【株旅～株主、本社視察の旅～】
Hello everyone. I’m the shareholder. We’ve arrived at JR Shimonoseki Station. As the western gateway of Yamaguchi Prefecture connecting Honshu and Kyushu, it serves as a major transportation hub. Our journey starts right here. First, we’ll walk to the Yamaguchi Financial Group headquarters. As of July 2025, Shimonoseki City has a population of about 237,000, and at its peak in 1980, there were 325,000, so like many regional cities, its population has been declining, and urban revival and reinvigoration are major issues, for the city. It was once one of the nation’s leading hubs for fishing and commerce back in the day. At the heart of such a Shimonoseki, stands the Yamaguchi Financial Group headquarters. Ah, there it is. This black building is the Yamaguchi Financial Group headquarters. It’s a solidly built structure; though its appearance is rather imposing, inside you’ll find cutting-edge financial technology and digital strategies at work, —a place shaping the future of regional finance. This headquarters building was constructed in 1965 and it still retains its appearance to this day. The group’s total assets are about 13 trillion yen. Furthermore, in the results for March 2025, ordinary profit was about over 52 billion yen —ranking among the top regional banking groups nationwide in terms of performance. Yamaguchi Financial Group originally was a regional financial group centered around Yamaguchi Bank, and now it includes Hiroshima’s Momiji Bank and Kitakyushu City’s Kitakyushu Bank, forming a three-bank system that covers the Chugoku region and extends into northern Kyushu. Dream Incubator (stock code 4310) is also an equity-method affiliate of the Yamaguchi Financial Group . If you go down this corridor on the opposite side, you can see the Shimonoseki Port International Terminal. The Kanmon Ferry connecting Shimonoseki and Busan, South Korea, departs from here. In recent years, partnerships with IT companies, smartphone-based account opening, AI loan screening, and digital transformation initiatives have been boldly pursued. While I was at it, I also came to Kokura Station. Kokura Station! In Kokura Kita Ward of Kitakyushu City, I visited the headquarters of Kitakyushu Bank and its main branch. This is what the building looks like. Kitakyushu Bank’s ordinary profit increased compared to the previous period by 2.681 billion yen to 7.918 billion yen. They’re growing their profits quite well. The building itself is nice, but as expected Yamaguchi Bank’s is much larger. Kitakyushu Bank headquarters Additionally, I went to the Momiji Bank headquarters in Hiroshima City as part of this trip. Momiji Bank’s ordinary profit increased compared to the previous period by about 1.006 billion yen to 11.076 billion yen. The building is also quite large. In YMFG, the ‘Y’ stands for Yamaguchi and the ‘M’ stands for Momiji. And of course they support the Carp players. Now, let’s return to Shimonoseki. We’re at the Ovision Kaikyō Yume Tower —we’ve arrived here. It’s 153 meters tall. It’s another imposing structure towering over the Kanmon Strait standing tall over the strait. From the observation deck 143 meters above ground, you can see the Seto Inland Sea the Kanmon Strait, Ganryu Island, and even the Hibikinada Sea, and enjoy a magnificent panorama with sweeping views. It used to be called the Kaikyō Yume Tower, but I found out that a real estate company based in Shimonoseki, called Estrust acquired the naming rights, so since 2024 it’s been named the Ovision Kaikyō Yume Tower apparently. The observation deck costs 600 yen for adults. Children are 300 yen. Our next little detour is to Buzen’eda Shopping Street, located just near Shimonoseki Station. This area is lined with restaurants, snack bars, and lounges as well as live music bars —making it the city’s biggest nightlife spot, though during the day there aren’t many people around. Back in the 1960s it was said that “the neon lights of Buzen’eda never went out until dawn” —that’s how lively it was, second only to Naha’s Matsuyama district, with reportedly the second-highest density of snack bars in Japan, though there are no statistics or records left, so we can’t say for certain… It also feels like a miniature version of Shinjuku’s Golden Gai —almost like There were lots of nostalgic, retro streets that reminded me of the Showa era. It’s like time has stopped since Showa, and it feels somehow nostalgic. No matter which way you look, there are snack buildings everywhere —it’s truly a nightlife district. Next we drop by the former Yamaguchi Bank head office. This retro building was built in 1920 and has never been rebuilt. It now serves as the YamaGin Museum. And if you look the other way, lo and behold the Hoshino Resort’s RISONARE Shimonoseki is almost completed and is scheduled to open in December 2025. And just a few minutes’ walk from the former Yamaguchi Bank head office is our next stop —the former Bank of Japan Seibu Branch. The Meiji Yasuda Life Shimonoseki building now stands on this site. The former Bank of Japan Shimonoseki branch was once led by none other than Korekiyo Takahashi as its first branch manager. This shows that Shimonoseki has been economically important since the Meiji era . Incidentally, Mr. Takahashi later became Prime Minister —a truly remarkable figure. For some reason, I suddenly decided to show my face and walk and what I was thinking at this time was “this project of walking in this extreme heat is tougher than I expected.” And then, this came into view—the new Hoshino Resort hotel under construction, RISONARE Shimonoseki. This luxurious Hoshino brand property is scheduled to open this December. Turning to the side, there’s a small amusement park called “Haikarato Yokocho” with a sizeable Ferris wheel. It was rather large. There was also a curious red double-decker bus modelled after London’s iconic buses —a tourist attraction that evokes the British consulate era and the diplomatic scene of the Meiji period, a sight unique to this town. You don’t see that every day. There’s a large parking lot and along that street stands the Kaikyokan aquarium. It was closed for renovations when we filmed, but it’s slated to reopen in August 2025 with a renewed dolphin and sea lion night show popular with visitors. A short walk brings us to the Karato Pier. There are also helicopter sightseeing flights. Behind it, though a bit hard to see, is the Shimonoseki Grand Hotel standing there. It’s a place where even members of the imperial family stay. Directly opposite is a building called “Kammon Wharf” with restaurants and souvenir shops, and it’s bustling as well. Being Shimonoseki, there are lots of pufferfish and restaurants serving fugu dishes. You can even see fugu here. And then we arrive at the lively Karato Market. It’s crowded today because it’s a holiday. We’ll buy sushi inside for lunch. First, a fugu greets us. The fun of Karato Market is that on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, there are stalls selling sushi by the piece and cheap seafood bowls lined up along the market. It’s just past 2 PM, and it’s bustling. Since it ends at 3 PM, there are half-price sales and 100-yen discounts per sushi, and it turns into a scramble. They don’t do this on weekdays, so keep that in mind. It’s so crowded that it’s hard to move forward. And look at this place—the line stretches all the way here. People take their purchased sushi outside or up to the second-floor deck to eat while watching the ships in the strait or the Kanmon Bridge, like a picnic. I finally managed to buy some sushi at the market. Here it is. This cost 500 yen including tax. The outdoor breeze feels nice. Across from Karato Market is Kameyama Hachimangu Shrine commonly called Kameyama-san. This shrine has over a thousand years of history and is Shimonoseki’s guardian, beloved by the locals. Also, on the torii gate, to the lower left of the character for “mountain” there’s a baseball lodged and stuck. It got caught there by chance in 1958 and despite all the storms hasn’t fallen for over 60 years. Local high school baseball players pray here for victory and many schools have gone on to perform well at the spring and summer Koshien tournaments. Yes, this place is even called a god of baseball, a mysterious shrine believed to bring strong luck. It is also said to be the birthplace of barbers in Japan. In the mid-Kamakura period, there was a shop right by Kameyama Hachimangu with a splendid altar in the tokonoma (alcove), and from that it came to be called “tokoya” which evolved into the word “barber shop.” So, this is the root of all barbers in Japan. Next up, we visited Shimonoseki’s proud historical landmark, Shunpanrō. This is actually the place where the Treaty of Shimonoseki ending the Sino-Japanese War was signed. In 1895, the Japanese side, led by Hirobumi Ito, decided the fate of Taiwan and the war indemnity right here, which is amazing. Originally it was a restaurant, but now you can also stay here as it has become a long-established luxury inn famous for fugu cuisine. It truly is a sacred place of history and gourmet food. Next to Shunpanrō is Akama Shrine (pronounced Akama Jingu) which stands overlooking the sea of Shimonoseki, with its bright red shrine buildings. This shrine enshrines Emperor Antoku, who died young in the Battle of Dan-no-ura. That was the final decisive battle between the Genji and Heike clans. Its gate looks like a bright red Ryugu-jo castle. It makes quite an impression. Within the shrine grounds are also graves of the Heike clan. There really is so much history from textbooks related to Shimonoseki. And there’s still more to come. But it sure is beautiful here. Also, Akama Shrine is famous for one more thing. It’s home to Hoichi the Earless. Right next to where the Heike clan is enshrined is a statue of Hoichi in the Hoichi Hall. Nowadays, Akama Shrine is a symbol of Shimonoseki and a popular spot for tourists. Next, heading toward the Karato Shopping Street we find the old British Consulate of Shimonoseki built of red brick. It’s free to experience the atmosphere of that time inside. It is one of the oldest surviving consulate buildings in Japan, built in the Meiji era. . Why is there a British consulate in Shimonoseki? The background involves the Bakumatsu-era Battle of Shimonoseki —also known as the Shimonoseki Campaign. In 1863, the Choshu Domain blockaded the Shimonoseki Strait and fought against Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States in the Battle of Shimonoseki. The Choshu Domain lost, but after the war negotiations over reparations brought the domain and foreign countries closer together. In 1902, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed, and Japan and Shimonoseki grew increasingly important to Britain. . This is what it looks like inside. After that, Shimonoseki developed as a key point on international routes, and in 1906 Britain finally built an official consulate here. During the reparations negotiations after the Shimonoseki Campaign, Britain asked to lease Hikoshima with plans to turn it into a second Hong Kong, but negotiator Shinsaku Takasugi firmly refused. If they had temporarily made Hikoshima British territory Shimonoseki might have developed like Hong Kong . And being British territory might also have meant that the devastating Shimonoseki air raid at the end of World War II wouldn’t have happened. But that’s just speculation. By the way, there’s a café on the second floor. But Takasugi’s refusal to lease Hikoshima and his later attempts to overthrow the shogunate became the driving force of the Meiji Restoration which in turn perhaps led to the development of modern Japan. Today, this building serves as an exhibition space open to the public free of charge, and for lovers of retro architecture, and history buffs alike it’s irresistible. Now, let’s take a walk through the nearby Karato Shopping Street. This place was once very lively but now there are only a few restaurants scattered here and there, and not many people during the day so it feels a bit lonely. A little further along, there’s a trendy new gourmet spot called Karato Harete Yokocho. It was produced by former member of parliament and TV personality Taizo Sugimura. This facility is actually the second of its kind after the one in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, . Harete’s feature is that you can open a shop with no initial costs because it comes equipped so you can start business right away. There’s no deposit, no key money, no interior costs, and the kitchen equipment is provided which means you can open in as little as three days. However, you pay 20% of your sales to the operator . Still, compared to starting elsewhere the risks are significantly lower, making it ideal for those who want to try opening a restaurant for the first time. And once your sales stabilize, you can move to another location anytime; in fact, there are places that have succeeded and moved to larger venues. There’s even a graduation-like system and it’s gaining attention as a place for new ventures and local revitalization . If you want to own your own shop in the future, why not try your hand here? According to Sugimura, he wants to bring these cheerful alleyways to towns and people across the country. Wonderful. Let’s continue exploring the Karato Shopping Street —there are karaoke cafés and restaurants as well as snack bars and karaoke bars. This looks like a snack bar building. Maybe I’ll stop by for a drink after dinner . Now, where should I have dinner? This yakitori place caught my eye so I decided to go in. It’s the kind of chic yakitori restaurant where even a woman by herself can feel comfortable with jazz music playing. They use a Yamaguchi brand of local chicken called Choshu Kuro Kashiwa for their ingredients. . They recommended wine, but I went with beer this time. Everything I ordered was delicious. Now I’m off to the next place for a drink. This one is Oto-gi, a tavern in Karato, which doubles as a karaoke bar. The owner is very friendly, so even first-time visitors won’t have any problems. They’ll tell you all sorts of things about Shimonoseki. They also have some fun surprises. Here’s the information about the shop. There’s still Tsunoshima and other places to come, so stay tuned for part two. If you enjoyed this, please like and subscribe.
【株旅 ～かぶたび～】
今回は、山口フィナンシャルグループ（山口FG）の本社がある山口県下関市を訪れ、
街の魅力や歴史、グルメをたっぷりご紹介します！
📍今回の旅ルート
00:27 JR下関駅
01:35 山口フィナンシャルグループ本社
03:33 関連の北九州銀行
03:38 関連のもみじ銀行
05:15 オービジョン海峡ゆめタワー
06:38 豊前田商店街散策
08:05 旧山口銀行本店(やまぎん資料館)
08:40 旧日銀西部支店(下関支店)
11:02 唐戸エリア
14:35 亀山八幡宮(床屋発祥の地)
16:05 春帆楼（日清講和条約の舞台）
17:00 赤間神宮と耳なし芳一
19:04 旧英国領事館
22:27 唐戸商店街散策(唐戸ハレテ横丁、焼き鳥トリップさん、カラオケバーおとぎさん)
🍽今回登場したお店
・焼き鳥とワイン【トリップ】さん
山口県下関市唐戸町2-12
グーグルマップ：https://maps.app.goo.gl/gNKw8yCg3f4RiNYb7
営業時間：17:00-22:00LO
不定休
・唐戸の酒場【おとぎ】さん
山口県下関市赤間町2-1 赤間プラザ1F
グーグルマップ：https://maps.app.goo.gl/RKHrd8K7dDVPQ57g8
営業時間：17:30-LAST
HP：https://karatonosaakaba-otogi.com/
※お店情報は訪問時点のものです。
📊 株主目線のポイント
山口FGのPBR・PER・配当利回りなどを解説。
今後の下関市の観光、インバウンド需要のポテンシャル
🎥 関連動画（ショート版）はこちら
👉 https://youtube.com/shorts/Ru_iKyOXlvE
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【注意事項】
※本動画は特定の銘柄や株式の購入を推奨するものではなく、情報提供およびエンターテインメントを目的としています。配当利回り、PBRなどの企業情報は編集時点のデータに基づいており、最新の数値とは異なる場合があります。投資判断はご自身の責任で行ってください。
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