Shōwa

Explore the Ishitani Residence, a National Important Cultural Property in Tottori Prefecture. This magnificent 3,000-tsubo estate features 40+ rooms, stunning Japanese gardens, and showcases the finest craftsmanship of early 20th-century Japanese architecture. A must-visit for architecture and history enthusiasts.

Discover the Former San'in Godo Bank Neu Branch, a beautifully preserved 1927 Western-style bank building along the historic Izumo Highway. This newly registered Tangible Cultural Property features neoclassical design elements including grand pilasters, decorative pediments, and elegant tile work in the charming post town of Neu, Tottori Prefecture.

Discover Hayabusa Station, a 1929 wooden railway station in Tottori Prefecture designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. This nostalgic Showa-era station on the Wakasa Railway has become a sacred pilgrimage site for Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide, hosting an annual festival attracting thousands of riders.

Discover the Former Hino Bridge (Kyū Hino-bashi), a 1929 six-span Warren truss bridge in Yonago, Tottori. Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property, this 366-meter steel bridge offers iconic views with Mt. Daisen as its backdrop.

The Former Yoshida Medical Clinic in Tottori City is a kura-style medical building personally designed by Yoshida Shoya, a leading figure in Japan's Mingei folk craft movement, after the devastating Tottori Great Fire of 1952. Behind its traditional exterior of white plaster walls with namako mortar joints and mushiko-mado windows lies an interior that harmonizes Western Baroque staircases with East Asian decorative patterns—all unified under a warm Mingei aesthetic. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2021, it stands as a masterwork of architectural Mingei.

Discover the Former Yonago Kakubancho Post Office, a 1935 wooden Western-style post office in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. Now known as YORAIYA Kakuban, this Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property has been restored as a vibrant community space in the historic castle town district.

Completed in 1937, this is the tallest of five stone-faced erosion-control dams on the upper Shimizu River. A square weep hole pierces the base of its spillway.

Completed in 1939, this low stone dam anchors the top of the Shimizu River group above Kurayoshi. Its weathered masonry sinks into a forest replanted after erosion.

Completed in 1938 and 80 metres long, this is the longest Shimizu River dam. A carved stone plaque on its left abutment bears the crest of the Home Ministry.

The lowest of the Shimizu River dams, completed in 1938. An irrigation channel through its left abutment lets one wall both hold back flood sediment and feed the fields.

The last of the Shimizu River dams, completed in 1944 at a bend in the stream. Its spillway is shifted aside to ease the current, with Mt. Hiruzen on the horizon.

Discover the Kaisando (Founder's Hall) of Daijuji Temple in Yazu, Tottori Prefecture—a nationally registered tangible cultural property housing centuries of Zen heritage, memorial tablets, and the largest Uraku Camellia in Japan.

Discover the Chizu Fire Brigade Honmachi Branch Station, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Tottori's Chizu-juku. Built in 1941 with a distinctive fire lookout tower, this Western-style wooden building still serves as an active fire station.

Step inside a 1942 wooden schoolhouse in Tottori's Chizu Town, where an 81-meter corridor, local cedar craftsmanship, and forestry heritage come together in a rare surviving example of modern rural school architecture.

The Tokoen Main Building 'Tendai' at Kaike Onsen in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, is the crowning achievement of Metabolism architecture, designed by architect Kikutake Kiyonori in 1964. Featuring the world's only 'double pilotis' structure with guest rooms suspended from six main columns, it was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2017. With seven gardens by sculptor Nagare Masayuki and skin-beautifying alkaline hot springs, this living cultural property offers a one-of-a-kind overnight architectural experience.

Discover Ryokan Ohashi, a 1932 wooden inn in Tottori's Misasa Onsen designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Experience masterful shrine-carpenter architecture, naturally gushing hot springs, and exquisite kaiseki cuisine.

Built in 1932 along the rural Wakasa Line in eastern Tottori Prefecture, the Abe Station Platform is a 72-meter concrete structure with granite walls stacked in three layers and a distinctive glass-walled waiting room. Designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2008, it remains in active use today and is also celebrated as a filming location for the beloved 'Otoko wa Tsurai yo' (Tora-san) film series.

Discover Inaba-Funaoka Station on the Wakasa Railway in Tottori Prefecture—a 1929 wooden station building and granite platform registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Explore its Showa-era charm, nearby cherry blossom sites, and tips for visiting this hidden gem along one of Japan's most scenic heritage railway lines.

Tucked into a quiet valley in Yazu Town, Tottori, the platform of Wakasa Railway's Hatto Station is a beautifully preserved stone-built structure dating from the 1930 opening of the Wakasa Line. With its trackside masonry wall, gentle ramp connection to the wooden station house, and a charming glass-walled waiting shelter added at center in 1954, it offers visitors an authentic encounter with early-Showa rural railway architecture. Designated a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2008 as part of Japan's first-ever block registration of 23 facilities along an entire railway line, the platform invites travelers to step into a slower, gentler era of country rail travel.