Taishō

At the deepest end of Itamuro Onsen in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, Kadoya Ryokan Honkan stands as a rare survivor of a vanishing Japan. Built around 1919 in the eighth year of the Taisho era, this three-story wooden inn was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2016. Its preserved third-floor row of six-mat guest rooms and its distinctive eastern balustrade evoke the atmosphere of an early-twentieth-century therapeutic spa, served by Itamuro's renowned alkaline waters once known as Shimotsuke no Yakuto.

On the second bailey of Karasawayama Castle in Sano, Tochigi, the 1915 kagura hall of Karasawayama Shrine offers a copper-roofed stage for sacred dance.

Crossing a moat of Karasawayama Castle in Sano, Tochigi, the 1924 sacred bridge of Karasawayama Shrine is reinforced concrete disguised as a stone bridge.

Tucked into Kanuma's charming Nekoya Roji alley in Tochigi Prefecture, this 1916 wooden residence blends a refined Japanese zashiki with a Western-style room finished in remarkable stone-imitating mortar work that has survived a century nearly crack-free. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in March 2024.

Kouko Ichibankan, the former Adachi Kimono Shop in Tochigi City, is a rare and well-preserved Taisho-era Western-style commercial building completed in 1923 and now listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Its mansard copper roof, dormer window, and stone-veneered columns capture the modern spirit of 1920s Japan. Today it houses a handmade soba restaurant, offering visitors to Tochigi's famous storehouse district a taste of both architecture and regional cuisine.

Takagi Kaikan in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan built in 1918 as the headquarters of the Kuroiso Bank. This two-story stone building features Ashino stone and Oya stone walls, semicircular arches, a coffered ceiling, and a spiral staircase from the Taisho era. Today its first floor operates as a restaurant, inviting visitors to dine within a beautifully preserved piece of early 20th-century commercial architecture.

A tiny household Inari shrine of 1926 stands in a corner of the Tanuma Residence in Ashikaga, a nagare-zukuri shrine in a copper-roofed zelkova shelter. Private grounds.

The Old Rice Storehouse is the smallest Tsukada building in Tochigi, at 20 square metres. Built in Taisho times for grain, its tall interior completes the estate.

The Fine-Timber Storehouse is the largest Tsukada building in Tochigi, at 152 square metres. Built for prized timber, it alone of the five is listed as hard to recreate.