Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Oita

The drum tower of the Higashi Betsuin in Usa, a late-Edo two-storey structure housing a drum. With cusped windows east and west, it accents the temple skyline.

The earthen wall and stone base on the north edge of the Higashi Betsuin in Usa. A late-Edo plaster wall on random-coursed andesite, shaping the historic streetscape.

The main hall of the Higashi Betsuin in Usa, rebuilt in 1880 after fire. One of Kyushu's largest Shin Buddhist halls, with a broad plan and a decorated inner sanctuary.

Sunori Bridge (水雲橋) is a stone two-arch bridge spanning the Era River in Innai-machi, Usa City, Oita Prefecture. Built in 1927 by master mason Matsuda Shinnosuke, it is the second-tallest stone bridge in Innai and features a distinctive asymmetric double-arch design. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2001, Sunori Bridge is a highlight of the Innai stone bridge trail in Japan's premier stone bridge town.

First lit in 1901, Sekizaki Lighthouse is Oita Prefecture's oldest lighthouse and one of only four all-iron lighthouses still active in Japan. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2022, it stands at the tip of the Saganoseki Peninsula overlooking the Hoyo Strait, surrounded by 800 wild camellia trees.

Takaiwa Bridge, located in Saito, Innai-machi, Usa City, Oita Prefecture, is a single stone arch bridge completed in 1928 by master mason Sato Hanjiro. With a 27-meter span, the longest of any stone arch in Innai, and a rare asymmetric segmental arch design finished with precisely dressed ashlar masonry, this nationally registered cultural property showcases the technical peak of Japan's traditional stone bridge craftsmanship.

Built in 1872 by local carpenter Higashi Hidezo, this small Usuki townhouse carries deep eaves on projecting brackets above latticed windows. A private home.

Built around 1913 as the Ichimiro restaurant beside the Inaba River in Taketa, Oita, this wooden hall keeps tatami rooms below and a staged banquet room above.

An 1864 tiled yakuimon gate at Miemachi in Bungo-Ono, Oita, registered in 2002. Its opening spans 1.7 metres and its low-pitched roof lifts sharply at the eaves.

An 1864 reception wing at Miemachi in Bungo-Ono, Oita, registered in 2002. Built to receive the lord of Usuki in due form, it later housed the Ono district office.

Discover the Tada Family Residence Storehouse, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Bungo Ōno City, Oita Prefecture. This traditional earthen storehouse with namako-kabe walls reflects the prestige of Edo-period Grand Headmen in rural Japan.

An 1864 main house at Miemachi in Bungo-Ono, Oita, registered in 2002. A ridge tablet fixes the date; the gable entrance sets it below the adjoining lord's wing.

The main building of Chikushitei in Nakatsu, Oita, built in 1914 and extended in 1922, wraps two courtyards in a closed ring plan and holds a 52-mat hall upstairs.

The detached wing of Chikushitei in Nakatsu, Oita, sits across a water channel behind the main house: three late-Taisho volumes, each alcove built differently.

The Bungo Channel Maritime Museum in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture, is a Western-style brick building constructed in 1904 as a rest house for the keepers of the Mizunokojima Lighthouse. Designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, this Meiji-era structure now houses fascinating exhibits including a Fresnel lens formerly used in the lighthouse and a unique collection of migratory bird specimens, preserving the maritime heritage of the Bungo Channel.

A 172-meter stone perimeter wall built in 1904 on the Tsurumi Peninsula in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture. Originally enclosing the rest house compound of lighthouse keepers who maintained the Mizunokojima Lighthouse in the Bungo Strait, the wall features distinctive concrete cap stones and has been a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 1998. The adjacent Maritime Museum displays the lighthouse's Fresnel lens and exhibits on the lives of the keepers.

Completed in 1957, Beppu Tower is one of the 'Tower Six Brothers' designed by Tachū Naitō, the legendary 'Tower Doctor,' and was the third high-rise tower built in postwar Japan — a year before Tokyo Tower. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2007 and renovated to its original 100-meter height in 2023, the tower offers 360-degree panoramic views of Beppu Bay, the steaming hot spring townscape, and the surrounding mountains from its 55-meter-high observation deck.

Myojuji Chumon in Bungotakada, Oita, is a late-Edo four-legged gate registered nationally in 2018, carved with baku, shishi and kirin beast heads at its beam ends.

Myojuji Hondo in Bungotakada, Oita, was built around 1902 to drawings by Sasaki Iwajiro, an Imperial Household Artist, and was registered nationally in 2018.

A stone-walled canal running along a plateau ridge in Taketa, Oita. Rebuilt from a wooden flume in the 1920s, registered in 1996, it still waters 698 hectares.

Oita’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.