Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

The only Naba Kamiten building with a firm date, 1897, and the largest storehouse at 157 square metres. Black plaster outside, a boat bracket at the ridge.

Rebuilt after Akita's 1886 Tawaraya Fire and registered in 2014, this 463-square-metre townhouse still trades as a washi paper shop. Low Edo roof, exposed beams.

An earthen archive storehouse of 106 square metres, its roof run into the main house so the two read as one. Middle Meiji fabric, moved here in 1908. Closed.

At 70 square metres, the smallest of the five registered buildings, standing alone across the street. Once the internal storehouse of a house that no longer stands.

The Noshiro City Council Chamber, located in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, is a two-story wooden public building completed in 1950. Featuring a Queen Post truss roof, geometric facade, and Western-inspired design executed in local timber, it embodies the heritage of a city once known as the Timber Capital of the Orient. It was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007.

Completed in 1950 after the devastating Noshiro Great Fire of 1949, this three-story reinforced concrete city hall was designed by Kiyoshi Muto, the structural engineer later celebrated as the father of Japan's skyscraper architecture. Its facade openly expresses the Rahmen rigid-frame structure, exemplifying postwar modernist civic design. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2007, the building continues to serve as an active government facility.

Hachimori-en in Yashima, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture is the former residence of the Sato family, senior retainers of the Ikoma clan who relocated from Sanuki (Shikoku) in 1640. This National Registered Tangible Cultural Property features a Meiji-era main house, a Taishō-era annex with rare timbers, and an Enshū-style tea room and garden.

The Koji-gura in Masuda is an early-Meiji earthen storehouse, still used as Hinomaru Jozo's koji room for culturing rice. Its interior is closed to visitors.

The Chuo-gura is the largest building at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda, an early-Meiji earthen storehouse about 24 metres long, still used for storage. It is closed.

The Hinomaru Jozo shop faces the old highway in Masuda, its gable end showing tiered beams in the local townhouse style. A sales counter runs on site.

The Nishi-gura stands across the highway from the Hinomaru Jozo shop in Masuda. A ridge tablet dates it to 1919 and names its carpenter. Its interior is closed.

The Higashi-ato-gura in Masuda is the Taisho half of a paired storehouse at Hinomaru Jozo, built with a king-post truss unlike its older Meiji twin. It is closed.

The Higashi-mae-gura in Masuda is the older half of a paired storehouse at Hinomaru Jozo, its stacked-beam roof keeping the look of early-Meiji work. It is closed.

The Bunko-gura at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda is a 1908 earthen storehouse in black plaster, its interior lined with lacquered cypress columns. It alone is open to visitors.

The Minami-gura is the smallest registered building at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda, an early-Meiji storehouse about 11 metres long, still used to store rice. It is closed.

The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashiki-gura in Masuda, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1886. Featuring a striking contrast of black and white plaster walls and finely spaced alternating chestnut and cedar columns, this two-story earthen parlor storehouse exemplifies the distinctive architectural tradition of the Masuda merchant district, a nationally designated preservation area for traditional buildings.

Discover Ryotei Kaneyu, a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Noshiro, Akita. Built in 1937, this grand Japanese-style restaurant showcases extraordinary natural Akita cedar craftsmanship, including a breathtaking 110-tatami banquet hall. Free admission.

A registered tangible cultural property museum housed in a 1925 Taisho-era former bank building. Enjoy free admission to world-renowned poster art by Takashi Akiyama while exploring Nagaoka's historic Settaya brewing district.

The Haiden and Heiden of Arakawa Shrine, standing on a hilltop in Momozaki-hama, Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1841. Reflecting the prosperity of this former Kitamaebune trading port, the building features an irimoya-style copper-clad roof, richly carved entrance porch, and an imposing interior with four rainbow beams and bottle-shaped struts.

Discover the Arakawa Shrine Main Hall in Tainai City, Niigata — a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1841. Its elaborate wave carvings and ornate details reflect the wealth brought by Kitamae-bune trade ships along the Sea of Japan coast.