Cobalt Line is a road that traverses Mt. Zenbo through to Mt. Omine in Hikari city, Yamaguchi prefecture. As the road runs on high ground along the Seto Inland Sea coast, down below you can glimpse the cobalt blue sea again and again.

You can also see Cape Zobigasaki. True to its name, the cape is shaped like an elephant’s nose (‘zo’= elephant, ‘bi’=one way to read the character for nose). It’s a picturesque sight also known as Suo’s Hashidate (referring to Amanohashidate).

The beautifully curving view of the cape is charming from every angle.

Along the way you can find woods with walking trails and observation decks with parking areas. On the day of our visit we traveled left to right on this guide map, and this was the first viewing point that appeared in front of us!

The Haginodaira observation deck.

You’ll have a 180 degree panoramic view of the Seto Inland Sea all to yourself. I’m sure you’ll be more than satisfied just by the view from here, but leave some room for more! Known as Cobalt Daichi, after this we have one more spot with sublime views to introduce you to.

Following the guide signs, you’ll come to a crossroads like this. You might feel like heading to the right where you can see glimpses of the sea, but climb up and take the road on the left.

This point offers a 270 degree panoramic view! The islands we saw from Haginodaira observation deck are now closer and more vivid.

As we watch boats sailing along between the islands, time just seems to slip by.

The total length of the course is 15km. If you’re only driving through, it’s over in an instant, but along the way you can also find plenty of woods where you can go hiking. If you bring your own lunch and some snacks, you can spend a whole day enjoying the drive and doing some hiking.

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Oidemase! Come to Yamaguchi!

Cobalt Line

Cobalt Line is a driving & hiking course surrounded by abundant nature, and which with a total length of 15 km connects Mt. Zenbo with Mt. Omine,  From Haginodaira observation deck and from Cobalt Daichi you have a view over the Setonaikai National Park. Along the route there are several places where the road is very narrow, so be sure to drive safely!

Starting point & Route: Tonaka -> Shiki no Mori -> Shimin no Mori -> Yacho no Mori -> Cobalt Daichi -> Murozumi

Location: Cobalt Line, Murozumi, Hikari city, Yamaguchi prefecture

http://www.hikari-kanko.org/tourism/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3/ (Japanese)

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Masafumi Fujimoto