Meiji

Discover the Tsuruoka Catholic Church in Yamagata Prefecture, an Important Cultural Property built in 1903. Explore its Romanesque architecture, unique window paintings, and Japan's only Black Madonna statue in this fusion of Western and Japanese heritage.

Discover the Former Tsuruoka Police Station, a striking blue giyofu-style building from 1884, now preserved at the Chido Museum in Tsuruoka, Yamagata. Learn about its unique blend of Western and Japanese architectural design, its fascinating history, and how to visit.

Discover the Former Nishitagawa County Office, an Important Cultural Property in Tsuruoka, Yamagata. This 1881 quasi-Western building features a 20-meter clock tower, Renaissance-style suspended staircase, and fascinating Meiji-era exhibits at the Chido Museum.

Discover the Ichishima Family Residence Storehouse, a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yamagata City's historic Nanokamachi district. This traditional two-story plastered earthen storehouse and the adjacent 1927 reinforced concrete shop building preserve the legacy of an Edo-period gunpowder merchant family.

The Former Yamadera Hotel is a Meiji-era wooden inn and Registered Tangible Cultural Property located at the gateway to Risshakuji Temple (Yamadera) in Yamagata City. Tracing its origins to the Edo-period inn Nakashimaya, the building evolved through the Taisho and Showa eras with the arrival of the Senzan railway line. Now open to the public as Yamagata Retro Hall, it features a karahafu-style entrance, early Showa geometric design, Yuki Taisaku pen drawings, and stunning views of the temple from its grand second-floor hall — all free of charge.

Discover Sanno Club, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Sakata, Yamagata. Built in 1895, this former high-class ryotei now houses exhibits on Kitamae-bune maritime trade, Kasafuku hanging ornaments, and the art of Yumeji Takehisa.

A Registered Tangible Cultural Property at Zenpoji in Yamagata, built by fishing communities as Japan's only pagoda memorializing the fish taken from the sea.

A Registered Tangible Cultural Property at Zenpoji in Yamagata, a quiet hall keeping the temple's earlier name and holding a cloud-and-dragon ceiling painting.

Built in 1898, this three-story wooden inn near JR Yonezawa Station blends Japanese irimoya roofing with Western arched windows and Zen-inspired katōmado openings, earning the nickname 'Dragon Palace of Yonezawa.' Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, it still operates as a hotel where guests can sleep amid raden inlay, Yakusugi cedar ceilings, and over a century of hospitality tradition.

Maizuru Bridge is a stone single-arch bridge built in 1886 spanning the moat of Yonezawa Castle in Yamagata Prefecture. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, it serves as the main approach to Uesugi Shrine and is affectionately known as 'Megane-bashi' (Spectacles Bridge). Its unusually wide deck, tuff stone balustrades, and natural boulder-topped pillars make it a distinctive example of Meiji-era bridge architecture.

Built around 1875 in earthen storehouse construction, the Kannon-do at Ryuto-ji sits below Mount Chokai, its front beam carved with a dragon for the temple's name.

Built in 1909 in Iide, Yamagata, the Watanabe Rokurobei nagayamon is a two-storey plastered gatehouse with a brick base and a coffered ceiling over its passage.

The Former Onoda Cement Manufacturing Company Vertical Kiln (Tokkuri-gama) in Sanyo-Onoda City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is Japan's only surviving cement-firing vertical kiln, built in 1883. Designated as a National Important Cultural Property and registered as a Mirai Technology Heritage, this brick industrial monument tells the story of Japan's first private cement company and the nation's path to modernization. Free admission year-round.

Built in 1906, the Former British Consulate at Shimonoseki is Japan's oldest surviving consulate building, a Queen Anne design by British architect William Cowan.

Shikairō in Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property — a rare four-story wooden pseudo-Western building constructed in 1879 by Meiji Restoration veteran Ogata Kenkurō. Featuring white plastered walls, French stained glass, and exquisite plaster relief sculptures of dragons and phoenixes, this free-admission gem offers a unique fusion of Japanese and Western artistry with panoramic Seto Inland Sea views from the top floor.

The Kase Tunnel in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a stone road tunnel cut through the Kasega-saka Pass during the Meiji era. Construction began in 1883 and was completed in 1886. With a length of about 182 metres, a width of about 4.2 metres, and a height of about 3.9 metres, its andesite ashlar interior still preserves the atmosphere of early modern Japan. Recorded as the first Western-style stone road tunnel in Yamaguchi Prefecture and built as a symbol of Hagi's hopes for revival after the prefectural seat moved to Yamaguchi, it was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1999.

Discover the Former Nomura Family Residence, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yamaguchi City. Built in 1886 as a sake brewery, this beautifully preserved machiya now serves as the Manabi-kan museum, showcasing Ouchi lacquerware, Hagi pottery, and the traditional crafts of Japan's "Western Kyoto."

Discover the Former Nomura Family Residence Storehouse, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yamaguchi City. This Meiji-era "nisan-no-kura" storehouse stands within the Yamaguchi Furusato Densho Center, offering a glimpse into the traditional sake-brewing heritage of western Honshu.

Kinunkaku is a tower-style ema hall (votive tablet hall) built in 1885 within Kikko Park in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Designed to resemble a feudal-era turret, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan stands gracefully at the edge of the old castle moat. Together with the iconic Kintai Bridge and Iwakuni Castle, it forms one of the most picturesque historical landscapes in western Japan.

The Former Mutsumi Village Office in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a two-story wooden government building constructed in 1895 during the Meiji era. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property, it is the oldest surviving municipal office building in Yamaguchi Prefecture, having served as the seat of local government for over 90 years while retaining its original architectural form.