Meiji

At the summit of Karasawayama Castle ruins in Sano, Tochigi, the 1909 worship hall of Karasawayama Shrine opens on four sides beneath a graceful copper roof.

On the honmaru of Karasawayama Castle in Sano, Tochigi, stands the 1908 main hall of Karasawayama Shrine, a single-bay nagare-zukuri sanctuary of Meiji design.

The Daiichi Shuzo Former Grain Storehouse in Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, is a single-story wooden granary built during the Taishō to early Shōwa era (1919–1926) and registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2016. Forming part of the nagayamon gate complex at Tochigi's oldest sake brewery — founded in 1673 — its weatherboard-clad exterior preserves the dignified streetside facade of a historic brewing estate.

The Daiichi Shuzo Sake Brewery Office in Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property within the compound of Tochigi's oldest brewery, founded in 1673. One of six registered heritage buildings at the site, this office managed the business operations of the renowned Kaika brand sake. The brewery continues its centuries-old tradition of crafting premium sake using pristine local spring water and rice from its own paddies.

Discover Daini Shoten Shop, a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Tochigi City. This early Meiji-era dozo-style merchant storehouse stands along the historic Nikko Reiheishi Kaido in the charming Kura no Machi district.

Raised in 1891 by a Tochigi merchant dealing in sandal straps, this earthen-walled store stands behind the family shop on the old Nikko envoys' highway.

The board fence of the Tsukada Residence runs 113 metres along the Uzuma in Tochigi. Its dark planking, tiled cap and five wicket gates form a signature riverside view.

The Tsukada Residence's main house rises on the Uzuma River in Tochigi. Built in late Meiji by timber merchants, its two floors hold sukiya-style rooms, now a museum.

The Bunko Storehouse of the Tsukada Residence in Tochigi is dated 1899 by a beam inscription. A white-plastered, two-storey earthen store, it held records and valuables.

Built in 1903 by the Uzuma River in Tochigi City, this earthen storehouse became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2000. Five barred windows face the water.

Raised in 1909 as a cargo storehouse for a timber shipping firm, this L-shaped Tochigi warehouse uses Western king-post trusses and now displays a festival float.

Fujimoto French Kaiseki is a café restaurant housed in the former garage building of F.W. Horn, the American entrepreneur who introduced the phonograph to Japan. Located within the World Heritage area of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, this nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property from the Meiji era features a distinctive bungalow-style stone-and-wood structure where guests can enjoy innovative French-Japanese cuisine made with local Nikko ingredients.

A Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yamato-chō, Tochigi City, this late-Meiji black-plastered earthen-walled storehouse stands along the historic Reiheishi Kaidō highway. Paired with the neighbouring Kezuka Paper Store, it forms one of the most distinctive views in the "Little Edo" Kura no Machi district and still operates as a working furniture shop today.

Built in 1903 as a middle school main building, Moka High School Memorial Hall keeps its weatherboarding and sash windows, and was lifted whole for a new foundation.

Built in 1891 for an Ashikaga silk dealer, this two-storey shopfront keeps granite-dressed window sills and was hauled four metres back in 1978. Registered in 2005.

This 1909 stone warehouse in Tochigi City stored the hemp the Yokoyama family shipped by river barge. Its Kanuma tuff walls and roof trusses show Western influence.

Built in 1909 beside the Uzuma River in Tochigi City, this timber shop and house held a ramie wholesale business in one half and a family bank in the other.

Completed in 1910 opposite its twin, this Tochigi City stone storehouse held the Yokoyama family records. Brick eaves and two tones of stone mark its refinement.

Built in late Meiji as the Nikko summer house of F. W. Horn, who brought the gramophone to Japan, this villa is walled entirely in andesite from the Inari River.

Once the maids' quarters of an American trader's late-Meiji Nikko estate, this low stone building is coursed in Inari River andesite right up into its gable ends.