Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

Discover the Former Yonago Kakubancho Post Office, a 1935 wooden Western-style post office in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. Now known as YORAIYA Kakuban, this Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property has been restored as a vibrant community space in the historic castle town district.

The Gallery Building of the Shiotani Teiko Memorial Photo Gallery in Kotoura Town, Tottori Prefecture, is a registered Tangible Cultural Property originally built in 1874 as a merchant storehouse and later converted into a photography studio by Teiko Shiotani, a pioneer of Japanese art photography. This unique cultural heritage site offers visitors an opportunity to experience both Meiji-era storehouse architecture and the legacy of a world-renowned photographer.

Completed in 1937, this is the tallest of five stone-faced erosion-control dams on the upper Shimizu River. A square weep hole pierces the base of its spillway.

Completed in 1939, this low stone dam anchors the top of the Shimizu River group above Kurayoshi. Its weathered masonry sinks into a forest replanted after erosion.

Completed in 1938 and 80 metres long, this is the longest Shimizu River dam. A carved stone plaque on its left abutment bears the crest of the Home Ministry.

The lowest of the Shimizu River dams, completed in 1938. An irrigation channel through its left abutment lets one wall both hold back flood sediment and feed the fields.

The last of the Shimizu River dams, completed in 1944 at a bend in the stream. Its spillway is shifted aside to ease the current, with Mt. Hiruzen on the horizon.

Discover the Kaisando (Founder's Hall) of Daijuji Temple in Yazu, Tottori Prefecture—a nationally registered tangible cultural property housing centuries of Zen heritage, memorial tablets, and the largest Uraku Camellia in Japan.

Discover the Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Tottori's Chizu-juku. Built in 1941 with a distinctive fire lookout tower, this Western-style wooden building still serves as an active fire station.

Step inside a 1942 wooden schoolhouse in Tottori's Chizu Town, where an 81-meter corridor, local cedar craftsmanship, and forestry heritage come together in a rare surviving example of modern rural school architecture.

The Tokoen Main Building 'Tendai' at Kaike Onsen in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, is the crowning achievement of Metabolism architecture, designed by architect Kikutake Kiyonori in 1964. Featuring the world's only 'double pilotis' structure with guest rooms suspended from six main columns, it was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2017. With seven gardens by sculptor Nagare Masayuki and skin-beautifying alkaline hot springs, this living cultural property offers a one-of-a-kind overnight architectural experience.

The Yonago Senmon Daiten in Doshomachi, Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property completed around 1924. Designed by Hara Yasokichi as the city's first rental commercial building, this three-story reinforced concrete landmark features a stone-style facade, an arched entrance, and the original Yonago Bank emblem, telling the story of Sanin's commercial heyday.

Discover Ryokan Ohashi, a 1932 wooden inn in Tottori's Misasa Onsen designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Experience masterful shrine-carpenter architecture, naturally gushing hot springs, and exquisite kaiseki cuisine.

Built in 1932 along the rural Wakasa Line in eastern Tottori Prefecture, the Abe Station Platform is a 72-meter concrete structure with granite walls stacked in three layers and a distinctive glass-walled waiting room. Designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2008, it remains in active use today and is also celebrated as a filming location for the beloved 'Otoko wa Tsurai yo' (Tora-san) film series.

Discover Inaba-Funaoka Station on the Wakasa Railway in Tottori Prefecture—a 1929 wooden station building and granite platform registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Explore its Showa-era charm, nearby cherry blossom sites, and tips for visiting this hidden gem along one of Japan's most scenic heritage railway lines.

Tucked into a quiet valley in Yazu Town, Tottori, the platform of Wakasa Railway's Hatto Station is a beautifully preserved stone-built structure dating from the 1930 opening of the Wakasa Line. With its trackside masonry wall, gentle ramp connection to the wooden station house, and a charming glass-walled waiting shelter added at center in 1954, it offers visitors an authentic encounter with early-Showa rural railway architecture. Designated a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2008 as part of Japan's first-ever block registration of 23 facilities along an entire railway line, the platform invites travelers to step into a slower, gentler era of country rail travel.

The ceremonial gate of the Itohara ironmaster house, a late-Edo timber gate roofed in tile with flanking walls, opened only for the lord of Matsue's formal visits.

The 1896 Kanayago shrine of the Itohara house, barely 0.9 square metres, enshrining the deity of ironmaking revered by tatara smelters. Its smallest registered building.

The late-Edo rice storehouse of the Itohara house, oldest of the family's stores. Registered farmers who held samurai rank, they built wealth on rice as well as iron.

The 1924 main house of the Itohara ironmasters of Okuizumo: some forty rooms over about 350 tsubo. It once lodged the lord of Matsue as its guest.