Yanai is located on a peninsula jutting into the Inland Sea in southeastern Yamaguchi Prefecture. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Setonaikai National Park. Its favourable location at the mouth of a river enabled Yanai to prosper as a centre for trade in the Edo period. The stone steps lining the river where boats docked can still be seen. Today, the white-plastered merchant houses and warehouses along the main road of the town, Shirakabe Street, convey the atmosphere of ‘old Japan’.

One of the unique charms of Yanai is its red and white goldfish lanterns called kingyō chōchin, made of painted washi paper on a bamboo frame. They’re particularly beautiful when illuminated at night. During the Kingyō Festival held every August 13^th, the main street is hung with over 4,000 lanterns, and large goldfish-shaped floats parade through the town with traditional dances.

There are several museums in central Yanai. The Yanai Machinami Museum is housed in the former Suō Bank headquarters. Built in 1907 with a western-style façade, the museum documents the history Yanai and its people. The Shirakabe Gakuyūkan Folklore Museum explains the origins of the goldfish lanterns and displays many antique artifacts from daily life in centuries past. The Yanai Nishikura, once a soy sauce warehouse, now houses a craft centre where you can make your own goldfish lantern, and try traditional weaving on a loom and indigo dyeing. You can also have yourself dressed in a yukata or kimono with a reservation.

In addition to the museums, two old merchant houses offer insight into the lives of Yanai’s capitalists. The sprawling Muroya-no-Sono residence belonged to the Oda family who traded in rapeseed oil. Built in 1702, the eleven buildings house a collection of artifacts from all the periods since. Likewise, the Kunimori House has many antiques and the merchant’s office remains as it originally was.

In one of the streets of Shirakabe Street is the Sakawa soy sauce brewery where you can see and smell the aromatic sauce brewing in huge vats, and enjoy a tasting of sauce or a shōyu ice cream.

A short distance from Shirakabe Street is Chausuyama Tumulus, a keyhole-shaped burial mound from the Kofun period (5 – 7 centuries) on a hillside above the city with an expansive view over the Inland Sea. The little museum nearby houses artifacts found inside the tomb, including a bronze mirror, the largest of its kind found in Japan.