A Fire Station with a Ladder to Its Lookout
The Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station (智頭消防団本町分団屯所) is a fire station topped with a lookout tower of 1941 in Chizu, Chizu Town, Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 4, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 80 square metres; registration number 31-0036.
A Ladder through the Gable to the Lookout
The Honmachi branch station of the Chizu fire brigade faces the Chizu Kaido highway: a clapboarded two-storey timber building in Western style under a gabled roof of pantiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The centre of the front roof is raised into a gable, and a gabled fire lookout tower sits on top.
A ladder running up the centre of the front wall passes through the gable to reach the tower (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes that its distinctive form, with the ladder passing through the gable to the tower, is loved as a landmark of the district, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For
Look for the ladder up the front wall through the gable, and the lookout tower on the roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
It is owned by the Honmachi district neighbourhood association and faces the Chizu Kaido highway (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on public access was found.
Q&A
- When was the fire station built?
- In 1941 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where is it?
- On the Chizu Kaido highway in Chizu.
- What is unusual about it?
- A ladder runs up the front and through the gable to a lookout on the roof.
- Who owns it?
- The Honmachi district neighbourhood association.
- When was the Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station registered?
- On December 4, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station (智頭消防団本町分団屯所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 568 and 569 Chizu, Chizu Town, Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/12/04 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, tiled roof, 80 m² |
| Owner | Honmachi district neighbourhood association |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002088
Last verified: 2026.10.23