Important cultural property

Discover the Former Date District Office in Koori, Fukushima — a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1883. Explore this stunning giyōfū (pseudo-Western) wooden building blending Japanese and Western architectural styles in the heart of Tohoku.

The Main Hall of Baba Tsutsukowake Shrine in Tanagura, Fukushima is a designated National Important Cultural Property and one of only a handful of late 16th-century shrine halls remaining in Tohoku. Built in 1594 by Satake Yoshinobu and relocated in 1625, this Ichinomiya of Mutsu Province preserves a fascinating bridge between medieval and early modern Japanese architecture.

Quietly standing in the wooded hills of Tamura City, Fukushima, Doyama Ouji Shrine Main Hall is the oldest nationally designated Important Cultural Property in central Fukushima. Built around 1498 in the late Muromachi period and originally a Buddhist Kannon Hall, it survived the Meiji-era anti-Buddhist movement by becoming a Shinto shrine. The hipped-roof structure, ancient cedars, and a famed 140-year-old weeping cherry make it an unforgettable rural Japan experience.

Discover Akabuchi Shrine Main Hall in Asago, Hyogo—a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in the early Muromachi period (c. 1381–1427). Explore its refined sanken-sha nagare-zukuri architecture, the legend of abalones that saved an ancestor's ship from Silla raiders, and its peaceful setting near the famous Takeda Castle ruins.

Standing quietly amid the sake-rice fields of Yoshikawa in Miki City, Hyogo, the Main Hall of Amatsu Shrine was built in 1492 during the late Muromachi period and has been preserved ever since through successive cycles of careful restoration. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1926, the hall showcases a distinctive regional form of shrine architecture — a hip-and-gable (irimoya) roof with gable-side entry, an integrated one-bay front canopy, double-layered close-set rafters, and traditional cypress-bark shingles. A recent restoration faithfully revived the original Kanbun-era (1661–1672) paintwork. Paired naturally with the Yamada-nishiki sake museum and Yoshikawa's carbonated hot springs, it offers international visitors a rare and tranquil encounter with authentic medieval Japanese craftsmanship.

The Three-Storied Pagoda of Ikaruga-ji, rebuilt in 1565 and standing some 24.85 m tall in rural Taishi-cho, Hyogo, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Founded by Prince Shōtoku in 606 and long administered as a branch of Nara's Hōryū-ji, the temple lost its halls to fire in 1541, and this pagoda is the only surviving structure from its original post-fire reconstruction — a late-Muromachi masterpiece admired for finely carved eaves and balanced Momoyama-precursor ornament.

Standing gracefully in Maiko Park against the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Ijokaku is a three-story octagonal pavilion built in 1915 by the overseas Chinese merchant Wu Jintang. Designated a National Important Cultural Property as Japan's oldest surviving timber-framed concrete block building, it now houses the country's only museum dedicated to Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China. Visitors can admire its lavish gold-embossed wallpaper, phoenix ceiling reliefs, and sweeping views of the Akashi Strait.

The oldest of three guardian shrines behind Ichijoji's main hall, this single-bay Kasuga-style shrine houses Bishamonten. Bracket details date it to late Kamakura.

A rhyolite five-ring stupa 155 cm tall near Ichijoji's entrance steps, cut with the date 1321 and Sanskrit syllables on every face. It came from a lost cemetery.

This mid-Muromachi shrine behind Ichijoji's main hall carries a carved mulberry flower and brush, and wears a cypress bark roof returned to it in a 1943 repair.

Raised in 1628 with backing from the lord of Himeji, this nine-bay hall juts from a wooded hillside on timber posts, its ceiling packed with pilgrim slips.

The Main Hall of Inari Shrine in Tomioka, Yoshikawa-cho, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1546 (late Muromachi period). This compact single-bay structure in the sumiki-iri Kasuga-zukuri style was crafted by master carpenters from Todaiji Temple in Nara. Enclosed within a protective cover house for nearly five centuries, it has survived in remarkable condition, preserving rare painted frog-leg struts and regional late-Muromachi detailing. Discover this hidden architectural gem in Japan's celebrated sake rice heartland.

Standing at the northern tip of Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, Esaki Lighthouse was designed by the British engineer R. H. Brunton and first lit in 1871, making it one of Japan's earliest Western-style lighthouses and the third-oldest still in service. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 2022, the lighthouse offers sweeping views of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and preserves moving traces of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. This guide explores its history, highlights, and visitor information.

Kangiin Shotendo in Miki, Hyogo, is a small 1411 cypress-bark shrine hall, the city's oldest, an Important Cultural Property noted for its rare veranda bracketing.

A late-Meiji brick stable with a round corner tower in Kobe's Sorakuen garden. One of few Western-style stables left in Japan, it is an Important Cultural Property.

An 1902 colonial ijinkan in Kobe, moved to Sorakuen in 1963 as an Important Cultural Property. Note its arcaded ground floor and acanthus-capped veranda columns.

Kukuhi Shrine in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the only shrine in Japan with a direct legendary connection to the Oriental White Stork. Its main hall, built in 1507 during the late Muromachi period, is a designated Important Cultural Property featuring elaborate frog-leg struts and ornate gable decorations in the three-bay nagare-zukuri style with shingled roofing. The shrine is beloved as a sanctuary for fertility and safe-childbirth blessings.

Discover the Former Kobe Foreign Settlement Building No. 15, the sole surviving structure from Kobe's historic foreign settlement era. This Important Cultural Property, once the American Consulate, features colonial-style architecture, seismic isolation technology, and now houses a stylish restaurant.

Discover Kobayashi House (Former Sharp Residence), a nationally designated Important Cultural Property in Kobe's Kitano Ijinkan district. Built in 1903 for U.S. Consul General Hunter Sharp, this colonial-style mansion known as "Moegi no Yakata" features arabesque staircases, ornate bay windows, and sweeping harbor views.

Jodo-ji Yakushido in Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the principal hall of a storied temple founded by the monk Chogen. Designated an Important Cultural Property, this Muromachi-period structure rebuilt in 1517 is celebrated as a rare example of the eclectic style blending Japanese, Zen, and Daibutsu traditions, standing in dignified counterpoint to the National Treasure Jodo-do.