am-6pm; tel 083/933-0090, fax 933-0089, ytc21@dream.ocn.ne.jp ) is on the second floor of Yamaguchi Station. English-language maps and leaflets are available, and one of the assistants speaks English. There's also an information counter at Ogori Station beside the exit from the Shinkansen tracks, where you can get English-language leaflets on most attractions in Yamaguchi-ken.

Yamaguchi might be the smallest of Japan's prefectural capitals, but its main sights are too widely spread out to walk between them. There are plenty of local buses, but the easiest way to get around is to rent a bicycle at the station ticket office (¥320 for 2hr, ¥840 for the day). The city's commercial heart is where Ekimae-dori, the main street heading northwest towards the hills from the station, crosses the shopping arcade of Komeya-cho. The central post office is on the west side of the arcade, and there are banks and a JTB travel agent to the east. All the main sights are north of here.