Taishō

Tucked into a quiet ravine along the Koyabu River in Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, Koyabu Onsen Honkan is a rare three-story wooden hot spring inn from the Taisho era. Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2000, this irimoya-roofed tower-style ryokan is still a working inn, offering silky alkaline waters renowned as a beautifying bath and a vivid glimpse of Japan's traditional toji-ba bathing culture.

Built in 1917 on the western shore of Yuge Island in Kamijima Town, Ehime Prefecture, this two-story wooden home is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. With its iri-moya tiled roof and tsushi-nikai second floor, it inherits the architectural traditions of folk dwellings of the Seto Inland Sea islands. Together with the property's storehouse and gate, it preserves the historic streetscape of an island port town.

Discover the Kami-Yuge Tasaka Family Residence Storehouse on Yuge Island, Ehime—a 1917 dozō-style earthen-walled warehouse and Registered Tangible Cultural Property that preserves the traditional townhouse landscape of a Seto Inland Sea port settlement.

Built in 1917 in the port settlement of Kami-Yuge on Yuge Island in the Seto Inland Sea, this gabled tile-roofed gate and earthen wall preserve the streetscape of an early 20th-century island town. Together with the residence's main house and storehouse, they were registered as Tangible Cultural Properties in 2019.

Discover Mikame Tunnel, a beautifully preserved Taisho-era brick tunnel in Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture. Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, this 317-meter civil engineering heritage site features elegant stone and brick portal design from 1917.

Discover Minakuchi Sake Brewery's Taisho-era shop and main house, a nationally registered tangible cultural property near Dogo Onsen. Explore its unique blend of Japanese and Western architecture, sake heritage, and craft beer culture in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.

Discover Myojo Soan, a beautifully restored Taisho-period thatched-roof farmhouse in Kihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture. Explore traditional rural life, a suikinkutsu water chime, and the scenic Hiyoshi district mountains.

The Ichiki Dental Clinic in Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a two-story wooden building with wire-mesh concrete finishing constructed in 1922. Rebuilt with fire prevention in mind after a devastating fire from a neighboring property, it stands as one of Japan's few surviving examples of this rare construction technique. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 1999, the clinic blends a Western exterior with traditional Japanese interiors, offering a fascinating glimpse into Taisho-era architectural culture.

Discover the Kami Power Plant Intake in Hitachi-Ōta, Ibaraki Prefecture — a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1919. Explore this Taishō-era hydroelectric facility on the Satogawa River.

Discover the Kami Power Station Tailrace and Spillway, a registered tangible cultural property built in 1919. This Taisho-era hydroelectric waterway in Hitachiota, Ibaraki showcases exquisite stone masonry and a segmental arch bridge still standing after a century.

Discover the Kami Power Station Main Building, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Hitachiota, Ibaraki. Built in 1919, this operational hydroelectric facility features a Swiss-made Francis turbine and Taisho-era wooden architecture along the Satogawa River.

Tucked into the mountains of northern Ibaraki Prefecture, the Former Asakawa Elementary School Building No. 1 is a roughly 39-meter-long wooden schoolhouse built in 1913. Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2018, it is a beautifully preserved example of the single-corridor school architecture once common in rural Japan. Discover this quiet rural heritage site in Daigo Town alongside attractions such as the spectacular Fukuroda Falls.

Discover the Former Kyōrakukan (Hitachi Budōkan) in Hitachi City, Ibaraki. This striking 1917 wooden theater was built by the Hitachi Mine in the style of Tokyo's Kabukiza and is now a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

The Former Daigo Bank Head Office in Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1917. Featuring Renaissance-inspired columns and a distinctive corner dome, this elegant wooden bank building now serves as the Machikado Bijutsukan gallery. A must-visit on any heritage walk through the Oku-Kuji area, home to the famous Fukuroda Falls.

Built in 1916 in the central shopping street of Daigo Town, Ibaraki, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property combines a two-story gabled shop section with a single-story hipped residential wing. Today it operates as daigo cafe, just a three-minute walk from Hitachi-Daigo Station.

Built in 1912 in the heart of Daigo Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, the Daigo Cafe Dozo is a two-story earthen storehouse registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Highlights include the striking contrast between its white and black plaster, and the namako-kabe lattice tiling along its gable skirts — both products of skilled traditional craftsmanship. Today the dozo serves as part of the beloved 'daigo cafe,' where visitors can enjoy dishes featuring Okukuji apples, wasabi, and shamo chicken. Combined with attractions such as Fukuroda Falls, it offers an unforgettable taste of the history and food culture of the Okukuji region.

The Tsukamoto Family Residence Miseigura is a wooden single-story shop-storehouse built in the mid-Taisho era, located in the historic merchant town of Makabe in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property alongside the family's gate, main house, and earthen storehouse, it forms one of the most evocative streetscapes of preserved early-20th-century Japan.

The Nakamura main house in Makabe, Sakuragawa, is the 1913 living wing behind a merchant's storefront warehouse, a refined timber home raised by a local carpenter.

The Nakamura storefront warehouse in Makabe, Sakuragawa, is a 1913 two-story misegura, its open lower front facing the street below a clapboard-clad upper floor.

Nisui Kaikan, the former Mitsukaido Town Hall in Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1913. This charming pseudo-Western wooden building cleverly appears two-storied despite being single-story, blending Japanese craftsmanship with Western aesthetics. Discover this architectural gem that reflects the prosperity of a Taisho-era river-trading town.