Shōwa

Discover the mushroom-shaped steel canopy and stone-masonry platform of Hon-Yoshiwara Station on the Gakunan Railway in Fuji City, Shizuoka — a nationally registered tangible cultural property with stunning Mt. Fuji views and factory night scenery.

The Tosu (lavatory) at Kasuisai Temple in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property built in 1937. Explore the history, architecture, and highlights of this extraordinary Zen temple restroom, featuring ajiro ceilings, kumiko latticework, and Japan's largest statue of Ususama Myōō.

Discover the Former Nakamura Dressmaking Academy in Fukuroi, Shizuoka — a nationally registered tangible cultural property built in 1950. This charming wooden schoolhouse along the Haranoya River embodies the spirit of Japan's postwar reconstruction era and now serves as a vibrant community hub.

Completed in 1936, the Former Futamata Town Hall is a two-story wooden Western-style civic building designed by local carpenter Ishirō Motojima, who taught himself Western architectural techniques. Featuring scratch-tile cladding, tall sash windows, and a porte-cochère, the building was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2003. It now serves as the Soichiro Honda Craftsmanship Center, a free museum honoring the founder of Honda Motor Company.

The Former MacKenzie Residence in Shizuoka City is a Spanish Colonial-style villa designed by architect William Merrell Vories. Completed in 1940 as the home of tea merchant Duncan MacKenzie and philanthropist Emily MacKenzie, it is registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property. Featuring a striking red tile roof, white stucco walls, and a watchtower with views of Mount Fuji, it reopened in March 2026 as HOMAM Former MacKenzie Mansion.

The Kyozo (sutra repository) at Genmyoji Temple in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a reinforced concrete scripture storehouse built in 1934. Featuring artificial stone walls with pilaster forms and cornice moldings that create a stone-like appearance, it was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2014 as an excellent example of prewar fireproof concrete temple architecture.

Discover the Shimizu Port Telpher in Shizuoka—a 1928 steel crane that revolutionized lumber loading. Japan's only surviving telpher crane, now a Registered Tangible Cultural Property and Mechanical Engineering Heritage, stands beside Mount Fuji views at Shimizu Marine Park.

The Takeyama Family Residence Main House in Tenno-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a two-story wooden dwelling built in 1937 and designed by Takeyama Kenzaburō. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, it is admired for its shikoro-buki-style roof, clapboard exterior, and refined interior featuring carefully selected premium timbers.

Located in the Mariko district of Shizuoka City, the Chojiya Store is a historic teahouse founded in 1596, famously depicted in Utagawa Hiroshige's ukiyo-e print series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2022, the thatched-roof building was relocated by the 12th-generation owner to recreate the landscape portrayed in Hiroshige's art. For over four centuries, Chojiya has served its celebrated tororo-jiru (grated yam soup), preserving the culinary and architectural heritage of the Tokaido post-station culture.

Discover Chōseikan Kōbaisō, a nationally registered tangible cultural property annex built in 1933 at Shida Onsen in Fujieda, Shizuoka. Featuring pink plaster walls with plum blossom motifs and pre-war craftsmanship.

Discover Choseikan Main Building, a nationally registered tangible cultural property inn at Shida Onsen in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture. Built in 1939, this two-story wooden ryokan features exquisite craftsmanship with curved and natural-form timbers.

The Tenryu Hamanako Railroad Ichinomiya River Bridge, located in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a historic railway bridge built in 1935 as part of the former JNR Futamata Line. Spanning 40 meters with a combination of steel plate girders and reinforced concrete approach spans, it features steelwork by Yokogawa Bridge Works using Yawata Steel. As one of 36 Registered Tangible Cultural Properties along the Tenhama Line, this prewar bridge contributes to the region's historic landscape.

The Tenryu Hamanako Railroad Operation District Rest House at Tenryu Futamata Station in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a single-story wooden building constructed in 1940 alongside the opening of the JNR Futamata Line. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, it preserves the heritage of an early Showa-era railway engine depot together with the turntable and fan-shaped engine shed.

A small two-storey storehouse of just 17 square metres tucked into the Tōzansō villa complex in Atami, Shizuoka. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2016 as part of a prewar villa ensemble, this modest auxiliary building once safeguarded the art collection assembled by Okada Mokichi—the very collection that would later form the foundational holdings of the celebrated MOA Museum of Art.

On the streamside approach, this three-bay two-story gate shows degumi brackets below and two-stepped brackets above, marking a head temple’s rank. Registered 2019.

A south-facing meditation hall below a bluff, with a Bodhidharma image on its diagonal earthen floor and tatami platforms on both sides. Registered 2019.

Yomeikan is a two-story wooden villa built in 1939 in the sukiya architectural style, located in Momoyama-cho, Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Originally commissioned as a private retreat by Takeji Tanabe, president of Honshu Paper Company, it features a tower-like second floor with ornamental railings and an elegant Japanese-Western hybrid design. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2019, Yomeikan offers sweeping views of Sagami Bay and preserves the refined craftsmanship of Atami's golden era of modern villa architecture.

Discover Akatsukiya, a 1933 Kanazawa machiya townhouse designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property and now operating as a charming guesthouse near Kenrokuen Garden.

Discover the Awazu Enbujo, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Komatsu, Ishikawa. Built in 1933, this beautifully restored theater in Awazu Onsen showcases traditional Japanese stage architecture and the cultural legacy of the Kaga hot spring region.

On Kanazawa's Kodatsuno plateau, a 1928 home for biochemist Suto Kenzo: a half-timbered front, Japanese sides under one red-tiled roof, a central-corridor plan.