Location; Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Access; From Tokyo by Shinkansen: 3 hours and 15 minutes (Okayama Station)
From Osaka by Shinkansen: 45 minutes (Okayama Station)
From Okayama Station by train: 17 minutes (Kurashiki Station)
From Okayama Momotaro Airport by car: Approx. 35 minutes (Kurashiki Station)
From Kurashiki Station on foot: Approx. 15 minutes (Kurashiki Bikan District)

Kurashiki web https://www.kurashiki-tabi.jp/
Okayama web https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10226.html

Kurashiki is one of the most popular tourist destinations outside of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. Takayama is a similar destination, but since Kurashiki is easier to reach, it attracts far more visitors. Given its location less than 20 minutes from Okayama, a major transportation hub, the area around the station is bustling. But just a 15-minute walk from there will take you to the scenic district, where rows of white-walled storehouses stand alongside beautiful willow trees lining the river.

Honcho street

It has been designated as a Preservation District for Important Groups of Traditional Buildings.

Small specialty shops and simple eateries are sure to make you stop in your tracks. However, unless you go early in the morning or at a similar time, you probably won’t be able to avoid the crowds.

But every few moments, as if you’ve encountered an air pocket, a quiet, deserted stillness appears—it comes and goes.

River side

Once you pass through the area with the sea cucumber-patterned walls, you’ll feel the breeze blowing along the river. Perhaps because you’ve just come through those narrow streets, you might suddenly feel as if you’ve been freed from the constraints of everyday life.

If it’s the “magic hour,” the town lighting up just as the name suggests might draw you even further into a fantasy world.

Location; Tsuwano Town, kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture

Access: From Tokyo, take the Shinkansen to Shin-Yamaguchi (about 4 hours) and then the limited express to Tsuwano (about 1 hour).
　　　Or, if you fly, you can go from Haneda to Iwami Airport. From there, take a bus to Masuda. (about 10 minutes), and then take a local train to Tsuwano (about 40 minutes).
Streets such as Tonomachi-dori and Honmachi-dori have been designated as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

A small castle town in the mountains of western Shimane Prefecture. It is especially famous for its Tono-machi Street, which is lined with the ruins of former feudal lords’ residences, canals, and white walls. The town is surrounded by mountains, and a river flows through the town a short distance away, spreading greenery. However, access to the area is not very good. Along with the neighboring city of Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the town has been featured in a women’s magazine as Hagi-Tsuwano, and is especially popular among female visitors. It is also known for its heron dance in the summer.→https://discoverdeeperjapan.com/2021/08/30/sagimai-everything-is-worth-a-photo-chance/
There is also a memorial hall for the picture books of Anno Mitsumasa 安野光雅, who won the International Andersen Prize. It is also an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

cf. →https://www15.j-server.com/LUCTWNT/ns/tl.cgi/https://www.town.tsuwano.lg.jp/www/genre/1000000000113/index.html?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XPARAM=q,&XCHARSET=UTF-8&XPORG=,&XJSID=0
→https://www.kankou-shimane.com/en/destinations/?post_type=destinations&destination_city%5B%5D=iwamiarea&s=&x=35&y=25

Address: Tomo, Tomocho, Fukuyama city, Hiroshima prefecture
Access: From the No. 5 bus stop at the south exit of Fukuyama Station, take the bus bound for “Tomo” or “Tomonoura” (about 30 minutes). 550 yen (as of 2022)
Fukuyama is about 1 hour from Osaka and about 30 minutes from Hiroshima by Shinkansen.

It seems that Tomonoura has been used as a port since quite ancient times, and there are records of its use as a port from around the 12th century.

The ocean currents in this area flow in from the east and west at high tide and collide just in the vicinity of Tomonoura. On the other hand, when the tide is low, the currents divide into east and west from here. In the old days, people used to sail along the coast, so waiting for the tide was important. The most suitable port for this was Tomonoura.
The people of the time period gradually and gradually built up the harbor through land reclamation and other means, and it took on its present form.

You can look inside an old merchant house and get a glimpse of how people lived in those days. It is said that people in the construction industry today sigh in awe because they can see beams cut out of a single tree, something that is impossible to find nowadays.

When you are surrounded by so many natural townscapes, you feel like this is normal. However, this is a historical landscape that miraculously remains because it was left behind in the development race. It is easy to forget that townscapes like this used to exist in Tokyo and Osaka as a matter of course.

A ferry connects the town with Onomichi 尾道, one of the most popular towns in Hiroshima Prefecture along with Tomonoura and other towns. It is nice to see the peaceful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea from the sea. It is also fun to compare it with the port city of Onomichi.

cf. https://www.city.fukuyama.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/kanko/85749.html
https://youtu.be/K0o-4Ek6stw

the centuriesTomonoura official https://visittomonoura.com/?lang=en

Japan heritage official https://www.japan.travel/japan-heritage/popular/old-port-tomonoura-hiroshima-setonaikai-fukuyama