Meiji

The Former Ōminato Water Source Waterworks Facility in Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property of Japan built between 1902 and 1910 as the first modern waterworks in the Tōhoku region. Discover its stunning gravity-arch stone dam and seasonal cherry blossoms in Suigenchi Park.

Built in 1907 by banker Tsushima Gen'emon, this 19-room wooden mansion in Kanagi, Aomori, is novelist Dazai Osamu's birthplace and an Important Cultural Property.

Standing on the northeastern tip of Honshu, Shiriyazaki Lighthouse is a graceful brick tower designed by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton and first lit in 1876. As Tōhoku's earliest Western-style lighthouse and Japan's tallest active brick lighthouse at 32.8 meters, it pioneered the country's first fog signal and first electric beacon. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 2022, the lighthouse sits within a windswept moorland where Aomori's natural-monument Kandachime horses graze, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tsugaru Strait.

Discover the Former Fifty-Ninth Bank Head Office Main Building in Hirosaki, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property of Japan. Built in 1904 by master builder Horie Sakichi, this stunning Renaissance-style wooden building features rare kinkarakami ceilings and exquisite Japanese-Western hybrid craftsmanship.

Discover the Hirosaki Gakuin Foreign Missionary Residence, an Important Cultural Property built in 1906 in Aomori Prefecture. This elegant Western-style building with its distinctive octagonal turret showcases the fusion of American and Japanese architectural traditions in Meiji-era Tohoku.

Ishiba Ryokan in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, is the city's oldest surviving inn, founded in 1879. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, this Meiji-era wooden building features a unique indoor drum bridge, antique clock, and traditional Tsugaru-style garden. Located just five minutes on foot from Hirosaki Castle, it offers an authentic taste of castle-town heritage and hospitality.

The Shin-Mutsu Ryokan Main Building in Konakano, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built around 1897. Originally a licensed pleasure house called Shin-Mutsu-Rou in one of Tohoku's most prominent entertainment districts, the two-story wooden building features a distinctive Western-influenced Y-shaped staircase within a central atrium and an elegant karahafu entrance, blending Japanese and Western architectural sensibilities.